LINFIELD 2 CITY 1
(2-2 on aggregate City go through on away goals)
European Cup Winners Cup 1st Round 2nd Leg
30th September 1970
Attendance 24,000
scorers
City Lee(7)
Linfield Millen(4 & 56)
Ref Bill Gow
City Corrigan, Book, Pardoe, Doyle, Jeffries, Oakes, Summerbee, Bell, Lee, Young, Towers – Subs Bowyer(19), Mulhearn(unused), Connor(unused), Donachie(unused), Hill(unused)
Linfield Humphries, Frazer, Patterson, Andrews, McAllister, Bowyer, Millen, Magee, Hamilton, Sinclair, Cathcart
JOE CORRIGAN REMEMBERS – …Linfield are the Rangers of Belfast, and so we were on our way to a loyalist hot-bed at the height of the troubles in Northern Ireland. To make matters worse there had been Secretarian violence on the streets and several high profile incidents between the British army and the IRA in the days leading up to the match.
Let’s just say there was a very intimidating atmosphere inside Windsor Park, which was incidentally packed to the rafters. The Northern Irish people love their football and they were vociferous in their support.
…With only one goal to pull back the excitement boiled over and things began to turn nasty. Behind my goal, bottles and other missiles began raining down from the terraces and the people throwing them made no secret of their intended target : ME. It was unnerving to say the least and Linfield manager Billy Bingham had to come out and plead with the fans not to force the game to be abandoned.
…Eventually we were able to resume. Linfield played out of their skins, winning 2-1 on the night, with only a Franny Lee penalty ensuring we squeezed through on away goals.
…The crowd trouble took the focus away from a fantastic performance by Linfield and I don’t believe they got the credit they deserved for the victory.
I heard a teenager had been shot by security forces after running through a roadblock while we were there and that seemed to have heightened the tensions. We were relieved to get on the plane and fly home straight after the match. In fact we had an armoured car escort us to the airport and I believe there were SAS officers on the coach.
An excerpt from Big Joe: The Joe Corrigan Story by Joe Corrigan & David Clayton
the goal scorer of Linfields two goals was Billy Millen.
Anyone aware of any known fotage of the game please.
Mullen scored in the 3rd minute when he intercepted a backpass to Corrigan. Windsor Park erupted, but Francis Lee equalised two minutes later with a low shot across the goalkeeper from 20 yards which bounced over goalkeeper Derek Humphries diving hands in the bumpy pitch. The winning goal from Mullen early in the second half was a direct free kick from Millen low into Corrigans right. It resulted when Corrigan mis kicked a goal kick after bottles were thrown at hoping and he had to come outside the box to foul a Linfield player. I was 16, and I remember it like it was yesterday. What a fantastic night. We should have put them out.
24,000 at Windsor Park in those days wasn’t packed to the Rafters.
This was the first time I seen City play and so many England international players I was 14 and in those days lifted over the turnstile
Joe said it was a Franny Lee penalty, but I remember him putting it in from about a yard with his chest? Am I mistaken or is my mind playing tricks on me? I was 14 at the time.
I remember near the end Linfield’s Des Cathcart got his toe to the ball just ahead of Corrigan but it trickled just past the post.Also, after the game the City players came up for a drink in the players bar area but Malcolm Allison came in and ordered them out saying they didn’t deserve a drink after being outplayed by part-timers
. Rip Colin Bell.
City manager thought they were out of the cup but their away goal got them through! They boat trip back to Belfast after the first leg was the worst I have ever experienced the boats propeller was more often out of the water than in it