When Addicks beat the Bees 6-3 in the Cup

March 3rd 1946 saw Charlton beat Brentford 6-3 in the first leg of the Sixth Round of the FA Cup in front of a crowd of 40,060. The Addicks went on to win the second leg 3-1 and got to the final where they were beaten by Derby. The programme included a plaintive plea for clothing coupons for the players' kit.

The report in the Sunday Pictorial the next day said 'Charlton won because Brentford's defence cracked ... Brentford deserve praise for their determination ... Quick off the mark, quick into tackles, and slick in their passing, Brentford seemed set to give a lesson on how to play football on a sticky ground.'

'They realised that to get anywhere they had to swing the ball about. Charlton tried taking it for a walk with the idea of popping into the "local" - meaning the goal.'

'It didn't work until, by force of circumstances - a layer of mud sticking like glue to the ball - it became almost impossible to kick the ball more than twenty yards.'

'Why, then, did Charlton get away with it? Because their wing halves [midfielders], Johnson in particular, always had an idea - a scheme - to start an attack, and because their defence was always tightly packed when needed.'

Let's hope our midfield and defence is like that on Saturday!