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      PROGRAMME OF THE MONTH - OCTOBER 2014

Each month we take a look at an Albion ‘programme from the past’. A number of the programmes will be rarities, allowing a much wider audience to view them, perhaps for the very first time.

Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic v West Bromwich Albion, FA Cup Third Round, Dean Court, Saturday 8th January 1955

With Albion this month travelling to the south coast to take on Bournemouth in the Capital One Cup, our featured programme for October comes from the first competitive meeting between the two clubs back in 1955.

The Baggies travelled to Dean Court for a third round FA Cup tie and went into the game as cup holders, the club lifting the trophy for a fourth time eight months earlier.

After topping the First Division table at the beginning of October, Albion's form had dipped and Vic Buckingham's men went into the game with just one win from their last six games. Bournemouth meanwhile were sitting mid-table in the Third Division South.

The Baggies, who fielded eight of the side that had lifted the cup the previous year, struggled to break down a determined home side and it wasn't until the 60th minute that the visitors finally made a breakthrough, George Lee and Ronnie Allen combining to set up Stuart Williams who fired into the net from 12 yards.

The remainder of the match saw both sides have chances but there were to be no more goals, Albion had progressed but it had been anything but comfortable. After the game the general consensus was that the Cherries had merited a replay at least but it was not to be.

The cup holders would lose their grip on the trophy in the next round, suffering a 4-2 defeat at home to Charlton Athletic. It was not a good season for Albion, especially considering the previous campaign had seen the club go so close to completing the elusive league and FA Cup double. The Baggies would finish the season in a disappointing 17th place - their lowest top-flight placing since the club suffered relegation in 1938.

The line-ups for the Dean Court clash were:

Albion: Jim Sanders, Stan Rickaby, Len Millard, Jimmy Dudley, Jimmy Dugdale, Ray Barlow, Grenville Jones, Stuart Williams, Ronnie Allen, Johnny Nicholls, George Lee.

Bournemouth & Boscombe: Tommy Godwin, Laurie Cunningham, Ian Drummond, Peter Rushworth, Johnny Crosland, Joe Brown, Alistair Gunn, Brian Siddall, Ralph Hunt, Stan Newsham, Peter Harrison.

Attendance: 22,794

The programme is something of a rarity these days, copies selling for anything over £10 when they do appear.

View the complete programme here


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