In May 1967, George Lamont scored the goal of his life.
Playing in front of 26,000 at Auckland’s Carlaw Park, the 23-year-old forward struck his shot past Manchester United goalkeeper Alex Stepney.
He leaped into the air, waving his arm in joy, before receiving the congratulations of his teammates.
The NZ Herald reported Lamont’s description of the goal, Auckland’s only success in the 8-1 defeat to the visiting English champions:
“Arthur Stroud, our goalkeeper, threw it out to me and I took it on for about 20 yards before I passed to the left to Ray Mears.
“He beat a defender all up and crossed to Mark Burgess. With his back to the goal, he passed to me and I put into the roof of the net.”
For 55 years, Lamont had to rely on his memory and match reports to treasure the goal he scored, in the same game that George Best scored twice.
On Wednesday July 27, 2022, Lamont was finally able to watch his goal again. He watched it in the company of Friends of Football members and guests who attended a reunion of surviving members of the Auckland and New Zealand squads who faced Manchester United.
READ MORE: Click here to read about the reunion >>>>
The goal features in a digitally-converted recording of the Auckland game. Original footage had been in the collection of the late Arthur Stroud, goalkeeper for the two games.
With the help of Stroud’s sons Alan and Neil, Friends of Football have been able to make the footage available for future generations to enjoy.
… and there’s more
The following are more than 12 minutes of highlights from the two games played by Manchester United in New Zealand — their 8-1 win against Auckland and their 11-0 win against a hastily-assembled New Zealand team.
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