Ipswich 10-0 Floriana: Ramsey’s Champions in Europe (1962)
Ipswich Town beat Floriana 10-0 at Portman Road on Tuesday 25 September 1962, the reigning champions of England against the champions of Malta in the European Cup preliminary round, second leg. The win took the tie 14-1 on aggregate. Ray Crawford scored five, Ted Phillips and Doug Moran two apiece and John Elsworthy one. Alf Ramsey had picked the team, and by 1963 he had gone to manage England. Ipswich Town have not entered the competition since that season.
Key Facts
- Tuesday 25 September 1962 at Portman Road, the 1962-63 European Cup preliminary round second leg, in front of 25,287, refereed by the Dutchman Andries van Leeuwen.
- Ipswich Town won 10-0 and led 6-0 at the interval.
- The goals came from Moran on 8 and 52 minutes, Phillips on 14 and 34 (penalty), Crawford on 28, 39, 44, 60 and 80, and Elsworthy on 54.
- The first leg in Malta on Tuesday 18 September 1962 finished Ipswich Town 4-1 Floriana, and the tie ran 4-1, 10-0, 14-1 across the two legs and aggregate.
- Ipswich were the reigning Football League champions, having won the 1961-62 First Division at the first attempt in the top flight.
- Floriana entered as the 1961-62 Maltese champions.
- Crawford finished the 1962-63 competition third in the scoring with eight goals, behind Jose Altafini (14) and Alan Gilzean (9).
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Ramsey’s Champions and Their Only European Cup
A Championship Side That Cost About £30,000
Ipswich Town were a Third Division South club when Alf Ramsey arrived in 1955. By the time the England job took him away in 1963 he had made them champions of Division One. Promotion in 1960-61 and the title at the first attempt in 1961-62 are the only reason they were in Europe.
That team cost about £30,000, with £12,000 of it going on Doug Moran, an inside forward from Falkirk. Roy Stephenson cost £6,000 from Leicester City and John Compton £1,000 from Chelsea. Crawford had come from Portsmouth in September 1958 for £6,000, and scored 143 league goals in 197 appearances in that first spell.
Sand, Lime and a Broken Nose in Malta
The first leg took Ipswich to the Empire Stadium in Gzira on Tuesday 18 September 1962, in front of 15,784. The pitch had been newly relaid with sand and lime, with rusty nails and sharp stones worked into the surface, so sliding tackles were dangerous. A reporter travelling with the club picked some of the debris off the pitch and brought it home as photographic evidence.
Ipswich Town won it 4-1, Crawford scoring on 7 and 48 minutes and Phillips on 30 and 81, with Floriana’s reply on 87, through the captain Pullu D’Emanuele, the only goal Ipswich conceded in the tie. Before kickoff Andy Nelson swapped tokens and flowers with D’Emanuele, and soon after the centre-forward Tony Cauchi caught him with a blow that broke his nose in two places. Nelson did not play in the return.
Six Before Half Time: How Ipswich 10-0 Floriana Unfolded
Moran opened the Portman Road scoring on 8 minutes and Phillips made it two on 14, and by the interval Crawford had scored three of his five to send Ipswich in six up. Two of Crawford’s goals were headers from Roy Stephenson crosses, and the penalty came after John Compton, the £1,000 full back, was fouled.
Four more followed the break: Moran on 52, John Elsworthy on 54 and Crawford on 60 and 80. Crawford left the pitch with seven for the tie and Phillips with four, from the two matches.
| Minute | Scorer | Running score |
|---|---|---|
| 8 | Doug Moran | 1-0 |
| 14 | Ted Phillips | 2-0 |
| 28 | Ray Crawford | 3-0 |
| 34 | Ted Phillips (penalty) | 4-0 |
| 39 | Ray Crawford | 5-0 |
| 44 | Ray Crawford | 6-0 |
| 52 | Doug Moran | 7-0 |
| 54 | John Elsworthy | 8-0 |
| 60 | Ray Crawford | 9-0 |
| 80 | Ray Crawford | 10-0 |
Ray Crawford’s Five, and the Claim Attached to It
Crawford was 26 and twice capped by England, at Wembley in November 1961 and April 1962, the second of them at 25 years and 265 days. His five goals are often cited as the first instance of an English-born player scoring five in a single European match, a distinction that remains unconfirmed. The broader version, five across a European tie, is wrong: Dennis Viollet, born in Manchester, had scored once at Anderlecht and four more in the 10-0 return six years earlier. The checkable record is his eight goals across the 1962-63 competition, third behind Jose Altafini of AC Milan on 14 and Dundee’s Alan Gilzean on nine, from four matches before Ipswich went out in November.
Ten Goals in a Week That Went Badly
Ipswich lost either side of the Floriana tie. Wolverhampton Wanderers beat them 3-2 at Portman Road on Saturday 22 September, three days before Floriana came to Suffolk, and Aston Villa won 4-2 in Birmingham on Saturday 29 September, four days after. The champions of England scored ten in midweek and took nothing from the league matches around it. The sequel was a 17th-place finish in 1962-63, closer to the football disasters we cover than to anything the 10-0 suggested.
