Free Keep Fighting by Paul Harrison

clutching fingers of the despairing goalkeeper Tommy Lawrence. Bremner threw his arms out high and wide and began his celebratory sprint. Jack Charlton meanwhile leapt high into the air, punching his right arm towards the heavens. Wembley stadium erupted into a sea of white, gold and blue:
    ‘I have scored a few goals in my time, but the two goals in the FA Cup that season are the most memorable. The diving header against Manchester United gave me a great feeling of relief and achievement. The goal in the final against Liverpool was without doubt the one which gave me the greatest amount of satisfaction. When they first took the lead in extra time, I think we all knew that it was going to be hard for us to get back into the game. I looked round at our players and could see in their faces that they were physically drained. I ran round to each of them and reminded them that Liverpool looked knackered too; I kept telling them that I was going to give it one final push and to get behind me in doing that.
    ‘Many were too tired to speak, others gave an understanding wink. When I equalised I thought my goal would generate thatlift, that additional rush of adrenalin you sometimes need to keep going. When the ball came out to me, I looked up, I was a good distance away from the goal and reminded myself of something John Charles had once told me: “Power and accuracy lad, that can beat any goalkeeper from any distance, if you can see the features on the goalkeepers face, then you are close enough to shoot and score.” I really smacked that ball and I felt all my energy going through my leg and into the shot. It was a great feeling – watching it sail by Tommy Lawrence and into the back of the net. There was a split second of silence, probably through disbelief more than anything else, before my goal celebrations began, it was a wonderful moment. It felt like we had won the damn Cup, not just equalised.’
    The revival lasted just ten minutes. An unmarked Ian St John headed the Merseysiders back into the lead to virtually kill off the Leeds challenge. The FA Cup was on its way to the Anfield trophy cabinet for the first time in the club's history. As the final whistle blew, many of the Leeds team collapsed to their knees, mentally and physically shattered by the afternoon's exertions.
    It was a defeat which Bremner was never to forget:
    ‘When I left the Wembley pitch that afternoon, I was really pissed off. The boss came up to me and gave me a reassuring hug, he thanked each and every one of us for our efforts. It is a dreadful feeling losing at Wembley, an emotional void that I would often recall, in order that I would give my everything, just to prevent it happening again. At the time I could not really understand why the boss had said “Thank you” to us at such a moment. He later explained that he felt that we had given our everything and could give him no more, and no man could ask for anything more.
    ‘At the post-match banquet, which was more like a funeral, the boss explained that the game and the result was gone, part of history, and we had to put it behind us, learn from the experience, and not to repeat the same mistakes that cost us both the game and the Cup. He also reminded us that very few people ever remember the losing Wembley finalists. How right he was.’

6
    SCOTLAND THE BRAVE
    The week following the FA Cup final defeat, Saturday, 8 May 1965, the rollercoaster ride that was Billy Bremner's football career reached a new summit, when he was called up for his first full Scotland international cap, by the then Scotland manager Ian McColl. It was an international challenge match against Spain at Hampden Park, in Glasgow:
    ‘What an honour, and it was like I was coming home and making my Scotland full international debut at Hampden Park. I was so excited when Ian McColl gave me the call to tell me I had been selected. What you must remember is that playing for Scotland back then really meant something special.