Bobby’s Highbury double caused his pal to crash his car

Bobby Thomson recalls his double strike for Villa against Arsenal in 1962.

Aston Villa boss Paul Lambert could do with his team achieving a surprise victory against Arsenal tomorrow night.

The Scot came under fire after his side were knocked out of the FA Cup by Sheffield United. A home win would definitely cause some surprise because the Gunners are unbeaten in 14 games at Villa Park.

Back in 1962, the Birmingham side recorded an amazing 5-4 triumph against the Londoners. It was a much-needed morale boost. They had recently lost their grip on the League Cup and been beaten by Spurs in the FA Cup quarter-final.

Dundee-born forward Bobby Thomson scored two of Villa’s goals at Highbury and recalls the scoreline causing a few shockwaves back in the Midlands.

He says: “I’ll never forget that game and not just because I scored two at Highbury. We had been 4-2 down and got a winner in the dying minutes from Tommy Ewing. The following week I heard it was a result that really took a friend of mine by surprise.

“He’d been driving up the Walsall Road when the results came on the radio. His heart sank when he heard the words: ‘Arsenal four’. And he was absolutely shocked when that was followed by: ‘Aston Villa five’.

“It was such a surprise that he lost concentration and crashed into the car ahead of him!”

Derek Dougan set-up three of Villa’s goals that afternoon, and most reports said it was his best performance for the club since joining from Blackburn for £15,000.

“It was quite surprising on two accounts,” Bobby continues. “Dougan didn’t generally like providing goals for other players. He preferred to score them himself.“Dougan also tended not to do much for us in away matches.

“The next time we played Arsenal at Highbury, they had young Scot John Snedden playing at centre-forward. I said to Derek he’d do well in the game. But I got the impression he didn’t fancy it, and he said he’d injured himself. I played at centre-forward instead and scored both goals in a 2-0 win.

“There are certain teams you’re always confident of scoring against. Arsenal was one for me and Leicester City was another.”

Villa finished seventh in season 1961-61 three places above Arsenal. Bobby believes the players of his era never knew when they were beaten.

He said: “We always had a real go. Even if we were 2-0 down, we’d keep attacking and fight hard for the full 90 minutes. Our manager, Joe Mercer, always said he never wanted to see anyone with their head on their chest.”

Bobby’s best known for his years with Aston Villa and Birmingham City, and still watches both clubs from time to time. He left the Midlands for Stockport County and finished his career with non-league Bromsgrove Rovers.

At the age of 76, he’s still putting up a good fight and has recently taken up karate!