When was the phrase ‘smash-and-grab victory’ first used in football? | The Knowledge

Plus: high-scoring Premier League games with no English-born scorer and club crests similar to logos

Mail us with your questions and answers

“Liverpool’s 1-0 win against Paris Saint-Germain last week was the ultimate smash-and-grab victory. When was the phrase first used in a football context?” poses our very own Niall McVeigh.

Liverpool’s win in Paris was smash-and-grab bingo. They were away from home, like all burglars. They were battered and their keeper had the game of his life, which made it feel like they had stolen a result they didn’t deserve. The match was low-scoring, which meant there was a single, sudden moment of smashing and grabbing. And that moment came late on, in the 87th minute, increasing the dramatic impact to Hitchcockian levels.

SMASH AND GRAB

Audacious thief sentenced

Sentence of 20 months’ hard labour at Clerkenwell today on William Woolley (31), labourer, for breaking the window of one of Messrs Straker’s establishments in the East End.

Prisoner’s practice, it was shown, was to deliberately smash shop windows with a stone, and then bolt with whatever he could grab from the window.

Continue reading…

About Author