1971 Watney Cup
| Watney Mann Invitation Cup | |
| Country | England Wales |
|---|---|
| Dates | 31 July – 7 August |
| Teams | 8 |
| Champions | Colchester United (1st title) |
| Runners-up | West Bromwich Albion |
| Matches played | 7 |
| Goals scored | 23 (3.29 per match) |
| Attendance | 84,788 (Expression error: Unrecognized punctuation character ",". per match) |
The 1971 Watney Cup was the second edition of the Watney Mann Invitation Cup, a short-lived invitational association football tournament.
It was won by Colchester United, who beat West Bromwich Albion in the final at The Hawthorns.[1]
Background
The Watney Cup was introduced in 1970 to help increase the competitiveness of pre-season fixtures. Its name was a result of a sponsorship from brewing company Watney Combe & Reid. The tournament featured eight invited teams, with two selected from each division of the Football League. Those chosen to participate were the top two highest scoring teams from each division who had not gained promotion nor earned a place in a European competition the previous season.[2]
Format
The competition was a straight knockout tournament, with games that ended level going to extra time. In accordance with new IFAB rules at the time,[3] penalty shoot-outs were used to determine a winner if scores were still even after an additional 30 minutes of play.[4]
Teams
|
|
|
|
Tournament
Quarter-finals
| Wrexham (3) | 1–2 | West Bromwich Albion (1) |
|---|---|---|
Semi-finals
| Colchester United (4) | 2–0 | Carlisle United (2) |
|---|---|---|
| Halifax Town (3) | 0–2 | West Bromwich Albion (1) |
|---|---|---|
Final
| West Bromwich Albion (1) | 4–4 (a.e.t.) | Colchester United (4) |
|---|---|---|
Cantello  16'Astle 30', 89'Suggett 34' |
Report | Mahon 8', 67' Simmons 32'Lewis 86' (pen.) |
| Penalties | ||
| 3–4 | ||
References
- ↑ "Watney Cup results". stevesfootballstats.uk. Retrieved 17 July 2025.
- ↑ "Innovation at its finest: The Watney Cup". taleoftwohalves.uk. 13 July 2025. Retrieved 17 July 2025.
- ↑ "The Long Walk: The History of the Penalty Shoot-Out". FIFA. 30 October 2022. Retrieved 17 July 2025.
- ↑ "The Watney Cup". footballsite.co.uk. Retrieved 17 July 2025.
Template:1971-72 in English football
This article "1971 Watney Cup" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:1971 Watney Cup. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.
