Final Amateur hour

It was in June 1972 that Cliftonville Football Club made the switch from Amateur to Professional status and a quick glance at the team’s form in the preceding season points to one of the reasons why.

With just three wins from 41 fixtures, the Reds exited every Cup competition at the first hurdle and finished rock bottom of the Irish League table.

The unshakeable team spirit that existed among Kevin McGarry’s squad was perhaps best demonstrated ahead of the December 27 encounter with Derry City when, after 17-year-old Norman Dillon had failed to report for duty as kick-off approached, the Manager instructed Harry Kennedy to get kitted out instead.

Just before the action commenced, however, Dillon suddenly arrived and explained that he had been forced to hurriedly secure a taxi because his car had broken down, to which Kennedy reacted by handing over his jersey and wishing the youngster the best of luck.

“It could only happen here,” said McGarry (main image, on the training pitch), who also revaled that striker Davey Cairns had rejected three overtures from the Professional ranks.

“Dave politely told them that he was perfectly satisfied at Cliftonville and didn’t care to accept the offers.”

Continuing a retrospective series examining noteworthy seasons in the Club’s history, cliftonvillefc.net today reflects on the facts and figures behind a term that changed the course of the Reds’ history.

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Ulster Cup
P11 W1 D1 L9 F13 A23

Cliftonville’s form in the season-opening Ulster Cup was, sadly, a portent of things to come throughout ar arduous campaign.

Indeed, it was not until their fifth fixture – a 2-2 draw with Portadown – that defeat was avoided, with their sole win from 11 outings coming courtesy of a 3-0 victory over Ards on September 14, while their inerest in the competition was brought to an end with a 2-1 loss to Distillery on a day that Martin O’Neill scored a goal that the News Letter said “had to be seen to be believed”.

City Cup
P5 W0 D2 L3 F1 A13

Things didn’t improve when attentions turned to the City Cup, where the Reds suffered three defeats from five games; goalless draws with Crusaders and Derry City proving exceptions to the rule, while the only goal the team managed to score came in a 7-1 thumping by Glentoran.

Irish League
P22 W2 D4 L16 F19 A64 Pts8

The League programme commenced with a 4-0 home defeat to Coleraine, with Glenavon (1-2) and Ards (0-2) inflicting further reverses before the Glens dished out another mauling, 0-6 on this occasion.

December delievered a slight improvement in form courtesy of draws with Bangor (2-2), Distillery (4-4) and Derry City (2-2), however losses against Crusaders and Ballymena United – the latter of which occurred on Christmas Day – meant Cliftonville’s long wait for a win would stretch into the New Year.

Indeed, it was not until January 29 that McGarry’s men picked up maximum points from a game, when goals from Michael Rooney and John Peacock earned a 2-1 triumph over Bangor (above) just a fortnight after an 8-1 hammering by the Seasiders’ North Down rivals, Ards.

Distillery were beaten 2-1 in mid-February, but that was the team’s final victory in any competition for the rest of the season, with just a single draw (0-0 at home to Ballymena) breaking a run of seven losses from eight games which saw the campaign end with a 5-0 defeat by Linfield in a ‘home’ game at Windsor Park.

Irish Cup
P1 W0 D0 L1 F0 A3

By this stage, it should come as absolutely no surprise that Cliftonville’s Irish Cup exploits lasted all of one game; a 3-0 loss to Portadown in a week that saw the Reds twice defeated by the same scoreline at Shamrock Park.

County Antrim Shield
P1 W0 D0 L1 F1 A3

Another failure at the first hurdle, with Chimney Corner this time inflicting a 3-1 reverse at Solitude.

Gold Cup
P1 W0 D0 L1 F0 A3

Can you see a pattern emerging here? Cliftonville travelled to Windsor for another ‘home’ tie with Linfied, who duly inflicted a 3-0 loss.

Post-Season Friendly
P1 W0 D0 L1 F0 A1

Cliftonville travelled to the Isle of Man for a May 27 friendly with Castletown, against whom their miserable form continued in the form of a 1-0 defeat.

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In Review
Cliftonville finished bottom of the 12-team Irish League table, one point behind Bangor and 25 off Champions Glentoran.

The Reds conceded a total of 109 goals across the campaign, compared to just 34 scored.

Goalkeeper Harry McKibben topped the Club’s appearance charts with 38 outings from the Reds’ 41 fixtures in all competitions, just ahead of nearest challenger Bertie Fulton on 37.

Davey Cairns’ 10 goals saw him end the 1971/72 term as Top Goalscorer, with Eddie Connor’s four the next best tally.