League Division One 1958
1st Feburary 1958 Highbury Stadium
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| Arsenal 4 |
Manchester United 5 |
| Bloomfield 2, Herd,Tapscott |
Charlton, Taylor 2, Edwards, Viollet |
“The Busby Babes Last Ever Game on British soil”
It takes two sides to make a great match and the Arsenal team of 1958 raised their game for the visit of Matt Busby’s “Busby Babes”. His side composed of mainly young players had swept all before them in recent years with brilliant, exciting, attacking football, that gained them many followers. Champions the last two seasons United were on course to take the title again that year having recently went back to the top of table, Arsenal lay in mid-table but could still be a good side when they wanted too.
A capacity 64,000 crowd saw United swing into a 3-0 lead in the first half. The giant Duncan Edwards and mercurial Eddie Colman dominated the middle of the field and the then traditional wingers Morgans and Scanlon turned Arsenal inside-out on the flanks. The goals were magically conceived and executed. Edwards began the show as he powered majestically into the edge of the penalty area and hit the ball low and unstoppably into the bottom corner of the Arsenal’s goal. Bobby Charlton and Tommy Taylor banged in two more and the home spectators resigned to the result looked forward to a second half feast.
It came, but not quite in the way they anticipated. Shortly after the interval Arsenal scored, three times in less than three minutes! Amongst the scorers was a young David Herd, who would later play for United as a striker alongside Denis Law. Suddenly it was a new game. Inspired by the quality of the opposition and urged on by their captain Dave Bowen Arsenal looked like taking charge, but not for long as United moved up a gear. Like the great side they were, Manchester United brushed aside this challenge almost contemptuously with the devastating Denis Viollet and Tommy Taylor soon making the score 5-3. However Arsenal were still not finished and their Welsh international Derek Tapscott pulling one back. Vic Groves almost equalised but United held out and reasserted their superiority.
It was an unforgettable game, full of the skills, excitement and drama that the “Busby Babes” had brought to English football in the last 5 years summed up in one great game. And most poignantly of all, it was the last occasion that the “Busby Babes” played on British soil, the last time they were seen playing in English football. Five days later they lay shattered on a snow-covered airfield in Munich and the great team was gone forever.
ARSENAL: Kelsey, Charlton, Evans, Ward, Fotheringham, Bowen, Groves, Tapscott, Herd, Bloomfield, Nutt
MANCHESTER UNITED: Gregg, Foulkes, Byrne, Colman, Jones, Edwards, Morgans, Charlton, Scanlon,
Viollet, Taylor
