Forty-seven years since Florida Albion came within one goal of history
Of the few players from that 1973 team still to reside in Roodepoort, Bertie Baard is the man who would don the goalkeeper gloves for the run to the final
Legends come and go, but sometimes the right set of circumstances align for just a few magical moments. The thrill of a knockout cup run is unparalleled, with those achieving the seemingly impossible immortalised in local lore.
In 1973, Florida Albion Football Club came within a whisker of joining an elite class of fabled names when they played in that year’s Castle Cup Final. Carrying the name of the tournament’s sponsor, the National Football League Cup was the segregation era equivalent of today’s Nedbank Cup that allowed teams from all divisions to have a crack at the professionals.
Of the few players from that 1973 team still to reside in Roodepoort, Bertie Baard is the man who would don the goalkeeper gloves for the run to the final. In front of him would be 21-year-old defender Stewart Lilley who would go on to have a stellar career with Highlands Park and later Atlanta Chiefs in the North American Soccer League.
Albion players began to believe that their cup run could have a fairy tale ending after beating Maritzburg FC 1–0 in the quarter-finals. The semi-final would see them beat Port Elizabeth City 3–0 in a two-legged tie before facing mighty Highlands Park in the final. Albion was the only second-division team of the era to make the final, and they were up against a professional team looking to secure a league and cup double.
However, a cruel twist would take place in the lead-up to kickoff, as Bertie recalled, “It was massively disappointing because the game was initially washed out. We would stay together as a team from the evening before to prepare, but on the way to the stadium on the Saturday we were told that it was off. It was rescheduled for the Monday evening but as semi-pros, we all had to work that day.”
The disruption would prove telling as Albion, who had not conceded a goal throughout their run, would fall short in front of almost 30 000 people at Rand Stadium, losing 1–0. “We got together for a lunch that Monday afternoon but it was hard to get as pumped for a second time,” lamented Bertie. Only 20 years old at the time, Bertie himself would wear the Highlands Park kit as well as have stints at Dynamos in Lenasia, and then closer to home at Durban Deep. He would also guide Florida Albion as chairperson for over a decade.
A non-racial league would be established in 1978, with 1977 Castle Cup winners, Lusitano, Wits University and Arcadia Shepherds taking the top three spots in that inaugural National Professional Soccer League. When pressed on whether he and the players and teams of his era could go toe to toe with the current crop, Bertie laughed heartily, saying, “Well, the older I get , the better I was”.
