WITH Wanderers travelling to Tyneside on Saturday, Gordon Sharrock looks back on a previous visit to St James' Park when the Whites were locked in an epic FA Cup duel with Newcastle that drew an aggregate crowd of 139,245.

Wanderers denied in FA Cup replay

IT was advantage Wanderers when the Whites, then of the old Second Division, held First Division Newcastle to a scoreless draw in a nail-biting FA Cup replay on Tyneside.

The Geordies were favourites to reach the quarter-finals after drawing 3-3 in a thrilling first encounter at a packed Burnden Park. But a crowd of more than 50,000 saw Wanderers shut out the Magpies' prolific attacking duo of Malcolm Macdonald and Alan Gowling in a nerve-jangling replay that went to extra-time.

In fact, they went desperately close to winning it in the second half of normal time, when John Byrom and Neil Whatmore hit the woodwork.

Sadly, it was not to be. Newcastle, already in the League Cup final, won the second replay at Elland Road, 2-1 with goals from Mickey Burns and Gowling.

Garry Jones pulled one back to give injury-hit Wanderers a chance. But, for all their efforts, they couldn't get another.