JOHN Minnock and a friend were in the Nuts Corner public house six years ago after an Athlone Town game in the First Division.
The pair were studying the horses and Minnock’s companion came upon a fancy. ‘Wait ‘til I put on my glasses’ said Minnock.
Two soldiers were in having a quiet pint at the next table.
‘It’s a pity he hadn’t the glasses on when he took that penalty against AC Milan!’ quipped one .
It’s 41 years ago now, but it is a kick that has haunted John Minnock since.
A missed penalty against AC Milan that could have given humble little Athlone Town a win over the mighty Italians.
“It was good banter. In fairness how could you answer that?” said Minnock of being reminded of the incident.
This weekend, Minnock’s son, Jonathan – Finn Harps’ record appearance holder with 485 games for the club – will play for Letterkenny Rovers against Athlone Town in the FAI Senior Cup.
[adrotate group=”64″]Although Athlone have since moved from St Mel’s Park to Athlone Town Stadium, it is a game that will rekindle the memories in the Midlands.
The Minnock link is just one strand that binds the clubs.
When they played Milan in 1975, Amby Fogarty was the Athlone manager and his assistant was Letterkenny’s Eunan ‘Busty’ Blake, who would take over as manager in early 1976.
Former Charlton midfielder-cum-forward Minnock was signed by Athlone, who paid £2,000 to bring him from England.
On the final day of the 1974/75 season, Minnock smashed a free-kick past Cork Hibs to seal a 1-0 win for Athlone that saw them pip the Munster men to second place in the standings – and with it a ticket into the UEFA Cup.
[adrotate group=”65″]The draw pitted them against Norwegian opposition, in the form of Valerengen.
Goals from Eugene Davis (2) and Paul Martin handed them a 3-1 win at St Mel’s while Martin netted in Norway to secure a 1-1 draw.
Officials gathered in Zurich the following morning for the draw for the next round.
Among the possible opponents for Athlone were FC Porto, Liverpool, Roma, Lazio and Barcelona.
[adrotate group=”41″]They were in with the big boys.
The draw drew gasps: Athlone Town versus AC Milan.
“The biggest thing to happen since the Earl of Lucan burned down the town’s bridge in the 17th century,” reported the International Herald Tribune.
The contrasts were startling. Athlone were accepted into the League of Ireland – along with Finn Harps, as it happens – in 1969, the same Milan won the European Cup.
In their first season in the League of Ireland, Athlone won a Leinster Senior Cup.
Milan, though, were winning an Intercontinental Cup – which effectively meant they were Champions of the World.
All of a sudden, little Athlone’s Leinster Senior Cup didn’t seem such a hot win.
Milan contested successive Cup Winners Cup finals in 1973 and ’74, winning it in ’73.
Their goalkeeper was the legendary Enrico Albertosi, winner of the European Championships with Italy in 1968 and who played in the 4-1 defeat to Brazil in the 1970 World Cup final, when Pele, Jairzinho, Gerson, and Carlos Alberto beat him with four of the most famous goals ever scored.
[adrotate group=”42″]Athlone also had a legendary figure in goal.
Mick O’Brien rose to fame in 1974 when, during an FAI Cup semi final against Finn Harps at Oriel Park in Dundalk, he broke the crossbar with Athlone trailing 2-0.
‘Is there a carpenter in the ground?!’ wondered the PA announcer. Harps went on to win 5-0 and O’Brien got sent off for his trouble. The incident was featured on ITV’s ‘Big Match’ and on the BBC’s ‘Celebrity Sports Quiz’.
Three days before Athlone were to face Nereo Rocca’s Milan, they took on Cork Hibs in the League of Ireland.
With time almost up, and the score at 1-1, Athlone were awarded a penalty.
[adrotate group=”62″]John Minnock stepped up and drilled home the winner.
An AC Milan spy was in position at St Mel’s taking notes.
He circled three words upon his notepad: ‘bottom left corner.’
Three words that would haunt Athlone, and Minnock, even 41 years on.
Milan, for their part, came to Athlone on the back of a 1-1 draw with Bologna.
The Italians – for whom Giovanni Trapattoni was on the backroom team – arrived and were surprised and bemused when they got sight of St Mel’s.
[adrotate group=”43″]They played at the San Siro.
St Mel’s Park’s stand could squeeze in 200 people – and it was a squeeze! – but the overall capacity of the venue was increased to 9,000 for the game.
The image of Milan’s players welcome to St Mel’s Park was wonderfully captured by journalist and Athlone Town supporter Declan Lynch in 2005.
“Of the many harrowing images which drew the attention of the world to their plight, perhaps the most poignant is that of an Italian star in his beautiful long coat and his superbly-tailored suit and his lovely, lovely shoes, stepping gingerly off the team bus and tiptoeing though the muck at the grand entrance to St Mel’s, watched by a few locals in woolly Athlone hats, who had never seen such finery,” Lynch wrote.
Half-an-hour into the game, the unthinkable happened.
Terry Daly burst into the box, but was caught late by Nevia Scala and the referee pointed to the spot.
“Pauric (Nicholson) would have taken the penalties, but he was out of the team for a while and we got a few so I took them,” Minnock remembered.
There was no debate where he would put it: ‘bottom left corner.’
“I just went with what I was used to. I felt confident enough,” he said.
Albertosi dived low to his right and beat the ball away for a corner.
Minnock cursed to the heavens.
https://wwwyoutube.com/watch?v=gLc40Ew3lD8&spfreload=5
He said: “They’d had a scout watching us playing the previous weekend. I’d got a penalty and had a habit of putting them to the ‘keeper’s right.
“So, when it came to the kick against Milan, Albertosi was nearly down waiting on it. Now, I didn’t hit it great, but he saved it anyway.”
The game finished scoreless and, two weeks later in Milan, Athlone held the Italians for another 63 minutes before Francesco Vincenzi eventually broke the deadlock. Two more from Romeo Benetti sealed Milan’s progression with a 3-0 win.
Athlone’s journey was over.
But they never forget their memorable draw with the mighty AC Milan – nor the moment when Albertosi foiled Minnock from a kick that could have gunned down the Rossoneri.
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