Green Street Goals!

Sir Trevor Brooking takes a nostalgic walk around the Boleyn Ground pitch he graced so many times in West Ham United colours
Sir Trevor Brooking returned to the Boleyn Ground pitch he graced so many times as a West Ham United player to recount his favourite night under the stadium’s famous floodlights.

It was on the evening of 14 April 1976 that the five-times Hammer of the Year scored two goals to fire his side through to the European Cup Winners’ Cup final at the expense of West German side Eintract Frankfurt.

Trailing 2-1 from the first leg, the England midfielder took centre-stage on a night none of the 39,202 inside the ground will ever forget.

“We played against Eintracht Frankfurt in the second leg of the European Cup Winners’ Cup semi-finals,” Sir Trevor told West Ham TV’s Green Street Goals! “It was an evening game which was always magnificent in those days.

“It was 1976 and we’d lost out there. Graham Paddon had go an away goal, but obviously they were a very good team. We won 3-1 and I scored a couple of goals, including a header, believe it or not!

“For the other one, I turned inside and slotted it into the corner. The actual ground erupted. That night, the place was actually heaving!

“To get to a final of a European competition was wonderful and it was one of those games you can still relive now. The whole occasion was one to savour, for everyone who was there, even if it was 40 years ago – that’s scary!

“A Cup Winners’ Cup semi-final was special and we managed to knock out a very experienced European team like Eintracht Frankfurt out.”

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