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Comment from Brian Raine
One of the leading players during 1957/58 was Pte A Scott of
Rangers/Scotland /Everton who recently died. He was in the same
intake as me 227 23 Platoon April 1958, he was not on the platoon
photo, he was in Stockholm with the Scotland football squad or in
Glasgow playing for Rangers on the day it was taken, He finished up
as Cpl Scott in Edinburgh Castle, with demob in February 1960.
RAPC FOOTBALLERS TRIUMPHANT
In the world of Association Football 1972 will be remembered as the year in which the RAPC finally made it. On four previous occasions the Army Cup has almost been ours. This year the Corps, through its representatives at Worthy Down, lifted not only the Army Cup but also the King Cup and the Junior Soldiers Challenge Cup.
Having come safely through the earlier rounds the senior side playing as RAPC Worthy Down reached the final of the Army Cup (United Kingdom Section) in which they met a very strong side from SEME Bordon at Aldershot on February 16. What an exciting game this proved to be. In heavy rain the pitch was in an atrocious condition. The RAPC got away to a flying start when Cpl Lumsden scored after only two minutes. SEME then scrambled an equaliser. Four minutes later SEME went ahead but in the 29th minute RAPC Worthy Down squared the account when Pte MacDonald fired a shot which hit the roof of the net.
Continuous torrential rain had turned the pitch into a quagmire by the time the teams came out for the second half. During this half SEME dominated the game territorially but the conditions did not allow them to play their usual brand of neat football; promising moves were usually intercepted by the RAPC before they became too dangerous. Nevertheless Cpl Bethell was called upon to make two fine saves. The RAPC cross bar was hit twice and both Ptes Roberts and Hendrick kicked off the line.
Under pressure the RAPC defence was outstanding. The midfield players worked tirelessly and the forwards made several breaks which broke down in the SEME offside trap. Towards the end of normal time the Corps side began to come into the game without reward and so it was that in dreadful conditions the two sides were called upon to endure extra time.
In the first period SEME continued to have the upper hand but the RAPC, with their quick breaks from defence, always looked dangerous. In the second period the Worthy Down Team was full of running whilst SEME seemed to be feeling the pace. With less than two minutes left SEME gave away an indirect free kick just outside the penalty area, almost on the deadball line. They packed the goalmouth but Cpl Baddeley took the kick and passed it accurately to Pte MacDonald whose header hit the back of the net from three yards out. And so ended a game in which the courage of a physically fit RAPC team brought its own reward.
The Army Cup Final was played at Aldershot on April 12 and in front of a large crowd, containing very many RAPC supporters. RAPC Worthy Down met 36 Heavy AD Regiment RA from Dortmund. Before the match started a unique demonstration of Anglo-German friendship was shown when the Gunners made a presentation of 12 beer boxes and a picture of Dortmund to their opponents, on behalf of the Burgermeister and City of Dortmund. After a quiet start the RAPC took up the attack and with strong fast running forced the Gunners' defence into a series of mistakes. It came as no surprise when the RAPC took the lead through Sgt Baddeley who drove in a shot from 25 yards out. The BAOR champions fought back and might well have equalised when a low shot scraped the outside of the post. Whilst the RAPC forwards were proving a handful for the RA Defence the RAPC defenders were absorbing all the pressures which the Gunners were able to exert. Shortly before half time the Worthy Down team might have gone further ahead had not a cross from the wing been misjudged.
After half time the fitter and faster RAPC team continued to control the game and the goalkeeper was rarely tested but he was called upon to make one good save when a shot was fired at him from the edge of the penalty area. After two near misses the RAPC team went further ahead when Sgt Baddeley beat the Gunners' goalkeeper and sidefooted the ball into the net.
With only 15 minutes to go 36 Regiment came to life and made an all out effort to reduce the lead but the RAPC defence stood firm and when the Gunners did pull one back with five minutes of the game left it came as a surprise. After this goal the RAPC players did not lose their confidence and played out time with some careful possession football. After the match the Army Cup was presented to the Captain of the RAPC Worthy Down team by the Right Honourable Geoffrey Johnson Smith, MP, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence for the Army.
It has not been possible, nor is it desirable to single out individual players in this report; all gave of their best and it was particularly gratifying to see the team play with such spirit and in such a sporting manner in both matches. The players who represented RAPC in these two matches were:
Ssgt H. Smith, Sgt M. Baddeley, Cpls A. Bethell, A. Cruickshank, P. Goodwin, S. Langan, R. Lumsden, M. Postill, Ptes D. Hendrie, J. MacDonald and G. Roberts. Substitutes, Sgt J. Snowball and Cpl D. Old.
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