“I couldn’t believe it, my beloved Hull City were up against Georgie Best, Bobby Charlton and Denis Law. That’s like having Messi, Ronaldo and Mbappe in the same team,” Kelly recalled on the BBC’s Sporting Witness programme.
Former Hull City player Frankie Banks said: “It was a massive game, playing against Manchester United, who two years earlier had won the European Cup.
“The atmosphere was electrifying.
“The Man United players were our heroes. On paper we didn’t stand a chance. We wanted to win, we wanted to prove to everybody that although they were the best side probably in the world we could go out and give them a game.”
And that is exactly what they did, taking the lead on 11 minutes through Chris Chilton before Law pulled one back for United in the 78th minute to send the game into extra time. As the clocked ticked down on the additional half-hour, players realised they were about to be part of something historic.
“[Hull player-manager] Terry Neill obviously asked for volunteers and some of the lads were reluctant to step up and take the penalties and some were brave enough to step up and say ‘I’ll take one, I’ll take one and I’ll take one’,” said Banks, who was not on the team sheet that day but was at the game.
“Nobody wants to be the one that misses.”
And, in particular, no-one wants to be the first player ever to miss in a shootout.
However, Best was happy to go down as the first player to score, sending his right-footed shot low into the left corner.
For Hull City, Neill became the first player-manager to score in a shootout, helping keep the score level at 3-3.
“It was still anybody’s game and the noise was deafening,” said Banks.
But then, in a moment that countless big-name players to come would experience through the decades, Law saw his low shot saved by a diving Ian McKechnie.
“For ever and ever, Law will go down as the first man to miss in a penalty shootout and McKechnie will go down as the first goalkeeper to save a penalty in a penalty shootout,” said Banks.
Ken Wagstaff then missed for Hull and so when Willie Morgan scored for United, Hull knew they had to convert their final kick.
And that was when McKechnie became the first keeper to take a penalty in a shootout.
“Please, not him,” Kelly remembers thinking. “I couldn’t believe it, my mum couldn’t believe it, even Alex Stepney the Man United keeper couldn’t believe it and actually asked him what he was doing up there. I had my head in my hands!”
McKechnie stepped up and blasted a powerful strike… against the upper side of the crossbar. And with that, he became the first keeper to miss a penalty in a shootout.
“I still maintain that Ian McKechnie was the right choice – he had a sweet left foot – and he had the guts to do it. I’d have put money on him to score,” said Banks.
“Missing that penalty stayed with Ian for the rest of his life.”
