A BRITISH NON-LEAGUE CLUB REACHES UNCHARTERED TERRITORIES

First Round

First Leg

Fredrikstad 1-1 Bangor City

Norwegian cup holders, Fredrikstad, who included two internationals in their squad, were Bangor’s first opponents in their return to Europe. Bangor fielded former Welsh international, Dai Davies and ex-Tranmere pro, Mark Palios in a line-up which also included City stalwarts, Bruce Urquhart, Phil Lunn and Neville Powell. City were now managed by ex-Welsh international John Mahoney. In the first leg at the Frederikstad Stadium, played on September 18th 1985, the home side posed very few problems for City, and Dai Davies had very little to do in the Bangor goal. In a scrappy game that was little fun for the neutral observer, Bangor created most of the chances and eventually fought to a 1-0 lead with a 60th-minute diving header from Everton Williams. Bangor threw everything at the Norwegians to kill the game off, but the home defence remained annoyingly stubborn, and City paid the price three minutes from the final whistle when Deunk headed in an equaliser which Frederikstad really didn’t deserve. A tough-tackling match saw Gerry Banks and Gary Evans booked, and although Bangor had deserved a victory, the crucial away goal was at least some consolation as it meant that City were now the favourites going into the second leg.

Second Leg

Bangor City 0-0 Fredrikstad

A crowd of just under 3,000 turned out at Farrar Road on October 2nd for the second leg. It was a transformed Fredrikstad who took the field and they piled on the early pressure, trying to make the most of the driving wind and rain behind them, knowing full well that it would be against them in the second half. The Norwegians may have felt unlucky not to score after hitting the woodwork twice, but Bangor slowly reasserted themselves and got back into the game. Bruce Urquhart and Reg McGuire both had shots cleared off the line and Everton Williams also came close. As the final whistle drew nearer, Frederikstad took more and more gambles, knowing that they had to score, and threw caution to the wind. Bangor were hemmed in by the increasingly desperate Norwegians, and in a rare counter-attack Reg McGuire was left with a red face when he miskicked just six yards out from the visitor’s goal. Urquhart also went desperately close. The match finished goal-less, and that Everton Williams header in Norway proved priceless, as City went through to the second round on the away goals rule, and into the history books as the only British non-League club ever to progress past the First Round of a European Cup competition.

First Leg

Bangor City 0-2 Atletico Madrid

With the ban on English clubs due to the Heysel Stadium disaster, the media spotlight was placed on Bangor City as the sole remaining British participant in European competition. Bangor’s opponents were the Spanish League runners up and former World Club Champions, Atletico Madrid. They were a very powerful club at the time, whose squad included Argentinian World Cup-winning keeper Filliol, Uruguayan international Jorge Da Silva and a host of Spanish stars. In order for the match to go ahead at Farrar Road, a huge amount of work had to be carried out on the stadium in a very short space of time to bring it up to UEFA recommendations. This included fitting an eight-foot high metal fence around the perimeter of the pitch. The work was completed with time to spare and, on October 23rd, close to 6,000 spectators packed into a much-improved Farrar Road Stadium hoping for a repeat of the 1962 Napoli success. Atletico looked calm and confident, and after only five minutes it was Da Silva who put the visitors ahead. A Setien strike 20 minutes later put Atletico firmly in the driving seat. Many neutrals watching the match expected the floodgates to open, but Atletico chose to sit back and relax, confident in their supremacy. However, in the second half, this confidence started to turn to complacency, and City were very unlucky not to score through a Mark Palios header, as they continued to pile the pressure on their illustrious Spanish opponents. Atletico’s expensive strikeforce rarely got a look in during the second half, but City just couldn’t make their possession count against such a classy side. At the final whistle, the accomplished Atletico team had done the job, and were firm favourites to increase their lead in the second leg.

Atletico Madrid 1-0 Bangor City

Pundits inevitably expected Atletico, one of Europe’s strongest sides, to slaughter City in the second leg, but the Blues put on a performance in the Estadio Vicente Calderon Stadium against all odds and really annoyed the bookmakers. Atletico didn’t rest on their laurels, and apart from a couple of changes due to injury, fielded a full-strength side in order to put on a display to remember for their fans. However, City defied the experts with a superb defensive display that received a standing ovation from an appreciative Spanish crowd – especially after Dai Davies’ 38th-minute penalty save. City won themselves many admirers on the day and it took a brilliant free-kick from former Barcelona striker Jesus Landaburu in the first half to separate the two teams at the final whistle. Having weathered a relentless onslaught from Atletico, City could have scored themselves through Les Armor and Mark Palios, whose shot from outside the area hit the crossbar. City ended their European adventure being applauded off the pitch and although not getting on the scoresheet, local striker Viv Williams was the target of a surprise move by Atletico Madrid, who offered a rumoured £10,000 for his services, but the transfer deal later fell through.