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  • 10 hours ago
"Only a series of stunning saves by Ron Springett saved England from defeat after they had swept to a 3-1 lead in the first half hour with goals from Ron Flowers, Gerry Hitchens and John Connelly. Hitchens and Greaves smacked shots against the woodwork, but England became caught in the clutches of complacency and the Swiss staged a second-half revival that brought the best out of Springett. The major concern for England - with the World Cup finals looming - was that the 'Dynamic Duo' of Johnny Haynes and Bobby Robson had lost their powers of command. Suddenly, the shadow of the selectors' axe hung over Robson, who had given a procession of brilliant performances during the peak moments of his 20-cap career. Now a new young player was challenging for his place. His name: Bobby Moore."
Transcript
00:03England in white shirts met Switzerland at Wembley in a match generally regarded as a warm-up for the World
00:08Cup series in Chile.
00:13Johnny Haynes won the toss and the visitors kicked off.
00:19Their team included three players new to international football, but you wouldn't have thought so from this confident start.
00:28England made a good start too, though this looks as if they hadn't got their sights lined up.
00:35When England were awarded a free kick, the ball went to Flowers and canadined Orpheus-Swiss defender.
00:44Barely a minute later, centre-forward Hitchens was on the spot to make it 2-0.
00:54Switzerland, never really reckoned to be much opposition, produced some fine football.
00:58Before half-time, they were awarded by a goal from Alleman.
01:06However, at this stage, they couldn't shake England's hold. A header by Connelly made it 3-1.
01:15In the second half, England just seemed to fade away. No more goals were scored, although Switzerland did everything else.
01:22But...
01:27Certainly England will have to do better than this if they want to make the grade in Chile.
01:31Maybe it's a bit.
01:32Maybe it's a bit.
01:34Maybe it's a bit.
01:34Maybe it's a bit.
01:35A few points in the second half, and at all, you should get hit.
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