Their success in the 1972 Football League Cup Final, had placed them into a European competition for the first time, and they drew little known West German side 1. FC Kaiserslautern in the first round. A comfortable 3–1 home win was achieved in the first leg and two weeks later Waddington favoured a defensive team for the match at the Fritz-Walter-Stadion. The plan backed fired and Stoke were crushed 4–0 with John Ritchie being sent-off just seconds after being brought on as a substitute without even touching the ball.