The first of a series that will last as long as our cup run this year, today we turn the clocks back to 1976 and our home win against Blackpool.
After Saints had surprisingly beaten Aston Villa on their own patch in an extra time replay in the 3rd round, their reward was a home tie against fellow second division side Blackpool.
This was no easy task, Blackpool were a decent side back in those days in that division, indeed in the three games Saints had played them since being relegated, two away defeats and a home draw had been the result. So although Saints started favourites the result was certainly not beyond doubt.
Blackpool brought down around 700 fans for the tie played on 24th January 1976 and the crowd of 21,553 was slightly disappointing given the result in the previous round but still around 3,000 above the eventual season's average, back in those days FA Cup ties tended to see bigger crowds than most league games.
Saints would start with 10 of the side who would play the last tie of this season at Wembley a few monts later, the only change being Wembley sub Hugh Fisher in for Paul Gilchrist.
The game started at a cracking pace and Saints had had several opportunities before Mick Channon opened the scoring in the 5th minute, Saints kept up the pressure but ironically like Saints of late, as half time approached they hadn't turned that pressure into more goals and it needed two cracking saves from Ian Turner to make sure that they kept their slender lead going into the break.
But the lead was doubled shortly after the break, Blackpool made a hash of a free kick in the Saints half and Mick Channon, he headed off towards the Blackpool goal hotly persued by opposing players who had no choice but to hack him down rather than let him get one on one with the keeper, from the resulting David Peach free kick Peter Osgood missed an easy header, but there was Bobby Stokes to steer the loose ball home.
In the 67th minute the tie was safe when Channon headed a David Peach corner home to make it 3-0, Blackpool pulled one back on the stroke of full time, but overall it had been an impressive display and the supporters left the Dell looking forward to the next round and feeling that a good cup run was on the cards after all second division Sunderland had won it three years earlier, second division Fulham had reached the final in 1975, so why not another club from that division, back then the top of the second division could match most teams in the top flight.
So who was the hero of perhaps the easiest passage Saints faced in any round that season, Ian Turner deserves a mention for the two quality saves, Mick Channon would be an obvious candidate scoring two goals and starting the move that lead to the third, but perhaps the man of the match would be David Peach, for the first goal he showed how an overlapping full back should operate, perhaps before the term was coined, buy storming down the wing and putting in a inch perfect cross for Channon to head home, he then put in the free kick, again inch perfect for Ossie that lead to the second and it was his corner that provided Channon again with the header for the third and final goal.
If Davis Peach was playing now he would be worth millions, a full back who could do it all, defend, get forward, cross with accuracy and from a dead ball situation he could find a Saints player pin point, not to mention his record from the penalty spot that would start in the semi final but that is another story.
Those who attended this game might not remember Peach as the hero, at the time he was certainly unsung, but in the days before assists for goals were not recorded he was deadly and as has been shown he provided all three in this round.
Here we look at the fine book All The Saints for more information on David Sidney Peach, born in Bedford on 21/01/1951 he celebrated his 63rd birthday this week, he was Lawrie McMenemy's first signing after being promoted to full first team manager and went on to give the club 6 years sterling service playing 221(3) league games and scoring 34 goals, 21 (1) FA Cup games with 6 goals, 20 League cup games with 2 goals and 5 in the European Cup Winners Cup again with 2 goals, he also played another 11 games in other tournaments.
He is one of only two players to play in two major cup finals at Wembley for Saints, the other being Nick Holmes, ironically both scored in Saints 3-2 defeat to Nottingham Forest in the 1979 League Cup Final.
ot to mention his record from the penalty spot, after taking over the duties from Mick Channon in the FA Cup semi final he would go on to score 24 out of 26, becoming the highest ever scoring full back for not just Saints but the football league as well
Whilst at the Dell he won 8 under 21 caps an England B cap and toured South America with the full England squad although he didnt get a game.
Strangely his career at the Dell ended very abruptly, in 1979/80 he appeared to be in the peak of his career, up till Xmas all was going well including the aforementioned England B Cap, then something changed, he couldnt get back in the side after injury and in March 1980 he was sold to third division Swindon for £150,000 a very strange move given that with Kevin Keegan being announced for the following season Saints were putting together a solid team.
Lawrie McMenemy must have rued selling him, apart from the goalkeeping spot the weak link in the side for 80/81 was left back, Peach was never replaced satifactorily.
After a move to Orient he finished his career and moved back to the area, he still lives in Lymington having played for and managed many local non league teams and he continues to work in the building trade as he has done for a number of years now.