Milan, Wembley and the End of the Adventure
The reward for beating Floriana 14-1 on aggregate was AC Milan in the first round proper: Milan won 3-0 in Italy, Ipswich won 2-1 in Suffolk in November 1962, and Milan took it 4-2 on aggregate. Milan then beat Benfica 2-1 at Wembley on 22 May 1963 in front of 45,715, so Ipswich Town’s European Cup ended against the eventual winners.
That 1962-63 run is Ipswich Town’s only European Cup entry. Ramsey went to England, Wolves paid £55,000 for Crawford in September 1963, and Portman Road has not staged a European Cup tie since AC Milan came that November.
READ MORE: More nights that changed a club’s history, in our On This Day series →
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) About Ipswich 10-0 Floriana (1962)
What was the score in Ipswich Town v Floriana on 25 September 1962?
Ipswich Town beat Floriana 10-0 at Portman Road on Tuesday 25 September 1962, in the second leg of a European Cup preliminary round tie. Ipswich had already won in Malta, so the aggregate finished 14-1. The crowd was 25,287.
Who scored in Ipswich 10-0 Floriana in 1962?
Ray Crawford scored five, Ted Phillips and Doug Moran two each and John Elsworthy one on 25 September 1962. The minutes were Moran 8, Phillips 14, Crawford 28, Phillips 34 (penalty), Crawford 39 and 44, Moran 52, Elsworthy 54, Crawford 60 and 80. Two of Crawford’s were headed in from Roy Stephenson crosses. Crawford also scored twice in Malta, seven in the tie.
Was Ray Crawford the first English player to score five goals in a European match?
It is unconfirmed. The claim follows Crawford’s five against Floriana on 25 September 1962 through Ipswich retrospectives, but no records compiler publishes such a list. What is on the record is his eight goals across the 1962-63 competition, third behind Jose Altafini on 14 and Alan Gilzean on nine.
When was the first leg of Ipswich Town v Floriana in 1962, and do sources agree on the date?
Yes. The first leg was played on Tuesday 18 September 1962, a week before the 10-0 return. Ipswich Town won it 4-1 at the Empire Stadium in Gzira, Malta, Crawford scoring on 7 and 48 minutes and Phillips on 30 and 81, with Floriana replying on 87 through their captain Pullu D’Emanuele, in front of 15,784.
Who was Ipswich Town’s manager for Ipswich 10-0 Floriana in 1962?
Alf Ramsey managed Ipswich Town for the 10-0 against Floriana on 25 September 1962. He had taken a Third Division South club in 1955 and left in 1963 with the First Division title on the board.
Where was Ipswich 10-0 Floriana played, and how many people watched it?
Ipswich 10-0 Floriana was played at Portman Road, Ipswich, on Tuesday 25 September 1962, with a crowd of 25,287. The referee was Andries van Leeuwen of the Netherlands. The first leg had been played a week earlier in Malta.
Was Ipswich Town v Floriana a preliminary round or a first round tie?
It was the preliminary round of the 1962-63 European Cup, the opening round that season, with Stade de Reims and Benfica exempt. Some record books run no preliminary stage and so list it as the first round instead.
Who were Floriana, and how did they qualify for the 1962-63 European Cup?
Floriana were the Maltese champions, having won the 1961-62 title ahead of Valletta. That took them into the competition, where the draw sent them to the English champions and a 14-1 defeat over two legs in September 1962. They were the leading side in Malta at the time.
What was the half-time score in Ipswich 10-0 Floriana on 25 September 1962?
Ipswich led 6-0 at half time, six of the ten goals coming before the interval: Moran on 8, Phillips on 14, Crawford on 28, Phillips from the spot on 34 and Crawford again on 39 and 44. The other four came between the 52nd and 80th minutes.
What happened to Ipswich Town after they beat Floriana 14-1 on aggregate?
Ipswich went out to AC Milan, 4-2 on aggregate, losing 3-0 in Italy and winning 2-1 at Portman Road in November 1962. That was the first round proper, following the preliminary round against Floriana. Milan beat Benfica 2-1 at Wembley on 22 May 1963 to win the trophy. The season that opened with the 14-1 win over Floriana ended in 17th place.
Has Ipswich Town played in the European Cup since beating Floriana in 1962?
No. The 1962-63 run is Ipswich Town’s only appearance in the European Cup or Champions League. That run reached the round after Floriana, where AC Milan won 4-2 on aggregate. Portman Road has not staged a European Cup tie since AC Milan visited on 28 November 1962.
Ipswich 10-0 Floriana (1962)
A team assembled for about £30,000 put ten past the Maltese champions, then lost to Wolves and Aston Villa either side of it. Crawford’s five and Ramsey’s move to England belong to the same short window. For more nights that were a high point rather than a beginning, keep exploring our On This Day series.
Sources: RSSSF, 11v11, Transfermarkt, UEFA, East Anglian Daily Times, Game of the People, englandfootballonline, National Football Museum, Pride of Anglia.
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