It was the biggest game in Watford’s history to date; the night when a club record attendance crammed into Vicarage Road to see if a Division Three side could stun European champions Manchester United and a team containing Best, Charlton, Stiles and Law to reach the fifth round of the FA Cup.

Ken Furphy’s side had already performed heroically to secure a 1-1 draw at Old Trafford in the initial tie on Saturday, January 4, 1969 when Stewart Scullion’s screamer had been cancelled out by Law’s equaliser.

The replay was due to be played the following Tuesday, but was postponed until Monday, February 3 when 34,099 somehow packed inside the ground, resulting in the pitch-side fence being broken and some crush barriers buckling under the weight of numbers.

Watford Observer:

More than 34,000 packed inside Vicarage Road for the tie

Sadly for the majority of those inside the ground, Denis Law gave Sir Matt Busby’s side the lead after 30 minutes before completing the 2-0 victory two minutes from time.

Watford Observer:

Authorities struggle to deal with the numbers of fans

Watford’s response to the defeat? They thrashed Rotherham United 5-1 the following Saturday – a much more modest 10,681 were inside Vicarage Road for that game – and went on to win the Division Three title.

Watford Observer:

George Best tries to get through the Watford defence

Some of these pictures from that night may not have been published for many years. We hope you enjoy the opportunity to look back on a famous night in Watford’s history from more than 50 years ago.

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Watford Observer:

Aerial action from the FA Cup fourth round replay

Watford Observer:

Watford Observer:

Denis Law, who scored both of United's goals, has a shot

Watford Observer:

Some of the crush barriers buckled under the weight of numbers

Watford Observer:

The fence around the pitch was broken