WREXHAM AWAY - FA CUP REPLAY. 1978
By Brian Hall
Aye. That night definitely fitted the old football
phrase – but how will he look on a cold, dark, rainy
night in February? Except this did not involve some
continental, overpaid superstar, who had looked
canny in August. Unfortunately, it
involved me!
We had held the mighty Wrexham at
home to a 2-2 draw in the FA Cup,
and thus, we had to go down there to
finish the job off, come away with
the win, and play Blyth Spartan in
the 5th round of the cup at SJP. Well,
that was the script, like.
But often, our NUFC scripts do not
exactly go according to plan.
It all started quite well for me. Having gone back to
Liverpool - I was based there at the time, studying,
allegedly, and after being up hyem for the home tie,
my own mission was obvious, to get from Merseyside
and over into North Wales for the replay when it
came around. This cost me, as alongside beer and
entry into their ground, I had to find a mate at
University with a car who was willing to drive me
there and back. He was not a Mag, so I made him an
offer that I would cover his petrol, his pies, and give
him some beer money.
The journey was shite, although not as shite as the
longer one made by most of the rest of the 5,000
NUFC army. The road system was crap, and it took a
good three hours to get there. Things picked up,
though, quickly, as I met up with some of our lot who
had already reached the Welsh town. The usual
happened – wild, chaotic pub scenes, familiar faces
catching up with each other, some pathetic little
attempt by 2 locals and a dog to try and have a go at
the Geordie Army, and then it was off to pile into the
ground.
But then things started to gan very badly wrong.
Naturally, it was pissing down, so we were soaked.
We often sang Singing in the Rain, so we were not too
bothered about that. What we were alarmed about
was the utter crap we were watching on the pitch
itself. Our manager, at that time, was Bill McGarry, a
blundering buffoon who thought he was a RSM in
the Army. As the mighty Wrexham hoyed in their
third goal, to which later they would add a fourth, we
all booed our players.
The game was up, you see, in more ways than one.
Not one of that team gave a shite about
the match. And not a jot about so
many Mags who had travelled to
support the NUFC from all kinds of
directions.
After the match, we all trooped out.
Naturally, met briefly – and I stress,
briefly – by a few locals trying to
have a go at us. I don’t wish to go
into details on that angle, really. But
I can detail the journey back to
Liverpool for me. The lad driving
was shocked by the early support of the thousands of
Mags down there. He had never seen anything like it.
And he was even more astonished at just why we all
travelled around to watch such stuff.
The explanation was simple and direct to him.
Cos that it what we do, Barney, I think I said
during that generally quiet and miserable car
journey back to my flat in the Anfield area of
the Scouse City.
25
One consolation would have been if Blyth Spartans
had beaten Wrexham in that 5th Round tie, held to a
packed house at SJP. They had a good bash, earned a
replay even, and a couple of my mates went down
there to it. Not quite to be, though.
And the other consolation? That would have been if
Bill McGarry and the board had recompensed most
loyal and passionate fans that the world has ever
seen. Including the petrol money that I had forked
out, that never happened, like.
Did it all put me off being a Mag, and an away Mag
at that?? Think you know the answer!!!
PS
That away match only competes with Wigan
away in 2005, in relation to most gut-wrenching
games in such situations. That one saw 6,000 of us
down that Lancashire town on a night in the League
Cup. We had our first team out; they had 1 first
teamer playing. Mmm, but as they say, that is quite
another story. Keep th