Ronnie Radford

Ronnie Radford, scorer of one of the FA Cup's most famous goals in the 1971/72 season for Hereford United in their 2-1 win over Newcastle United, ...

“It makes me sad when people talk about the Cup losing its magic. “It felt good the moment it left my boot – like the sweet spot on a cricket bat or a golfer's tee shot. The goal came in an FA Cup third round replay, after Southern League part-timers Hereford had held Newcastle to a 2-2 draw at St James' Park. She would have found out who scored soon enough – it's on TV every year when the Cup comes round, and it never grows old. It is widely considered one of the biggest giant-killings in the competition's history. “It was a magical time,” said Radford.

Radford's goal for Hereford to knock Newcastle out of the FA Cup is remembered as one of the competition's greatest moments.

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HEREFORD United legend Ronnie Radford – who scored the iconic goal against Newcastle in 1972 – has died aged 79.

Were you at the game? You will either own or have permission to use anything you provide. What are you memories of it?Yes. Contribute to this online book of condolence after the sad death of Hereford United legend Ronnie Radford. Hopefully the team will do Ronnie Radford proud. We can never repay what those boys did for us the Bulls family. "Contribute to this online book of condolence after the sad death of Hereford United legend Ronnie Radford. This one occasion and moment has given endless pleasure over a lifetime. If Newcastle had won it, the match would have been shown for about three minutes on Match of the Day. I had been in radio, and they kind of borrowed me for a year if you like to see if I made out. Love you top man." His reaction to the goal was: "Oh what a goal!

Hereford FA Cup hero and former Newport County player Ronnie Radford has died at the age of 79, Hereford have announced. Radford wrote himself into the ...

Rest in peace, Ronnie." RIP, Ronnie." [Together Stronger: How Gary Speed built on Welsh football's foundations before tragic death](https://www.walesonline.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/together-stronger-how-gary-speed-25413506) [Wales World Cup squad will be announced in front of locals at a Rhondda welfare hall](https://www.walesonline.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/wales-world-cup-squad-announced-25412825) [In search of George Baker, the forgotten 1958 Wales World Cup squad member who never made it onto the plane](https://www.walesonline.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/search-george-baker-forgotten-1958-25261251) [Dafydd Iwan's World Cup song features 70,000 Wales fans' voices recorded from hidden microphones](https://www.walesonline.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/dafydd-iwans-world-cup-song-25395310) [Gareth Bale given final chance to prove World Cup fitness after playing just five minutes in five weeks](https://www.walesonline.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/gareth-bale-given-final-chance-25394004) He spent three years with the club and will always be synonymous with one of the greatest shocks in FA Cup history when, after the Bulls had earned a replay against the Magpies at Edgar Street following a 2-2 draw on Tyneside, he played a pivotal role in a famous victory. "We will always keep Ronnie close to our hearts at Edgar Street, not just at FA Cup moments, but forever and celebrate him and his huge role in propelling Hereford United to the forefront of the nation's attention with that goal and being part of that team. "Ronnie is not just a part of Hereford United folklore, he is a part of football history and has kept Hereford on the football map since 1972.

Radford wrote himself into the competition's history with a stunning strike as the then Southern League club knocked first division Newcastle out of the FA ...

Rest in peace, Ronnie." Rest in peace Ronnie." "We will always keep Ronnie close to our hearts at Edgar Street, not just at FA Cup moments, but forever and celebrate him and his huge role in propelling Hereford United to the forefront of the nation's attention with that goal and being part of that team.

NON-LEAGUE Hereford United and FA Cup legend Ronnie Radford has died aged 79, it has been confirmed.Radford scored one of the most iconic FA Cup goals.

"Ronnie is not just a part of Hereford United folklore, he is a part of football history and has kept Hereford on the football map since 1972. "We will always keep Ronnie close to our hearts at Edgar Street, not just at FA Cup moments, but forever and celebrate him and his huge role in propelling Hereford United to the forefront of the nations attention with that goal and being part of that team. "It was goal of the month and then goal of the season on Match of the Day in 1972. Devastated Hereford released a statement, celebrating the life of "friendly and modest" Radford. It was just a spontaneous outpouring of excitement and joy from the Hereford faithful. "Like a perfect golf drive, or a six off the middle of the bat in cricket, the ball sat up for me and I connected with it perfectly.

Radford became a Hereford hero when his stunning goal knocked first-division Newcastle out of the FA Cup in a third round replay in February 1972.

What a goal!" The goal is also remembered for John Motson's "Oh, what a goal! Radford became a Hereford hero when his stunning goal helped the non-league side knock first-division Newcastle out of the FA Cup in a third-round replay in February 1972.

