On this day, a trip to Maine Road to play Manchester City in the 1993 FA Cup Quarter Final occurred. What a memorable match it turned out to be. Six goals, Nayim hat-trick, a place in the FA Cup Semi Finals, pitch invasion and police horses!
Spurs fell behind after 10 minutes, but were the better side throughout, and should have had six or seven.
The match was a personal triumph for Nayim, who has not been a regular that season, and owed his place to the much publicised absence of Nicky Barmby, who was in Australia with the England Youth team.
However, he proved to be some understudy, recording the first hat-trick of his career and making an eye-catching contribution in midfield, where Spurs’ composure and clever interplay gave them a marked edge.
ORIGINAL MATCH PROGRAMME AND TICKET AVAILABLE IN STORE
City started the stronger, attacking from the off and took the lead after 10 minutes with a goal from Mike Sheron. Despite taking the lead, Spurs had already started to take control of the match – Vinny Samways caused Tony Coton to make an excellent save after 13 minutes – and as Spurs continue to get the upper hand, on 25 minutes, they made their domination count when Nayim’s low shot from the edge of the box beat Coton.
Cheered on by the travelling Spurs fans, the team continued to attack and push for the lead – this paid off just before the break, when Justin Edinburgh’s through pass allowed Sedgley to advance in the inside the box. With team mates lining up for a square ball and probable tap-in – he hit a very strong shot into the roof of the net – wheeling away in a fairly typical Sedgley celebration!
They always say it’s a great time to score – this proved very much the case as the team, bouyant from taking the lead just before the break, added to the lead 3 minutes after the restart. Spurs flair totally trumped City’s grit. Nayim, added his second, making it 3-1 three minutes into the second half, bundling in the rebound after Teddy Sheringham had shot against a post.
Samways, sent clear by Nayim, should have had Spurs’s fourth after 76 minutes, when he rounded Coton but underhit his shot and saw Phelan get back to clear off the line.
Instead it was Nayim who scored again after 85 minutes, with a cool strike from 17 yards, to complete his hat-trick and cement Spurs place in the Semi Final.
Justin Edinburgh thought he’d scored a fifth, but was ruled offside – City quickly went up the other end and Terry Phelan ran through to make it 4-2
City fans decided they’d had enough and invaded the pitch, forcing the referee, Ray Lewis, to take the players off the field, and play was suspended for 12 minutes while police on horseback, and with dogs, cleared the pitch. The match rightly resumed, otherwise if abandoned, we’d have been awarded tie 3-0 and Nayim’s hat-trick may have been scrubbed off!
Spurs team:
Thorstvedt, Austin, Edinburgh, Samways, Mabbutt, Ruddock, Sedgley, Nayim, Anderton (Turner, 80), Sheringham, Allen.