Tottenham Hotspur On This Day - 26th November, 1977

Tottenham Hotspur on this Day - 26th November

Following relegation to the 2nd Division, Tottenham Hotspur spent the 1977-78 season in a four-way battle to regain their place in the top flight of English football.  

26th November 1977

Bolton Wanderers 1 Tottenham Hotspur 0 (2nd Division) 

Having been relegated the previous year, Spurs were hoping to spend the shortest possible time out of the 1st Division, the top flight of English football. Spurs had started the season well and their record showed only two defeats in the League. 

Throughout the season four teams were the main contenders for the three promotion spots - Spurs, Southampton, Brighton and Bolton. With the competition so intense between these teams, the matches against them were critical in the fight for promotion. 

Incredibly, the fixture list had decreed that Spurs would play all of their rivals in successive games. They had dropped a point* the previous week in a scoreless draw at home to Brighton and were in second place behind Bolton. 

The table-toppers met at Bolton's Burnden Park on this day. It was a tense, competitive match with teenager Neil McNab, the star of the show, running the game for Spurs. Both goalkeepers did well with Daines making a number of fine saves, while his opposite number showed his prowess just before the break when pushing a John Duncan header over the bar.

Neil McNab, centre, enjoys end of season promotion celebrations with, from left, John Pratt, Gerry Armstrong, manager Keith Burkinshaw and Terry Naylor

 Just after the interval, it looked as is McNab had put Spurs ahead. His shot from the edge of the area, curved round a group of defenders, clipped the inside of the far post and beat the goalkeeper. It would have been an exquisite goal, one to be remembered, but unfortunately Duncan had been caught off-side and the goal was disallowed. 

With the match drawing to a close it looked as if this game was also going to be goalless until the last minute when Bolton scored in the 89th minute to claim both points.*

Now Bolton were four points ahead of Spurs in the League with Southampton a further two points behind in third. 

The following week Spurs had another scoreless draw at home to Southampton. The promotion road was proving rather more difficult than it had at first appeared. 

[* in 1977 it was two points for a win and one for a draw]  

Team: Daines; Naylor, Holmes; Hoddle, Osgood, Perryman; Pratt, McNab, Moores, Duncan, Taylor