Tottenham Score 7 (Seven) on 30th August Know Your Totttenham History

There are not many times when Tottenham score seven goals in one match but they have done it twice on 30th August and the two occasions were only four years apart. The last time they scored exactly seven goals was at home to Southampton in March, 2000 in a 7 – 2 win.

30th August, 1926 1st Div. v Sheffield Wednesday (h ) Won 7 – 3 Elkes (2), Blair, Thompson, Osborne, Seed, Dimmock

Tottenham’s season had started with two home matches. The previous Saturday they had defeated Everton 2 – 0 at White Hart Lane and in midweek faced Sheffield Wednesday who on the opening day had suffered a home defeat to local rivals, Sheffield United. Thinking their start to the season couldn’t get any worse, they discovered that it could at White Hart Lane.

Tottenham’s seven goals were shared among six players, the first time that had occurred since joining the Football League eighteen years earlier. The feature of the goals was that the Tottenham captain scored twice. He was normally an inside forward but had been move back to play at centre half which failed to dent his goal scoring instincts. The other goals were scored by John Blair, Frank Osborne, Andy Thompson, Jimmy Seed and Jimmy Dimmock.

Seed, Dimmock and Bert Smith were the only remaining members of the 1921 FA Cup winning team when Dimmock scored the goal against Wolverhampton Wanderers. The left back, Cecil Poynton, was a loyal servant to Spurs. After retiring from playing he worked in various capacities – assistant trainer, trainer from 1947 until 1972 and physiotherapist for three years until retiring aged 74 years.

Commenting on the result in the match against Wednesday in following week’s match programme, it said, ‘Nearly every shot against Wednesday was dead on target.’

Team: Smith, J.; Forster, Poynton; Smith, B. Elkes, Lindsay; Thompson, Blair, Osborne, Seed, Dimmock

30th August, 1930 2nd Div. v Reading (h) Won 7 – 1 Harper (5), Cook, Dimmock

Tottenham had been relegated in May, 1928 and were finding it difficult to regain their top flight status. In the previous two seasons they had finished in mid-table but their start to the 1930-31 season suggested that they could be one of the teams challenging for promotion under manager, Percy Smith who had been appointed midway through the previous season. It was the opening day of the season and Reading were stunned by the goalscoring power of centre forward, Ted Harper. Smith had brought in a number of new players as he rejigged his team. Three of them made their debuts – the full backs, Albert Lyons signed from Clapton Orient, Bert Hodgkinson who came from Barnsley and centre half Alf Messer who was facing his former club. Messer had been named captain but declined to lead Spurs against Reading. Tommy Meads was given that honour and he was also a former Reading player. Matt Forster who had played for Tottenham at full back for many years had been transferred to Reading during the summer but he ‘did not wish to play against his old team.’

Spurs were four goals ahead in twenty one minutes. The match was played in a heat-wave but it didn’t hinder Harper who scored all four. Billy Cook added a fifth and in the 35th minute Dimmock hit number six. A report of the match says that although Spurs were six up at half-time, Reading had played well! Poor shooting and good goalkeeping by Cyril Spiers had kept them scoreless.

Two minutes after the interval, Harper added number seven. The only other goal was a late consolation for the visitors.

Team: Spiers; Lyons, Hodgkinson; Skitt, Messer, Meads; Davies, O’Callaghan, Harper, Cook, Dimmock.

The only survivor from the team which scored seven, four years earlier was Jimmy Dimmock. It was an  exceptional season for Ted Harper who set a new club scoring record with 36 League goals. That record has only been bettered once by Jimmy Greaves. Bobby Smith equalled the record in 1957-58 and Greaves set a new record of 37 goals in 1962-63.  Smith and Greaves did of course score their goals at the highest level of English football.

Harper was also the first Spurs player to score five goals in a League match, a feat which was not repeated for another 27 years – September, 1957 by Alfie Stokes against Birmingham City in a 7 – 1 success at White Hart Lane. The last player to score five was Jermain Defoe against Wigan Athletic in 2009.

Tottenham’s season had an unbelievable opening in 1930-31 – they won their next home match 8 – 1 against Burnley two days later. The season ended, however, in disappointment as a late slump saw them miss promotion by three points, having finished third.