Football’s greatest cup final giantkilling? When Swindon Town shocked Arsenal in 1969

In Wiltshire, the summer of 1969 is remembered more for the greatest cup final upset in football history rather than astronaut Neil Armstrong’s “giant leap for mankind” on the moon. And understandably so.

Swindon Town’s dramatic 3-1 victory over Arsenal – 50 years ago today – remains the last time a Third Division side has won a major trophy.

Arsenal’s all-star team of internationals went on to win the Double two years later, but the events of 15 March made heroes of the Swindon players – and a legend of Don Rogers.

“Nothing prepares you for when you step out in front of 100,000 people,” says Rogers. “We never had any thoughts of losing. Definitely not. We kept beating the top teams, First Division teams. We were a good side.”

Horse of the Year Show

The 23-year-old winger scored twice in extra-time on the boggy Wembley turf, famously chewed up by heavy rain and the Horse of the Year Show held at the home of football the week before.

“The pitch was really bad, but it was in good nick compared to ours so we were used to it. It suited us,” recalls Rogers.

For his decisive second goal, he galloped like a thoroughbred from his own half, past the Arsenal defence before side-stepping goalkeeper Bob Wilson and sliding the ball into the empty net.

“The pitch was really bad, but it was in good nick compared to ours.”

“I like to relive that one, running through from the halfway line,” says Rogers of his glorious cup-winning moment.

“When I watch it back, I always wonder what would have happened if there had been a piece of mud there. I kicked it from the only flat bit of ground on the pitch.”

Earlier, Roger Smart had given the underdogs the lead in the 35th minute after a defensive mix-up. Arsenal drove forward menacingly but Town goalkeeper Peter Downsborough denied them time and again.

The pressure continued in the second-half, but the defence, marshalled by captain Stan Harland, and the Swindon stopper looked unbeatable. But with just four minutes left, an error let in Bobby Gould for the equaliser. Relief for the Gunners.

Extra-time

Hopes of a fairytale upset seemed over. But far from being fearful, Swindon manager Danny Williams was convinced his team would win.

“I knew my lads had trained hard and would have more power than them in extra time,” he said in an interview before he died last month, just short of the 50th anniversary. “They wouldn’t lose.”

Sure enough it was the Arsenal players who were sat tired on the turf, Frank McLintock twice cramping up in extra-time. Super-fit Swindon ran away with it.

Bob Wilson had to pull off a great save, turning a Smart header on to the post. But from the resulting corner, the ball fell to Rogers in a crowded penalty area. Quick as a flash, he shifted the ball away from the defenders and fired off a left-footed shot into the net.

“It wasn’t as simple as it looked. I had to drag it with my right foot and hit it with my left.”

Rogers killed off the Gunners in the 119th minute, with commentator Brian Moore roaring: “Beautiful play. That is that.”

“It must be the biggest cup final upset ever, which makes it even better,” says Rogers.

Record-breakers

The 1, 140 mins of football it took Swindon to win the trophy, three replays and the semi-final going to a decisive third match, is still a record.

For comparison, this year’s winners Manchester City played just 570 minutes of football – exactly half as many – to win the trophy, and that included a two-legged semi-final and extra time in the final.

The 1, 140 mins of football it took Swindon to win the trophy is still a record

Recalling the strict training regime of manager Williams, Rogers still has nightmares.

“Thursday morning was training day, he recalls. “I dreaded it. I didn’t sleep Wednesday night. We did 45 minutes of running. 13 laps. They wouldn’t have trained like us. No way. But it proved to be probably the best thing we did.”

Afterwards much was made of the state of the pitch and Arsenal complained of a flu bug that had forced them to cancel their match the previous week.

Gunners legend Wilson credits defeat to Swindon for inspiring the team to go on and win the Double.

A feat never to be repeated

Rogers, who ended up with 30 goals that season and went on to score famous goals in the top flight for Crystal Palace, doubts that such a cup final triumph will ever be repeated by a third-tier team. Even though Premier League sides now tend to field second-choice players in the competition.

“They’d have to be the luckiest team alive to do it now,” he says. “All the top teams have got 2 teams that can beat the lower sides. That’s the problem.”

“It’s so different now. We had to beat the top teams. Everybody had their full teams out. We weren’t playing weakened teams like nowadays. It was like a cup final every game for us.”

What was the tactical masterplan?

So what were the tactics in the final? What was the Swindon masterplan to stifle the high-flying Gunners?

“We never had one,” says Rogers, now 73. “We never bothered about the other team. We played our way and that was it. We knew what we wanted to do. To go out and win.

“Arsenal were all internationals. You don’t need a team talk. We knew all the names but we didn’t focus on them. We had a great defence. The back four and goalkeeper played magnificently. That whole team were excellent.”

Rogers’ cup final exploits are immortalised in Nick Hornby’s ‘Fever Pitch’ book, a chapter headed simply “Don Rogers” details the heartache the winger inflicted on young Gunners fan Hornby.

As Danny Williams, for whom there is a memorial service in Swindon tomorrow, summed up the events of 15 March 1969: “I think everyone in Swindon came out that day. So they should. We did a marvellous thing.

“You get Don Rogers at his best and he could turn a team in two.”

Rogers, who has a stand named in his honour at the County Ground, will be at the stadium tomorrow along with teammates from 50 years ago – and the trophy – for a lap of honour. It may even inspire the mid-table League Two side to three points against Port Vale.

Follow Martyn on Twitter: @martyn_kent