Spain made Ireland pay for venue folly

JOSÉ Armando Ufarte Ventoso was the man who broke Irish hearts in Paris 44 years ago but many still feel an own-goal by the FAI had sealed the side’s fate some weeks before.

Some say the match was originally scheduled for London or Goodison Park, others claim it was a toss-up between the English and French capitals.

Needless to say, London would have amounted to a virtual home game for the boys in green.

The story goes that the tie eventually ended up in Paris after the Spanish FA twisted the FAI’s arm with the promise that they could hold onto whatever gate receipts accrued from the ‘neutral’ venue.

Another version has it that the venue was decided on the toss of a coin but, either way, Ireland ended up playing their most important ever match in front of an estimated 30,000 Spaniards in the French capital.

Ironically, it was an own-goal that got us that far in the first place.

Ireland had originally been drawn in a group alongside Spain and Syria (no, we’re stumped too!) but the latter withdrew in support of a protest by African countries over the lack of qualifying slots afforded to their confederation.

That left only Ireland and Spain and the ‘campaign’ started well with a 1-0 win at Dalymount Park in May of 1965, with the winner coming courtesy of the luckless Jose Angel Iribar Cortajarena.

The goalkeeper palmed the ball into his own net with half an hour to play having been spooked by the onrushing Noel Cantwell who had thundered into him earlier and whom he subsequently described as ‘loco’.

The return in Seville five months later was a sobering affair.

Blackburn Rovers’ Andy McEvoy gave the visitors a 26th minute lead but a hat-trick from Chus Pereda and a goal from Carlos Lapetra Coarasa sealed a comfortable 4-1 win.

Goal difference was an alien concept in that era and so it was that the sides met for a third time two weeks after the second leg to decide who would advance to the finals in England the following year.

Though the choice of venue didn’t help, it was always going to be an uphill climb for Ireland. The sides had also met in the previous European Championship qualifiers with the Spaniards winning 5-1 at home and 2-0 on the road.

Spain went on to claim the European title on home soil in 1964,although they would lose to both Argentina and West Germany on 2-1 scorelines in Villa Park in the World Cup in 1966 and make their exit in the group stages.

A number of the Irish players spent the night before the play-off taking in a show at the Folies Bergère though Cantwell has gone on record to say that no alcohol was consumed by the players.

Ireland had some good ones at the time, men like John Giles, Shay Brennan, Noel Cantwell and Tony Dunne in Paris – a certain Eamon Dunphy also made his debut – but they struggled to contain their more illustrious opponents.

The killer blow arrived with just over 10 minutes to go courtesy of Ufarte who, at the time, played for Atletico Madrid. Ireland’s next experience of a play-off wouldn’t come around for another 31 years.

IRELAND: Pat Dunne (Manchester Utd), Shay Brennan (Manchester Utd), Tony Dunne (Manchester Utd), Theo Foley (Northampton Town), Noel Cantwell (Manchester Utd), Mick Meagan (Huddersfield Town), Frank O’Neill (Shamrock Rovers), Eamon Dunphy (York City), Andy McEvoy (Blackburn Rovers), Johnny Giles (Leeds Utd), Joe Haverty (Shelbourne).

SPAIN: Betancort, Rivilla, Olivella, Zoco, Reija, Glaria, Suarez, Ufarte, Pereda, Marcelino, Lepetra.

Referee: Pierre Schwinte (France).