On This Day in Football: 25th September

25th September 1962

On this day in 1962, Ipswich Town, the surprise League champions, demonstrated their prowess in the European Cup with a commanding performance against Floriana of Malta. Playing at Portman Road, Ipswich secured a resounding 10-0 victory, completing a 14-1 aggregate win in the First Round. Ray Crawford was the standout performer, scoring five of the goals in this decisive match. Despite this impressive display, Ipswich Town’s European journey was halted in the next round by AC Milan.

25th September 1963

Exactly one year later, on 25th September 1963, football fans witnessed a unique moment in the career of Tom Finney, a player renowned for his loyalty to Preston North End. On this day, Finney made his only competitive appearance for a club other than Preston, playing for Northern Ireland champions Distillery in a European Cup match. At the age of 41, Finney was coaxed out of retirement by Distillery’s manager, George Armstrong, to face Portuguese giants Benfica. The match, held in Belfast, ended in a thrilling 3-3 draw in front of a crowd of 19,326. However, without Finney in the return leg, Benfica secured a 5-0 victory, advancing to the next round.