Freak Draws, Broken Bars, And A Sunday To Remember

by John Kehoe

(First published in the August 2011 Athlone Town match programme)

Tonight’s visitors to the RSC , Athlone Town have, a bit like ourselves, a great tradition in the domestic game, although in the Midland side’s case they can outdo almost anyone in the League of Ireland longevity stakes, and they leave all trailing in their wake when it comes to foundation date. Only Shels and Bohemians started their League life earlier (and at that only one season earlier), and only Bohs come close to approaching the venerable age of a club formed in 1887.

Much of the past history is, of course, lost to the mists of time and the dry pages of the record books, but many here tonight will have memories of their own. From recent years to back in the day, of games seen or only read about, results marvelled at, antics laughed at, and players regarded highly, or somewhat less so, most of us will know something or other quite interesting about Athlone, it’s that type of club.

Many could argue the relative merits of St Mel’s Park, the Town’s spiritual home, and their new, modern address at Lissywoollen (though not me, to my shame, having never set foot in the former). And I’m pretty sure most will recall the bizarre series of results between our two sides in 2008, when the four meetings ended in stalemate each time. One for the statisticians to find out when that had happened before!

We’ve had a decent amount of shared players down through the years. Up to quite recently Athlone’s supporters played a team of club legends that included Donal Golden and Padraig Dully, and, of course, our seasoned veteran David Breen has most recently lined out in the blue and black. As regards the greatest ever Athlone player, some Blues fans will even be able to argue that one, whether it might be John Minnock, the flowing-locked playmaker who also starred in the wonderful Finn Harps side of the ‘70s; Eugene ‘Pooch’ Davis who scored the goals to win Athlone’s first League title in 1981, and who is still the 17th highest goalscorer in League history with 130 to his name; or the legendary Rod de Khors, three times a Town player in the ‘90s, the tough-tackling midfielder renowned for his exploits on and off the field, beloved by the fans and the subject of a terrace chant turned into a book, “Who Needs Cantona… We’ve Got Rod de Khors!”

How about goalkeeper Mick O’Brien, Athlone’s own Bruce Grobbelaar. A more than decent ‘keeper, with a long career in the League of Ireland, Mick will forever be remembered for an FAI Cup semi-final when Athlone played Finn Harps at Oriel Park in 1974. With his team being hockeyed and the game gone flat, O’Brien took to passing the time by swinging from his crossbar, and somehow managed to break the goalframe. Twice! Mick earned a red card for his trouble the second time, and the PA announcement earned a place in history: “Is there a carpenter in the ground?”

O’Brien should, of course, also be remembered for something altogether more worthwhile, keeping a clean sheet against the cream of Europe. For if ever one date stands out in the history of Athlone Town, it surely must be October 26th 1975. A second place finish in the League the previous season introduced the Town to the European stage, and the UEFA Cup Second round, that rewarded Athlone’s earlier vanquishing of Norwegian outfit Valerenga with one of the plum ties of the competition, brought the giants of the Italian game, including an eager young first team coach named Giovanni Trapattoni, to the Midlands. Questions and requests preceded the glitterati. Did Athlone have an airport and if so how far was it from the city centre? 90 minutes was the answer, (with big city traffic) about as long as it took to get from Milan airport to their city centre, and coincidentally about the distance from Dublin to Athlone! Can you reserve for us 20 telephone lines? The answer to that isn’t recorded, there was just the one into the ground.

The Italians fetched up at St Mel’s on a dreary Sunday afternoon looking somewhat nonplussed to be asked to negotiate the mud and puddles of the car park in their Gucci loafers and Armani trouser hems, and they looked even more phazed out on the pitch. Perhaps it was the surface, or the close proximity of the 9000 plus supporters, but the European aristocrats barely threatened O’Brien’s goal for the whole 90 minutes, as instead Amby Fogarty’s men made little of the gulf between them. In fact, when Terry Daly was cynically hauled down in the area after half an hour, St Mel’s should have been the scene of delirious celebrations. Instead John Minnock somewhat tamely chipped the penalty into the grateful grasp of Albertosi, and the chance was gone. Despite the Italian international being by far the busier keeper, the game, though remaining physically, ahem, “lively” throughout, soon settled into stalemate. Nonetheless, that cannot diminish what was one of the great European upsets of all time, and a wonderful result in Athlone’s history. Milan no doubt were quite content to ride it out and take the tie in the second leg, but they were also made to work hard for that two weeks later, with the game still scoreless on the hour mark. Three late goals, from Vincenzi and Romeo Benetti (2), eased the Rossoneri through, where they ultimately fell to Club Brugge, themselves vanquished by Liverpool in the final.