50 years on: Foggon recalls Fairs Cup final first leg

Alan Foggon joined United as a junior from West Stanley in 1965 and two years later signed professionally with the Magpies before the start of the 1967/68 season, making just one appearance during that campaign for the Black ‘n’ Whites, aged just 17, at Arsenal in February 1968.

For a while Alan looked like solving Newcastle’s problem wing position when he hit the First Division on a regular basis during season 1968/69. The teenager was a happy-go-lucky kid when he burst onto the scene, perhaps characterising the era; he was trendy with long flowing hair and had a somewhat untidy appearance on the field, socks down and shirt outside his shorts. But Foggon also showed he had ability to destroy defences with direct running at pace and he linked well with Wyn Davies and Bryan Robson in United’s attack. Alan, a former England schoolboy sprint champion, could play wide or inside, and was on the fringe of a regular place as the Magpies went on their Fairs Cup run.

“Beating Rangers the previous week had given everyone at the club a huge boost and the interest in the city in the days leading up to the game was incredible, like nothing I’d previously seen. Tickets were like gold dust and I remember they sold out in no time at all. At least more of our fans were able to watch this time unlike the Rangers game when their fans had most of the Gallowgate End.

The matchday programme from the game.

“As the league season had finished there were no distractions in the build up to playing on Thursday night, back then an unusual day to be playing. I think they made us play on the Thursday because Ajax were playing Milan in the European Cup final on the Wednesday. But hey, we didn’t mind.

“Joe Harvey told us a few days beforehand he was keeping the same team as had started the Rangers game which meant I was on the bench, hoping obviously to get the call at some point. I’d done well in games earlier in the season, and also scored in the home win over Manchester United towards the end of the season, so thought I had a decent chance of getting a slice of the action.

“To be honest we didn’t know that much about Újpest but the reputation of Hungarian football back then was pretty high and we knew they’d be highly technical skilful players. We’d experienced playing good sides like Sporting and Setúbal in previous rounds so knew what to expect. They’d also got past Leeds in the quarter finals so it was clearly going to be our toughest test of the whole campaign – it was the final, after all!

“Our build-up and preparation for the game wasn’t anything we didn’t normally do and that was right. Joe just wanted to keep things as low key as possible and in that respect he was spot on, even though it was probably our biggest game for 14 years (since the 1955 FA Cup final win at Wembley).

János Göröcs leads the Hungarian side out at St. James' Park.

“I do remember it was a really warm night and when kick-off came around we were as prepared as we were ever going to be. The anticipation, both amongst the lads and in the stands, was that this could be a really special night in Newcastle United’s history.

“We attacked the Leazes End in the first half and roared on by a frenzied crowd I thought we did OK without really getting on top. It was pretty tense and watching on I thought their two lads up front could cause us problems if we gave them any space. I don’t know what anyone else thought before the game but I would have been happy with any sort of advantage to take to Budapest with a clean sheet hopefully thrown in too.

“But we reached half time and it was still 0-0. The crowd were desperate for a goal but Joe, as he had done against Rangers when it was also level at the break, wasn’t panicking in the slightest and just emphasised the need to keep patient, keep our levels of discipline and a goal would come.

“Then after about 15 minutes of the second half I remember Wyn getting on the end of a free kick and when his shot was saved Bob managed to knock in the rebound. Joy was unconfined and even more so that it was Bob, who never scored, breaking the deadlock. I thought I might have got on soon after but just before I did, Bob did it again, this time playing a neat one-two on the edge of the Gallowgate box before beating their ‘keeper with a left footed drive from just inside the area. Jackie Sinclair was tiring, or he may have picked up a knock, but anyway Joe told me to go on and see if I could ‘create some more havoc’. I think he was happy with two but, like everyone else, they wanted more, especially as we were in the ascendency. Amazingly we got a third through Jim Scott with about five minutes left and then we thought we’d better ‘shut up shop’ as it would have been criminal to have conceded a late away goal. Even Joe was forced to admit after the game, which was unlike him, that ‘we had one hand on the cup’ and I guess all the lads felt the same.

Bob Moncur celebrates after scoring the Magpies' opening goal.

“It was incredible that Bob scored twice – you’d expect Scotty to grab us a goal but Bob! He was never normally far enough up the field to get a chance to score. But funnily enough it was a bit like when Vincent Kompany scored that blinder against Leicester the other week – the one that gave them a crucial three points in the title run-in. Well like Kompany, Bob – our captain – came up with the goods when it mattered most and all credit to him.

“In the end 3-0 was I think beyond what anyone of us could have imagined. The dream hadn’t been shattered yet and off to Budapest we went, just 90 minutes away from what we all saw as possibly being one of the most momentous nights in the club’s history.

“I’ve just come back from Budapest where Újpest had invited us to attend their match with Debrecen which would also mark their celebrations of reaching their only European final 50 years on. I went with Bob, Keith Dyson and John Craggs and I have to say their hospitality was second to none. The best part, and maybe the most nostalgic and emotional too, was when we went back to the stadium where we played the second leg and met up with virtually all of the Újpest team who we faced back in 1969. I was still the youngest, which was nice, but seeing these lads again on their home pitch was a memory that will last for a very long time.”

I won’t spoil the tale of the second leg for you, suffice to say I’ll leave that in the more than capable hands of captain Bob Moncur in two weeks’ time.

Newcastle United 3 (Moncur 63, 71, Scott 84) Újpest Dózsa 0

United: Willie McFaul, David Craig, Frank Clark, Tommy Gibb, Ollie Burton, Bob Moncur, Ben Arentoft, Bryan Robson, Wyn Davies, Jim Scott, Jackie Sinclair (Alan Foggon 75).

Manager: Joe Harvey

Újpest: Antal Szentmihályi, Benő Káposzta, István Bánkuti, Ede Dunai, Ernő Solymosi, Ernő Noskó, László Fazekas, Antal Dunai, Ferenc Bene, János Göröcs, Sándor Zámbó.

Manager: Lajos Baróti

Attendance: 59,234

Újpest
Football in Hungary right now may not be too highly regarded but back in the 1960s their club sides were amongst the best in Europe. This season, 1968/69, Újpest were runners-up to city rivals Ferencvaros, by just one point, but would then embark on a title-winning run that lasted seven seasons in a row. They were spearheaded by a strike force of Ferenc Bene and Antal Dunai and were a free-scoring side, hitting 102 goals in their 30 games, 37 more than Ferencvaros. They’d already knocked out Leeds in the quarter finals (who would go on to be English champions) and hit Turkish side Göztepe for eight in the two-legged semi-final. Backed by the communist Ministry of the Interior, the club was later reformed and known as Újpest TE following the downfall of the communist regime. Nowadays they are known simply as Újpest FC.

Match Facts:

• Bob Moncur hadn’t scored a senior goal for United in over six years since making his debut in 1963 but hit two on this warm and memorable summer evening against Újpest – and both with his left foot, not bad for a right-footed player.