Born in Forest Gate, just up Green Street from the Boleyn Ground, Cottee had joined the Hammers as a schoolboy and quickly caught the eye with his razor-sharp penalty box movement and clinical finishing.
The young striker scored twice in a 6-0 FA Youth Cup second-round thrashing of Folkestone Town on 30 November 1982, then a hat-trick in a 7-1 third-round thumping of Crystal Palace a fortnight later.
With Alan Devonshire and then Paul Goddard ruled out with injuries, December 1982 saw manager John Lyall turned his mind to the Academy of Football for reinforcements.
Eighteen-year-old midfielder Alan Dickens scored on his debut in a 2-1 First Division win at Notts County the week before Christmas, then Lyall handed Cottee his senior bow for a much higher profile fixture at home to Spurs a fortnight later.
Wearing the No8 shirt, Cottee played alongside Scot Sandy Clark and Belgian François Van der Elst in attack at the Boleyn Ground.
Spurs were without the experienced Graham Roberts, meaning the untested Giorgio Mazzen partnered Gary O’Reilly at the heart of their defence, and Cottee and his new teammates made the visitors pay dearly for his absence.
Just 25 minutes had gone when Geoff Pike delivered a free-kick, Joe Gallagher headed past Ray Clemence and against the Tottenham crossbar, and the teenage predator raced in to put the ball into the unguarded net.
It was the first of 146 goals Cottee would score in 336 appearances in Claret and Blue across two spells, ranking him fifth in the Club’s all-time charts below only Vic Watson, Sir Geoff Hurst, John Dick and Jimmy Ruffell.
A penalty from Ray Stewart and a goal from Pike midway through the second half made the final score 3-0 and over four decades on, the now 60-year Cottee looks back on his unforgettable debut with pride and delight.
Be the first to comment