Programme of the Week Number 22 – Crystal Palace v Derby County 1966/67

Programme of the Week Number 22 – Crystal Palace v Derby County 1966/67

Take any club in the country and ask a representative section of its adult supporters to list that club’s “Ten Top Players of All Time” and you would probably end up with a many players who would receive a mention, a smaller group of players who would be in multiple responses and, finally, a handful of players who would stand head and shoulders above the rest.

Any club legend’s career, however, has to start somewhere and so this article looks back to a seemingly innocuous trip to Selhurst Park in October of 1966 but one which, as things turned out, would be the first of 589 games which Kevin Hector would play for Derby and which would yield 201 goals in all competitions.

Season 1966/67 was Derby’s tenth successive in Division Two and, though a relatively prolific attacking side (the previous three seasons had yielded a total of 211 goals), there hadn’t really been a serious promotion challenge during that 10-year period and the general feeling was that the Rams were quite content to tread water as a mid-table second-tier club. One with a bit of history, yes, but perhaps one which viewed the way the professional game was changing with a wary eye.

And thus it was not just unexpected but also something of a coup when, after a disappointing start to the season, manager Tim Ward managed to persuade club chairman Sam Longson to break the club’s transfer record fee and pay £40,000 (or £48,000, depending upon who you believe) for Kevin Hector, the highly-rated 21-year old Bradford (Park Avenue) forward who it was rumoured Don Revie was interested in signing for Leeds.

“Zak”, as he would come to be referred to (due to his resemblance to a character in ‘United’, a TV serial of the 60s) was already something of a phenomenon, having scored 113 goals in 176 games for Avenue since making his debut as a 17-year old on August 22nd, 1962, in an away game at Bournemouth. There was an element of a gamble about the transfer, however, as all his appearances to date had been in Divisions Three and Four.

It had been a miserable start to the season for the Rams who arrived at Palace propping up the table with just 1 point from the opening six games (including defeat in all three home games) but they had finally picked up a win the previous Saturday following a 2-0 victory at Northampton, who had come down from Division One. Midweek had seen the club exit the League Cup with defeat at Coventry. Tim Ward made only one change to the team who started those two games with Ian Buxton dropping to the bench to accommodate Hector. Palace, on the other hand, sat in fourth place having lost only 1 of their 7 games though they had also exited the League Cup, Fulham beating them 2-0.

For the match, Palace issued their usual pocket-sized 20-page programme. No price on the cover nor any match details (those to be found on page three). Palace had been the first club to adopt this programme design in 1960 and it had been adopted by several other clubs (Swindon and Walsall to name two) but by the mid-60s all but Palace had moved back to a more traditional design.

It’s a very good read, however, with plenty coverage of club news, all the usual stats and league tables and even a team photo of the visiting club. Reasonable value for whatever it cost.

The centre pages are where the team line-ups can be found which also contain the briefest of pen-pictures on the opposing players. Kevin Hector’s signing seemed to coincide with the printer’s deadline, however, as his name has been hastily included right at the foot without even a shirt number against his name.

On to the match itself, then, and the Derby team had had to endure what was described as “a stomach-churning coach trip” of 55 minutes from the hotel to the stadium which seems to be reminiscent of that at the conclusion of the movie “The Italian Job” – Gordon Hughes and Ron Webster being especially affected by the swaying of the vehicle. Eight minutes in, Reg Matthews saved a John Dyson penalty and it was one-way traffic as the Derby midfield could not get a hold of the ball to feed Hector, who was asked to play a lone role up front (what might be described as a 4-5-1 formation today). Brian O’Connell hit the woodwork for Palace before, in the 18th minute, Steve Kember capitalized on a Phil Waller mistake to open the scoring. Just before the interval, however, Billy Hodgson, on one Derby’s rare forays into attack, lofted a shot over a crowd of players and into the net.

The winning goal came on 59 minutes, though it was highly disputed as O’Connell was deemed to have been played onside by a Derby defender and his cross found the unmarked Bobby Woodruff who steered the ball beyond Matthews. So, 2-1 it finished to Palace in front of a crowd of 17,617 but George Edwards, writing in the Derby Evening Telegraph, made some very prescient comments about the new boy’s debut.

“I have never been given to wild statements of optimism about Derby County’s prospects”, he writes, “nor those of individual players, but I feel confident that nobody will be disappointed once Hector settles in”.

I think it’s safe to say that nobody was.

One thought on “Programme of the Week Number 22 – Crystal Palace v Derby County 1966/67

  1. I didn’t go to that game but did the one after at home to Huddesfield. Zak scored his first gaol for us and a Alan Durban hat trick meant we won 4-3. I was amazed at Kevs speed and control something I hadn’t seed from a Derby player in the previous 12 years of watching the Rams. One thing that stands out that season was the number of players, signed by Tim Ward carried on playing under Cloughie. It goes to show what a good manager can do with players. Zak later got jaundice, I think, later and took some time to recover to his best but what a player. I also watched him come on in a testimonial, for Ted McMinn I think. Kev was nearly 60 then but still looked great and fit. Thanks for the memories.

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