The day of the Final was very hot and sunny. The team coach left their Watford hotel for the old “Twin Towers” arriving, as planned, at 1.45pm. With just over an hour to kill, both sets of players stretched their legs on the Wembley turf and greeted their fans, St. Helens supporters at the tunnel end. Then, back to the dressing rooms and the final preparations could begin.

The St. Helens Town team was Andy Johnston, Paul Benson, Paul Wilson, Barry Lowe, John Bendon, Marty Cummins, Tommy O’Neil, Jimmy Collins (sub. Mark Gledhill), Brian Rigby, Jay McComb and Phil Layhe. The manager was Alan Wellens.

Warrington Town, managed by Dave Taylor, were represented by John O’Brien, Kevin Gratton, Ian Reid, Gordon Hunter, Peter Copeland, Neil Cook, Stephen Hughes, Ian Kinsey, Derek Brownbill (sub. Jimmy Woodyer), Damien Looker (sub. Tony Hill) and Neil Whalley. Kinsey and Woodyer were former St. Helens Town players.

Warrington played in yellow shirts and blue shorts, whilst St. Helens appeared in blue shirts and white shorts. St. Helens Town’s usual colours were blue and white, right up to their move to Knowsley Road in 2000 when, in line with the formation of Sporting Club St. Helens Limited, the decision was taken to switch to red and white stripes. The referee was Mr. Trelford Mills of Barnsley.

The arrangements for the afternoon’s proceedings were set out to the minute by the FA. St. Helens had the North Dressing Room, Warrington the South. At 2.48pm precisely the players and managers were to leave the dressing rooms and assemble in the tunnel, followed by the referee and linesmen (as they were known then) and, on a given signal, all were to proceed across the field of play, St. Helens lining up behind a blue flag and Warrington behind a yellow flag. The teams then had to turn to face each other and stand ready for their presentation to the Chief Guest, Ted Drake. After the presentation, the National Anthem was played, the bandmaster having waited for a signal to begin and then the players could “kick about” until the referee called the captains together. The referee had to wait until Mr. Drake had taken his seat in the Royal Box.

So much for protocol, the game kicked off two minutes late but began at a breathtaking pace. St. Helens’ captain Tommy O’Neil, ex-Manchester United and 35 years old, set up the first goal after only 4 minutes when, after chasing Barry Lowe’s through ball, he crossed from the left to enable Phil Layhe to head home. Layhe himself crossed from the right four minutes later for Brian Rigby to stretch the lead to 2-0. Warrington played much better after the interval and Ian Reid reduced the arrears after 54 minutes. Phil Layhe restored the two-goal advantage shortly afterwards – his ninth goal of the Vase campaign – before Neil Cook scored for Warrington a minute from time to set up a tense finish. However, St. Helens hung on at the end and it was a proud Tommy O’Neill who climbed the 39 steps to receive the Vase from the former Arsenal centre-forward and Chelsea manager, Ted Drake.

Glyn Jones