The Good - The Bad - The Ugly

[motty]

THE GOOD – THE BAD – THE UGLY.

 

Or

 

ALL ROADS LEAD TO ROME?

 

 

THE CRUSADERS - EUROPEAN CHAMPIONS CUP 1976

 

After successfully winning the league title culminating in a 3.1 away win at Wolves. Liverpool where entered into the European Cup. Our first round opponents were the Belfast part-time team the Crusaders, the first leg was to be played at Anfield with the return leg away in Belfast two weeks later.

 

First Round First Leg – Anfield 7.30 kick-off - 14 September 1976

 

In the build up to the inaugural game, it was suggested by the media that Liverpool would create yet another scoring record and that Norris McQuirter would soom be legging it back to Roy Castle with another record breaker. Obviously Bob Paisley and the rest of the backroom staff knew this might not be the case, and such talk was soon rubbished as everyone knew that what the Crusaders lacked in skill, they would more than compensate for this with a super human determination to succeed as a team.

 

The newspapers adopted Billy Johnston the Crusaders manager, as a sort of icon representing the underdog in this David versus Goliath encounter. He proudly boasted that his team would come to Anfield and defend for all there worth, he pinned his hopes on a tried and tested game plan which was introduced to stifle the Liverpool forwards. The talk of record making had quite clearly hurt those involved with the Crusaders, a low scoring defeat would in itself be a moral victory and dispel any need for the Guinness book of records. Containment was the key to any possible success.

 

On a cold, damp September evening walking up to Anfield the air was full of expectancy as we thought another goal scoring feast was in store, surely all this talk about containment and defending was just paper talk?

 

Once in the Spion Kop it was noticeable that this was not going to be a sell-out, the Annie road, Kemlyn and Main stands where very sparsely populated whilst the Kop was three quarters full. The “restricted” seats Kop end of the Main stand housed around 20-30 Crusaders supporters, the “banter” soon flowed as the Liverpudlians welcomed their counterparts from Belfast. On the pitch the Crusaders played to the expectations of Billy Johnston, as they “to their credit” silenced the home crowd and frustrated Liverpool’s flowing style of football. Very early on in the game we had a shot against the crossbar, this was to prove typical of the football we played that night.

 

After 20 – 25 minutes Liverpool where awarded a dubious penalty, after a foul on John Toshack, the spot kick was safely put away by Mr Reliable himself Phil Neal.

 

As the mist rose from the Spion Kop we celebrated in the way that only the Spion Kop could, whilst the Crusaders supporters continued to sing their heads off in the Main Stand. This is probably one of the most one-sided games of football I have ever witnessed at Anfield, as we watched a full 90 minutes of wave after wave of Liverpool attacks which saw John Toshack head in the only other goal of the night after an hour or so.

 

At the end of the game the Crusaders team walked up to the Kop and received an ovation to acknowledge their efforts and commitment.

 

To their credit, the Crusaders visited Anfield with the sole intention of not replacing Stromsgodset in the record books and to gain a respectable score line. They did succeed in this without having a single shot at goal or gaining a single corner kick. The only time they came out of their own half was to change ends at half-time.

 

Walking out of the Kop that night, we clapped the now standing Crusaders supporters stood directly above us in the Main stand, you have to give credit were its due. As you may imagine, the national press took great satisfaction in ridiculing Liverpool’s performance the days that followed. On the bus home a couple of the lads complained about the score line “That was shxte, fancy only beating a load of part time no-marks two nil”…………… “We won didn’t we, what’s your problem?” I replied. A heated discussion then took place as questions where asked about individuals loyalty to the redmen.

 

Liverpool 2

Neal (penalty 18) Toshack (65)

 

Ray Clemence

Phil Neal

Joey Jones

Tommy Smith

Ray Kennedy

Emlyn Hughes

Kevin Keegan

David Johnson

John Toshack

Ian Callaghan

 

Crusaders 0

 

Roy McDonald

Bob Strain

Jeff Gorman

Walter McFarland

Bob Gillespie

John McPolin

George Lennox

Ron McAteer

Paul Kirk

Drew Cooke

George McCann

 

Attendance 22,442