Tottenham On This Day: Spurs Score 9 Against Non-League Worksop Town
By Logan Holmes
Jimmy Dimmock [Photo: Logan Holmes]Tottenham on this Day
Tottenham defeated non-League Worksop Town in an FA Cup Replay having been held to an embarrassing scoreless draw two days earlier.
15th January, 1923
Tottenham Hotspur 9 Worksop Town 0 (FA Cup 1st Round Replay)
Scorers: Lindsay (4), Handley (3), Seed, Dimmock
Team: Blake, Clay, Brown, Smith, Lowe, Grimsdell, Walden, Seed, Lindsay, Handley, Dimmock
After Worksop Town, a club from the Midland League held Tottenham to a scoreless draw at White Hart Lane on the previous Saturday, the decision was taken to hold the replay at the same venue as the Worksop ground was thought unsuitable for the game. Spurs readily agreed to play it at White Hart Lane as they were keen to ensure there was no further embarrassment for the club who were sitting comfortably in mid-table in the 1st Division.
So, on the Monday afternoon, two days after the original game, Spurs played non-League Worksop in the replay. Worksop had spent the weekend in London and sent out the same eleven players while Tottenham made only one change, at left back, where Bob Brown replaced Jock Pearson. The Tottenham team contained six members of the 1921 FA Cup winning team – Bert Smith, Arthur Grimsdell, Fanny Walden, Tommy Clay, Jimmy Seed and the scorer of the winning goal in the Final against Wolves, Jimmy Dimmock.
Relieved at having an opportunity to put things right, Tottenham won very easily. The playing conditions had greatly improved and Spurs were six up by half-time. The opening goal came after 15 minutes from Tich Handley and it was only two minutes later that Alex Lindsay dribbled his way through the visitors defence to score the first of his four goals. Seed added the third and before half-time Lindsay, twice, and Handley added further goals. Five of those six goals came inside 8 minutes and Brown, the Worksop goalkeeper had saved a penalty by Walden.
The non-league side faced the hard facts of football life and in the second half conceded a further three goals scored by Lindsay, Handley and Dimmock.
A number of years ago an article was written in the Tottenham programme about the FA Cup tie with Worksop Town and it described how Tottenham felt about that result at the time.
“The Worksop match remained an embarrassment to Spurs for a long time but the Midland Leaguers had no complaints. They took home about £1,000 – big money in those days.”
Jimmy Dimmock [Photo: Logan Holmes](from a Tottenham programme)
Worksop made the most of their London weekend and on the Monday afternoon the same eleven players ran out to face Spurs a second time. Spurs’Alternative only change was Bob Brown for Jock Pearson at left-back.
DETERMINED TEAM
Spurs knew they could not afford to miss their second chance and a more determined team played a more open type of gAme from the start. It was what the crowd expected from a Spurs team, and after fifteen minutes Tich Handley broke the deadlock with the first goal.
Two minutes later Alec Lindsay dribbled through to net the second and Jimmy Seed made it three. Worksop were by now facing the hard facts of football life and before half-time Lindsay, twice, and Handley had added further goals. Five of those goals had been scored in the space of eight minutes and Brown had saved a penalty from Fanny Walden.
The cheering and even the laughter was now over and the second half was a formality. Spurs added three more goals from Handley, Dimmock and Lindsay to win 9 – 0.
The Worksop match remained an embarrassment to Spurs for a long time but the Midland Leaguers had no complaints. They took home about a £1,000 – big money in those far-off days – and were brought down to earth the following Saturday, when they lost 2 – 1 away to Denby United.
The gate figure for the first match was 23,928, paying £1,445 and the replay figures were 23,122, paying £1,420.
In the next two rounds Spurs beat Manchester United (home) 4 – 0 and Cardiff City (away) 3 – 2 but were knocked out by Derby County at White Hart Lane in the quarter finals.