Date: Wednesday, 17th January 1973.

Venue: Elland Road, Leeds.

Competition: FA Cup Third Round Replay.

Score: Leeds United 1 Norwich City 1.

Scorers: Leeds United: Giles. Norwich City: Cross.

Attendance: 36,087.

Teams:

Leeds United: Harvey; Reaney, Cherry; Bremner, Madeley, Hunter; Lorimer, Clarke, Jones, Giles, Bates. Unused Sub: Yorath.

Norwich City: Keelan; Butler, Black; Stringer, Forbes, Briggs; Howard, Bone (Cheesley), Cross, Paddon, Anderson.

Referee: G.W. Hill (Leicester).

United were able to field an unchanged side and they were quickly on the attack in the replay of their FA Cup Third Round tie with Norwich City. They took command from the kick-off and bombarded the Norwich goal with incessant pressure, but it seemed to live a charmed life. Kevin Keelan was in inspired form in the Norwich goal and pulled off save after save to deny the rampant United. United must have thought that Calcutta-born Keelan was the India-rubber man as he performed a string of contortions to keep the ball out of the net, in one of the finest goalkeeping displays ever witnessed at Elland Road. When United did manage to beat Keelan there was always the woodwork or a defender that got in the way and Geoff Butler was one such defender who booted the ball clear from the goal-line with Keelan well beaten.

Second Division champions Norwich were played off the park, but United were forced into another replay by Keelan’s brilliance. His agility, bravery and skill saw him make saves with hid hands, arms, chest, legs and knees as United camped in the Norwich half. United had returned the Cup to FA headquarters two days earlier and it looked as though they might relinquish their crown in this game when, totally by surprise and completely against the run of play, Norwich took the lead in the same way as they had done at Carrow Road. David Cross steered the ball past David Harvey six minutes before half-time in a breakaway.

United’s undersoil heating had seen the game beat the big freeze and Kevin Keelan was kept warm under an avalanche of United attacks. One Peter Lorimer shot flew to safety off the keeper’s legs as it knocked him over. He then made a marvellous save to keep out a Lorimer ‘special’ from a free-kick. Then he produced world-class stops to turn away shots from Billy Bremner and Trevor Cherry and two more unbelievable saves to stop Allan Clarke netting with headers.Lorimer was the main sufferor and even when he did finally beat Kevin Keelan, Geoff Butler was there to clear off the line.

It was going to take something special to beat Kevin Keelan in such form. It came when Johhny Giles finally beat Keelan in the sixty-eighth minute with a vicious swerving twenty-five yard shot to grab the equaliser. Although United continued to pound away, even extra-time could not find another way past the inspired Kevin Keelan and the tie went to a second replay, later fixed for Villa Park in less than a fortnight. In the meantime United went to Carrow Road for their third meeting with the Canaries in a week and won 2-1 which augured well for their Villa Park showdown.

Match Action:

Kevin Keelan keeps out a fierce free-kick from Peter Lorimer

Peter Lorimer beats Kevin Keelan but Geoff Butler clears off the line

Teams:

Players:

Kevin Keelan was almost unbeatable in Johnny Giles finally beat him to equalise

the Norwich City goal.