On one side stood Crystal Palace, with legendary figures like John Jackson, Mel Blyth and Steve Kember in their pomp - but this was a challenge the like of which they had never faced.
At the other end were some of the greatest to have ever played the game, led on to the field by England's new knight, the World Cup winning manager Sir Alf Ramsey.
The reasons for celebration were twofold: Palace were opening the brand new Arthur Wait Stand – although at the time, it was simply called the 'New Stand', as it only later inherited the moniker of the then-chairman after his death in 1981.
The 'New Stand' was Selhurst Park's second to be opened, and featured 5,032 seats, with space in front for 8,000 standing.
Over the summer of 1969, Wait himself – making the most of his strong connections to the building trade – had arranged the contract for its construction, and even assisted with it himself.
But the match which opened itself was also celebrating the life of another Arthur to leave a profound legacy in South London: that of Arthur Rowe, who introduced an entirely new style of football to the club and laid the foundations for the journey up the divisions that followed.
