Iconic Moments in Football No.42
The week’s ‘Iconic Moment’ comes from the penultimate weekend of the 1973/74 season in a Manchester Derby at Old Trafford.
Yes, I am of course referring to the game where Denis Law, the man that the United fans called ‘The King’, backheeled a goal to win the game for his new club.
Denis Law was allowed to leave Old Trafford on a free transfer by United boss Tommy Docherty as he failed to gain full fitness after a series of injuries.
Manchester United were going through one of their most turbulent seasons. Only six years before, they had won the European Cup at Wembley and now the club were facing relegation to the Second Division.
Law was one part of United’s devastating attacking trio alongside George Best and Bobby Charlton and now the three had all left Old Trafford.
Charlton had retired at the end of the previous campaign and a troubled George Best left Old Trafford in January of 1974.
The United team Law playing in his first game back at Old Trafford were completely bereft of confidence. They needed a result against their arch-rivals and results to go in their favour to stand any chance of staying in the First Division.
A bumper crowd of 56,996 squeezed into Old Trafford to watch the Manchester Derby.
The game was goalless going into the final ten minutes before the moment that had a cruel air of inevitability.
As the clock ticked over to 81 minutes, City broke after Mike Summerbee played the ball out of City’s half to Colin Bell who had acres of pace in the middle of the pitch.
Bell took the ball forward before Francis Lee took the ball off him at the edge of the United penalty area. Lee was forced wide by a couple of United defenders and he hit a pass along the ground towards Denis Law who was about eight yards out.
Law had his back to goal and instinctively backheeled the ball towards the United goal. It took goalkeeper Alec Stepney completely by surprise and the ball went past him into the back of the net.
The cameras all focused in on the former Manchester United man who showed no joy after scoring. He slowly walked back to his own half with his team mates hugging him but he looked sorrowful. His head was slightly bowed, almost apologetically as the realisation of the impact of what his goal would have on his former club.
Before the game resumed, a few angry United fans ran on the pitch. They were followed by a lot more and suddenly the pitch was swarmed.
After a few minutes, the referee called the game off with just under ten minutes of the game left to play. City were awarded the win by the Football Association six days later.
Birmingham City won their match 4-0 at home to QPR later on in the day and so the result in the Manchester Derby was immaterial. United were down and despite what has gone down in football folklore, Denis Law’s backheel did NOT relegate Manchester United.
Two days after the City match, United played their last game of the season, losing 1-0 at Stoke City. They finished 21st out of 22 club, five points off safety. Manchester City ended the league campaign in 14th position.
United stormed to the Second Division title the following season and their troublesome fans wreacked havoc across the country at their away games.
They would attract huge crowds wherever they played and their fans smashed up town centres and grounds that they visited when watching their team play.
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