Super Cup programme information

By Chairman Mao -

Merthyr Tydfil FC v Atalanta BC

European Cup Winners’ Cup first round 1987/88

Fittingly, given that Wales’s great footballing legend John Charles ended his playing days at Penydarren Park, the finest night in Merthyr’s history came against a club from Italy, where Charles made such an indelible impression with Juventus.

The reward for Merthyr’s third Welsh Cup triumph was a tie against Serie A side Atalanta. On a weather worn pitch, better suited to the Welsh side’s more direct style than Atalanta’s passing game, set-piece goals from Kevin Rogers and Ceri Williams secured a 2-1 home win in front of 14,000 delirious supporters. Away tickets for the return leg soon sold out.

“Half of Merthyr were in Italy, it seemed,” skipper Andy Beattie later recalled. The Martyrs went down 2-0 on the night – and exited the competition 3-2 on aggregate – but even defeat couldn’t dampen the travelling supporters’ spirits.

“Afterwards the players and the fans all went to the pub to celebrate – things like that don’t happen any more,” Beattie added.

Financial problems forced Merthyr into liquidation in 2010, but they have since re-emerged as Merthyr Town and now play in the Southern Football League Division One.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Trust no one by Chairman Mao

By -
Image
I’m hoping this article will provide a cathartic release from the whole Farnborough debacle, from the home club’s pathetic response to the attacks (there were notable exceptions of course), the initial reaction by the media, the ineffectual investigation by the Hampshire Police and the realization that justice on this septic isle is out of the reach of the working classes. I also want to put the record straight for those if you who choose to read this. What really happened on December 4th 2021. The annual “Christmas Jumper” trip was one of the highlights for Martyrs fans in any season; a chance to be silly, wear daft festive fashions, meet exiled fans and lately raise money for local charities. Some of the toys donated by Merthyr fans at Harrow in 2020 In 2020 hundreds of Merthyr fans donated toys for the fans on the Christmas Jumper to take to Harrow Borough to distribute to children affected by the Grenfell Tower disaster. As usual the people of Merthyr Tydfil rose to the occasio...
Read more

OBJECT LESSONS NO. 2

By -
Image
Following on from the recent post about how a Merthyr Tydfil AFC badge accompanied my journey through the highs & lows of secondary school education in our fair borough, a recent clear out of stuff from my house has brought a few more items of memorabilia from that era of youthful exuberance back into focus. The seventies wasn’t a bad decade to follow the Martyrs. It started with John Charles and that beautiful mauve & yellow football kit. Broken hearts against Hendon and Tooting & Mitcham too. It ended with the heartache of that midweek defeat to Burton Albion and no promotion but in between we had the Chesham United FA Cup disappointment. Penydarren Park was a lot different to the stadium we enjoy today. The ground was only two-sided with just Main Stand and Wank Bank providing any cover so behind each goal there was plenty of space to play football, tell tall tales and run wild. We watched both Match of the Day and The Big Match every weekend and marveled at the b...
Read more