Tottenham And Queen’s Park Rangers: Six Connections
By Logan Holmes
Firsts!
First League Match at White Hart Lane
Queen’s Park Rangers were Tottenham’s first opponents for a competitive match at their new White Hart Lane ground. It was a Southern League match played on Saturday, 9th September, 1899, five days after the official opening against Notts County in a friendly. Spurs defeated QPR by the only goal of the game scored by Tom Smith who was a member of the Tottenham team which won the 1901 FA Cup.
First League Meeting
Tottenham and Queen’s Park Rangers first met in the Football League in a 2nd Division game at White Hart Lane in October, 1948. Spurs won 1 – 0 with the goal being scored by Eddie Baily who was a vital member of the ‘Push and Run’ team which would won successive titles over the next two seasons. Baily later became Bill Nicholson’s assistant at White Hart Lane.
First Goal – Only Goal!
Phil Beal made over 400 appearances for Tottenham but only managed one goal. It came against Rangers and was a cracker.
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In January, 1969 Spurs met QPR at White Hart Lane for the first time in the 1st Division. They won the game 3 – 2 which over time has turned out to be quite a regular scoreline between the two clubs. Phil Beal who played over 400 games for Tottenham scored only one goal in 13 seasons.
He made his debut in place of Danny Blanchflower in September, 1963 against Aston Villa but it was a number of years before he established himself as a regular member of the team. In the latter half of the 1960s he formed a very effective central defensive partner ship with Mike England and together they went on to win numerous trophies in the early 1970s.
The goal that Beal scored against QPR was a goal to remember. He broke up an attack on the edge of the Spurs area and carried the ball forward, exchanging passes with Jimmy Greaves and on reaching the edge of the Rangers box, he cracked an unstoppable shot, in off the bar. Alan Gilzean and David Jenkins scored the other Tottenham goals.