Like any match between sides from England and Scotland, this European Cup Winners Cup tie was dubbed “The Battle of Britain” In fact, when answering questions about the prospects of meeting Rangers after the draw, Bill Nicholson went a little further and proclaimed it would be “The greatest game on earth” A little over the top, but it turned out to be a cracker nonetheless.
The first leg occurred on this day in 1962 at White Hart Lane in front of 58,859 fans.
In a hard fought match, there were goals galore in the first half. Spurs took an early lead, only to be pegged back to 1-1 after just 10 minutes. Spurs then took control of the match, scoring 3 more without reply to lead 4-1. However, Rangers weren’t finished yet and scored their second and the match’s sixth first half goal making the half time score 4-2.
The second half, no less pulsating, but only saw one further goal as Maurice Norman headed in to restore Spurs’ 3 goal lead for them to take to the second leg in Ibrox, where an early Jimmy Greaves goal settled any nerves and helped Spurs win the second leg 3-2 and 8-4 on aggregate in the season they went on and lifted the cup to be the first British club to win a european trophy.