1959/60 Series - Burnley v Blackburn
Saturday 12th March 1960
F.A.Cup Quarter Final Tie

Referee: Mr. J. W. Hunt
Linesmen: Mr. J. C. Meredith and Mr. R. Harper

Crowd: 51,501

Well here we are, the game that the whole of Burnley have been waiting for, our quarter final Cup tie against our beloved neighbours Blackburn Rovers. After last weeks very dour league encounter against Rovers, this game just had to be better and so it proved as it turned into an absolute cliff-hanger.

The first half was not much to write home about with both sides suffering from local derby nerves and cup tie tension, but it was Rovers that seemed to be handling it better with them having most of the first half chances.

Nobody in this massive crowd could have predicted what was about to happen in the second half. Right from the restart Burnley were on fire and within minutes Pilkington had the ball in the net to put the Clarets 1-0 up. A few minutes later it was 2-0 to Burnley as Pointer had scored from a fantastic jinxing run along the by line by McIlroy. Adamson was the next provider after hitting a long ball through to Connelly who crashed the ball into the net. Game over, 3-0, wahey, the Clarets followers were going barmy, semi finals here we come. We couldn't lose this one now could we ? mmmmmm.

From the resulting kick off to the third goal, Rovers looked totally dejected and beaten, uninterested, when suddenly, out of the blue, the referee blew his whistle and awarded a penalty to Rovers, the crowd were stunned, no way was that a penalty, McLeod had hit a hopeful shot towards the goal, the ball hit Elder on the boot and bounced up and hit him on the arm, PENALTY no way Jose, after much protest the referee upheld his decision and Douglas cracked the ball past Blacklaw. Now it was Burnley's turn to feel dejected and forlorn, the penalty goal had given Rovers a glimmer of hope and they definitely picked up their game. Dobing was next on the scoresheet when he scored from a very hopeful long range shot, which had left Blacklaw standing watching in amazement as the ball entered the net. Now with the score at 3-2 every single member of the Burnley team were showing signs of extreme panic, Rovers were now all over us, they equalised from a Matt Woods free kick, which McGrath managed to lash out a flailing boot connecting with the ball and the ball ended up in the back of the net off the inside of the post.

What on earth had happened 3-3 and in the dying minutes Rovers could have gone 4-3 up after going extremely close. Huge sighs of relief at the final whistle, total disbelief 18 minutes from a semi-final place, incredible. Games like this are what the Cup is famous for.

1959/60 Series - Blackburn v Burnley
Wednesday 16th March 1960
F.A.Cup Quarter Final Tie Replay

Referee: Mr. J. W. Hunt
Linesmen: Mr. N. Methley and Mr. G. E. Cartwright

Crowd: 53,892

The disappointment of Saturday's draw was soon forgotten as thousands of Burnley fans made the short journey to Ewood Park, extremely hopeful that the Clarets could still put themselves into the semi-finals. This confidence was proven to be unfounded though as the Clarets failed to show any of their recent good form at all. McIlroy through injury and Robson through illness had both had what only could be described as a mare, leaving Pointer as the lone striker who couldn't make things happen without the usual help. Unbelievably Burnley had managed to keep the far superior Blackburn Rovers at bay for the whole of 90 minutes.

With the game at 0-0 going in to the extra time period Dobing from a goalmouth scramble soon had the ball in the net to put Rovers 1-0 up. Burnley had now to throw caution to the wind to try and bag the equaliser, but tonight they just were not up to it, and from a breakaway Ally McLeod had the ball in the net to make the score 2-0 to Rovers and put the tie beyond any doubt at all. At the final whistle the travelling Clarets were totally dumbstruck, they could not believe Burnley were out of the cup. Heartbreak all round.