With the comeback win over Dynamo Berlin complete, Nottingham Forest joined Real Madrid, Hamburg and Ajax in the draw for the European Cup semi-finals. When Brian Clough’s team were drawn to face the Dutch champions, assistant manager Peter Taylor did little to hide his delight.
“Frankly, we could not have had a better draw,” Taylor admitted. “It suits us fine, especially as we know more about Ajax than the other two clubs. I’ve been over to Holland watching players recently and consequently already know a good deal about them.”
At the start of the previous decade Ajax had swept to three successive European Cup wins. But the inevitable departure and retirement of players saw the club fade as a European force as the 1970s progressed. Now coached by Leo Beenhakker, Ajax were on their way to defending their Dutch Eredivisie title. But could they reach their first European final since 1973?
The draw had been kind to Ajax on their way to the last four. Thumping aggregate wins – 16-2 over HJK Helsinki and 10-4 against Omonia Nicosia – set up a quarter final with Strasbourg. Holding the French champions to a goalless draw away, a 4-0 win in Amsterdam emphasised the flair of the team.
With Danes Frank Arnesen, Soren Lerby and Henning Jensen in their starting XI, and the attacking threat of Dick Schoenaker and Tscheu La Ling, Forest coach Jimmy Gordon had been impressed by the Dutch champions as they disposed of Nijmegen 3-0.
“They looked a real class team, a smart moving side and very confident,” Gordon stated. “They did not have much to beat on Saturday, but when they went into overdrive they looked almost as good as Bayern Munich who beat us 5-0 in a pre-season friendly.”
Naturally, Forest would pose more of a problem than the vast majority of Ajax’s domestic opponents, and with Rudi Krol deployed as a sweeper in the first leg at the City Ground, Beenhakker knew the importance of staying in the tie: “We will be watching our defence, but it is also important that we try to score at least one goal to take to the second leg.”
Whereas the preparations for both legs against Dynamo Berlin had been testing, the lead-up to the two Ajax matches was slightly smoother for Clough and his players. Their away form continued to frustrate – 11 league defeats in 13 on the road – but home wins over Manchester United and Derby provided encouragement, the latter pushing their rivals closer to Division Two.
The fixture programme also provided a boost. Due to Arsenal’s involvement in their FA Cup semi-final, Forest had the rare luxury of a ten-day rest after the first leg. Sunning themselves in the United Arab Emirates on a two-match tour, the break was very welcome as another long season drew to an end.
The players made the trip in good spirits after a first leg win in Nottingham that brought the prospect of a second European Cup final that much closer. At first, Ajax looked composed, seemingly happy to settle into the same game plan as Dynamo Berlin, in terms of their man-to-man marking and desire to hit Forest on the break. But the goal scoring heroes in Berlin were about to shine again.
Trevor Francis opened the scoring after 34 minutes, slamming home from close range after a Forest corner had been flicked on to the post. “Trevor Francis gave us a superb 90 minutes, and it’s the best he's ever played for us,” Clough would later comment. For a man who had been struggling prior to the match in Berlin, the plaudits coming his way must have been a relief.
The Guardian’s David Lacey continued the praise. “Boeve trailed around Francis like a man being taken for a walk by a whippet. As Francis began to slip the leash with increasing regularity, so the Dutch team’s man-to-man marking fell into disarray, as this system of defence always will when one link in the chain disappears.”
The vital second goal came on the hour, via John Robertson’s 14th penalty of the season. Again, Francis was involved, flicking a pass from Stan Bowles – who had won the nod over Ian Bowyer in midfield – over the onrushing goalkeeper, leading to Kees Zwamborn handling in the box. Lerby would later test Shilton from long range, but Ajax rarely looked like grabbing a crucial away goal.
“I hope nobody’s stupid enough to think we’re already in Madrid,” a cautious Clough noted, prior to the return. “Ajax have a lot of skill and that always frightens me.” Taylor also sounded a warning. “We’ve got to have an entirely different approach to this match. Brian and I have had to stamp on signs of complacency after the first game and we've really been earning our money in preparation for the return match.”
Taylor mentioned the preparations for the trip to Amsterdam. Yet with for Clough, Taylor and Forest, this involved a slightly less conventional approach. Walking around the red-light district of the city and drinking in bars on the night before the match, the managerial duo knew this would relax their players. It’s safe to assume that this aspect of man management is probably not mentioned in any modern football coaching manuals.
Clough always loved his teams to play attractive football. But they were able to roll up their sleeves and dig in where necessary, as they demonstrated the previous year in the away leg of their first round match against Liverpool. The second leg of the semi-final in Amsterdam would follow a similar template.
The back four of Viv Anderson, Larry Lloyd, Kenny Burns and Frank Gray were solid, protected by skipper John McGovern, Bowyer, and Martin O’Neill in midfield. Ajax forced corner after corner, and constantly had Forest on the back foot. Yet Shilton remained untroubled for the majority of the evening.
Forest’s keeper was forced into fine saves from Karel Bonsink and Lerby free-kicks, but for all Ajax’s exertions the best chance of the match feel to Francis, who somehow steered his header wide at the start of the second half. This opportunity, and another chance Garry Birtles dallied over appeared crucial when Lerby headed in Ajax’s 15th corner of the evening in the 66th minute.
It was a case of weathering the storm. Although Ajax pressed immediately after the goal, Forest held firm, and the last 15 minutes of the match passed without too many scares. As the final whistle sounded, Forest may have lost their unbeaten away record in Europe, but astonishingly they were now in their second European Cup final.
Clough and Taylor had shown concern before the second leg. When news filtered through that Hamburg had overturned a 2-0 first leg deficit with a thumping 5-1 win over Real Madrid in Germany, it just went to show that the pair were right to be on their guard. Mind you, the duo could do no wrong back then.
“For Brian Clough and Peter Taylor to take a club with Forest’s modest background, and above all a club with Forest’s insultingly limited support, to the final of that competition two years in a row is an accomplishment that adds substantially to already considerable reputations.” Hugh McIlvanney’s words in the Observer were as accurate as ever.
Yet Clough and Taylor were not resting on their laurels, considering the job only half done. The latter stressed that they would like to put on a better display in the forthcoming final compared to their showing against Malmo in 1979. However, this would be easier said than done, as a key injury and a row involving Bowles would have a big impact on the build-up and tactics for the final at the Bernabeu.
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