THE former Hereford United legend and Worcester City player-manager Ronnie Radford has died at the age of 79.

RIP to the scorer of one of the most iconic goals in FA Cup history.— Emirates FA Cup (@EmiratesFACup) — FA Cup Factfile / Phil Annets (@FACupFactfile)— FA Cup Factfile / Phil Annets (@FACupFactfile) Will forever be associated with the Magic of the

It was a 35-yard piledriver on a wintry quagmire of a pitch and it ignited possibly the most famous Cup giant-killing of all time, by non-League Hereford ...

Yet he became at least as celebrated as many of his more illustrious contemporaries, as a result of a single, seismic swing of a boot. But he was a quality player. 'Then we got some friends round to watch Match of the Day.' After growing up in South Elmsall, near Pontefract, he had been on the books of both Sheffield Wednesday and Leeds United, and later played professionally for Cheltenham Town and Newport County. He was a typical down-to-earth Yorkshireman, a very modest man who never craved or expected publicity. BRIAN VINER: Ronnie Radford was your typical, modest Yorkshireman who never craved the limelight...

Cheltenham Town officials and supporters were deeply saddened to hear that former Robins player Ronnie Radford had passed away yesterday at the age of 79. Ronnie was, of course, closely associated with Hereford Unite for his famous FA Cup goal in 1972 ...

Ronnie scored an equalising goal four minutes from time with a long distance drive that was captured on BBC Match of the Day and voted Goal of the Season. Following relegation from the Premier Division in 1969 on goal average Ronnie was among several of the better players to depart the club. After one season playing as an inside-forward for Rugby, during which he continued to live and work in Cheltenham, Ronnie returned in the summer of 1966 and was voted player of the year in his first season back.

Footballer whose remarkable goal for Hereford United earned him an ecstatic reaction from fans and a part in FA Cup folklore.

“After the match, me and Annie stopped off for fish and chips and ate it in front of Match of the Day,” he said. Radford stayed at the club until 1974, after which he had a short spell as player-manager at Worcester City and then played for Bath City, where an achilles tendon injury ended his career at the age of 33. Taking up joinery full-tme, he remained there for the rest of his life. “It was quicker in the Football League, but my fitness levels improved with full-time training and it was a good experience,” he said later. After two seasons at Newport, during which he appeared 68 times, he plumped in 1971 for a transfer to part-time Hereford, allowing him to be nearer home and to pick up with his joinery again. He was barely into his sojourn there when the club went on a terrific FA Cup run, progressing all the way from the qualifying rounds to within theoretical breathing distance of the final at Wembley. There was a short interlude with Rugby Town in 1965, but he soon returned to Cheltenham, spending another three seasons there and clocking up 318 appearances until Fourth Division Newport County signed him for £1,500, giving him his first experience of higher-level football. Although he could never have imagined it, the switch to Hereford also quickly thrust Radford into the spotlight. “At the time I didn’t even think about the distance to the goal,” he recalled. As Radford arced across the sodden surface with arms aloft, hundreds of youthful Hereford pitch invaders engulfed him in a scene of such delirious ecstasy that it has become as much a part of the folklore of the FA Cup as the Radford’s glorious strike allowed Hereford to essay one of the greatest ever cup giant-killing feats with a 2-1 win that was sealed by a goal from Ricky George in extra time. But he was typically modest about what has often been described as the best ever goal in the

His thunderous long-range equaliser during non-league Hereford's 1972 humbling of top-flight Newcastle is probably the most famous goal in the Cup's history.

“That pitch invasion was an eruption of spontaneous joy. He told me: “Ronnie was a typical, good-natured, down-to-earth Yorkshireman. Motson said: “That was one of the greatest moments in FA Cup history and it was also one of the best moments of my life — because once that goal hit the back of the net, my career took off. That it was scored by an unsung part-timer in a third-round replay against one of the mightiest clubs in the land gets to the essence of the competition. And that it was greeted by a pitch invasion from an army of ecstatic supporters in Parka jackets, while others hung from floodlight pylons, made it an authentic moment of small-town euphoria. That it happened on an old-school swamp of a pitch makes it the stuff of peak nostalgia.

Danny Cowley has paid a fitting tribute to Hereford United legend Ronnie Radford, following news of his passing this week.

'I can remember watching the FA Cup and him always being on the BBC reels as the game was introduced. 'When I personally think of the FA Cup, which, to me, is the best cup competition in the world, that is a moment that I would go to immediately.’ [BBC](/topic/bbc) – Cowley passed on his condolences to Radford’s and the people of Hereford.