It is 44 years to the day since West Ham United enjoyed one of the most memorable nights in the Club’s history.
The rain was pouring as John Lyall’s Hammers kicked-off against tournament favourites Eintracht Frankfurt in their European Cup Winners’ Cup semi-final second leg.
The Irons were trailing 2-1 from the first leg but, having already overturned a deficit to knock out Dutch Cup holders Den Haag in the previous round, captain Billy Bonds insisted their West German equivalents held no fear.
With the vast majority of the 39,202 fans inside the Boleyn Ground cheering them on, West Ham gave their all from first to last.
Nights like the European Cup Winners’ Cup semi-final victory over Eintracht Frankfurt in April 1976 are exactly what you live for
Billy Bonds
Frankfurt kept their slender lead going into the break but, four minutes after the interval, West Ham were level. Frank Lampard launched a cross from deep on the left flank and Trevor Brooking sent a perfectly weighted header looping into the top corner.
The outstanding Brooking’s raking pass then took out the whole defence and dropped to the feet of Keith Robson, who initially mis-controlled the ball. However, the winger steadied himself before firing into the top corner as the Boleyn Ground erupted on 67 minutes.
The unstoppable Brooking then added to his tally for the night ten minutes later, collecting wide on the left, running into the penalty area and cutting inside before curling an effort past the helpless Eintracht goalkeeper Peter Kunter.
Frankfurt ensured there was a nervy finish, with Klaus Beverungen pulling one back with three minutes to go, but the Irons showed their steel to secure their spot in the final.
Forty-four years on, Bonds has predictably fond and proud memories of an unforgettable night.
“I played over 900 games as a professional footballer and nights like the European Cup Winners’ Cup semi-final victory over Eintracht Frankfurt in April 1976 are exactly what you live for,” he began.
“Our FA Cup final win against Fulham [in 1975] had opened the door to Europe but after beating Reipas Lahden of Finland and Ararat Erevan Armenia, we’d started making things difficult for ourselves.
“In the quarter-finals, we’d been four goals down at half-time against Den Haag over in Holland but we’d eventually fought back to get through to the last four on away goals.
“Despite losing 1-2 to the tournament favourites out in Germany, with our fantastic crowd behind us, we always felt that we had chances against Eintracht in the return leg back under those Upton Park lights.
“It was a massive game because we could all see that we were on the cusp of a European final and there was such a great atmosphere.
“Trevor Brooking was a team-mate and a great friend, who I could trust both on and off the pitch and – like the crowd – he was absolutely brilliant that night, as just glided across the ankle-deep mud leaving the Germans slipping and sliding everywhere.
“An unbelievable player on any pitch, Trevor scored twice, while Keith Robson got a great goal, too, to give us a 3-1 win and send us to Brussels, where we met Anderlecht in their own Heysel Stadium.
“It was unfortunate that the final eventually went against us [as Anderlecht won 4-2] but those European nights left us all with some fantastic memories.”
