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The quote is in ODQ 1st ed., but you need to index using 'pence'.

Would have struggled for longer but the missing “down” and “across” gave the game away early.
Clever that clues all avoided the important letter but it meant that “down” had to go too.
Unfortunately Pock had no way round this.

Great football result! Now back to puzzle. Got the quote and the device. Still stuck on 9, 17, 18, 20, 23 and 29. Also why not use the word “across”?

Yes, it was a great result -
9 - 'School' is an anagram indicator and the 'centres' of the two words (1+2 letters) go around the edges of the anagram part.
17 abbrev for 'Irish' inside (3 letter) 50's 'hooligan'
18 'Chooses' is a 7 letter synonym ('if you ...' = 'if you choose') minus the 2 letter abbrev for 'place'

20 - 'wrap' as in 'clothing' - a 7 letter word for 'brown paper' around T (non-thematic clue).
23 - 'Fancy woman' = 3 letter (Ir slang) word for a 'girlfriend' inside a seat of power (usually a Bishopric) reversed - the thematic letter at the front is missing from the wordplay - def = 'breaks' as in 'to cashier'.

Can somebody help me? What is Bradfords and how do I get a copy? I can do about one in four Listener puzzles ( this one is beyond me) and would like to improve.
Thanks

29 - It's Aussie slang - the 'infants' = a synonym relating to their very small size (pluralised) around N (non-thematic).

I think smithsax has already explained the 'across/down' problem the setter couldn't avoid.

I hope this helps - Im going back to the party now!

fgsltw no problem with across but down had to go so I guess across went out in sympathy.

The clue for 26 is quite fabulous. Not overly tricksy but charmingly neat.

Martyn, 'Bradford's' is Bradford's Crossword Solver Dictionary. Anne Bradford collects - and has done for many years - words, definitions etc that have appeared in crosswords. It's a great resource!