| Fielding recalls 1983 cup victory |
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| Friday, 07 November 2008 | |
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MAYBE the number 13 had something to do with it. Player/manager, Paul
Fielding, wore the jersey as a substitute on the day. The former
Rochdale player stayed in room 13 in the team hotel on the night prior
to the historic F.A.I. triumph over Bohemians at Dalymount Park.
And, of course it was Fielding who banished the ill-luck and misfortune surrounding so many previous Cup Final heartaches by guiding Sligo Rovers to a never-to-beforgotten two-one win over the Gypsies on April 24th, 1983. by Michael Moran, courtesy The Sligo Champion "A lot of the lads were a bit superstitious. I remember that no one wanted to wear number 13 and no one wanted to stay in room 13. It didn't really bother me and thankfully things worked out for us," said Fielding. As he looks forward to the 25th anniversary celebration of Rovers first ever F.A.I. Cup win, Fielding also revealed some other interesting revelations from 'behind the scenes.' "There was a bit going on about the jerseys for one thing. We wanted to wear red and had new jerseys for the final. Bohs also had red in their normal home kit and obviously something had to give. "In the end, Bohs conceded that we could wear our red jerseys, if we allowed them use the home dressing room and we agreed. Again, being in the away dressing room didn't bother me," Fielding explained. So what did he say to his players before they went out to face the firm favourites ? "To be honest, I don't remember a lot of it, but I do remember we had a plan. We wanted to get tight on their centre forward, Jackie Jameson, and that was Chris Rutherford's job. We knew he was a danger. "We also wanted to look after Paul Doolin in midfield and were aware of their danger from set pieces. Unfortunately, Barry Murphy scored from a corner (in the 33rd minute) and I recall the ball going over my head at the post," added Fielding, who had been introduced as a substitute for the injured Rutherford in the 19th minute. "Even when they went ahead and we went in a goal down at half-time, I always felt we had a chance. Okay, they were in front, but they weren't dominating. It was fifty-fifty for a long time afterwards in the second-half. "We just regrouped at the break and we knew we were still in it," he contended. What transpired is now firmly etched in the folklore of the Showgrounds club and in the 58th minute, Rovers were level, thanks to a cracking left foot drive from the colossus that was Tony Stenson. "That set piece was planned, but not exactly how it turned out. From free-kicks and corners, 'Stennie' was to pull away to the far post for a header. On this occasion Martin McDonnell swung over a free from the left, but rather than the ball dropping on his head, it dropped at Tony's boot and he thumped it home," Fielding outlined. "When we got level I think it give us an added impetus and we pressed on," he added. The winner decorated what was rightly regarded as one of the best cup finals in memory and came in the 78th minute. "Marty was involved again. He picked out Harry McLoughlin in space on the left. I always knew Harry could do damage when he was given that sort of room and he had a great capacity for scoring some cracking goals. "He spotted the Bohs 'keeper (Dermot O'Neill) off his line and curled the ball in to the other corner. It was a fantastic strike," said Fielding. "Every minute after that felt like an hour in many ways. At that stage we were gone 'man to man' at the back. Bohs had some chances to equalise and our 'keeper, Colin Oakley, pulled off a great save to deny Donal Murphy and once I saw that I felt it might be our day and so it proved," he added. "The celebrations afterwards were fantastic. I knew when I first came to Sligo, what the cup meant to the people of the area. It was one of those things 'old men in bars' were waiting to see and talked about for years. "To be the player/ manager when Rovers won the cup for the first time was very special for me and it is something I will always remember," Fielding commented. He came to the Showgrounds as part of Billy Sinclair's team rebuilding process in 1976 and was a member of the side which won the League Championship for the first time in forty years in 1977. "It was great to win the league and that too was a special time for all of us involved. However, from a personal point of view the achievement of being the player/ manager who brought the cup to Sligo was very satisfying for me," Fielding acknowledged. Appointed in the wake of the departure of Patsy McGowan who returned to Ballybofey to take charge of Finn Harps, Fielding could never have envisaged what was in store when he took the reins at the Showgrounds as one of Rovers youngest managers. Prior to the league campaign, Rovers were left with just nine players and Fielding used his contacts in England to recruit Colin Oakley (Sheffield United), Andy Elliott (Man. City), Mick Graham (Bolton) and Keith Parkinson(Man.City). He also added Tony Stenson and Chris Rutherford and brought Graham Fox-a member of the '77 championship winning squad-back from Australia. Results in the league, however, saw Rovers finish in the bottom four. "Despite that, I always felt we might have a chance in the cup. We had a small enough squad and that was proven when we lost Gus Gilligan to an injury. "One-off games gave us a better opportunity of success," said Fielding. The first game in the cup brought a one-nil victory over Home Farm away, Andy Elliott converting the all-important penalty. A goal from Harry McLoughlin and a free-kick from Tony Fagan gave Rovers a quarter-final win over the 'old enemy', Shamrock Rovers, at the Showgrounds. The semi-final was straight from the script of 'Roy of the Rovers'. Cobh Ramblers were then a non-league team when they were given a chance of causing another upset in taking on Rovers at Flower Lodge. Ramblers took an early lead, but substitute Mick Graham rescued Rovers with an equaliser. "I honestly thought we were gone in that game. Mick came up trumps for us. He was recommended to me as someone who would score goals and that certainly was an important one," said the former player/ manager. The replay at the Showgrounds put Graham on the scoresheet again and a goal from Harry McLoughlin put Fielding's charges two-nil up, but Ramblers fought back and the following week the sides played out a scoreless draw. Sunday, April 17th, and the Showgrounds was packed once more. This time Cobh took a two-nil lead into the break , but Rovers second-half transformation was remarkable. Chris Rutherford headed two goals and in extra-time Gus Gilligan grabbed the winner. "I think those series of games made us stronger. I felt we were always better equipped to cope and it was also a help going into the final. The games made us sharper. "Going into the final we had players who weren't afraid to lose, if you know where I am coming from. We were prepared to give it a real go. "And, we had played Bohs relatively close to the cup final and had come from two goals down to draw with a semireserve side. "Of course Bohemians were the favourites and they had some good players, but we were determined to give it our all," Fielding added. He is now looking forward to renewing acquaintances with most of the players who wrote their names into history at the 25th anniversary dinner in the Radisson SAS Hotel, Ballincar, on November 16th next. "It will be great to get together again and to revive the memories of that great day," he said. *Paul is now operating the Sassi hairdressing and beauty retail and trade franchise at Teeling Street Sligo and in Mullingar. |
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