Harry McCourt winner against Lokomotiv Sofia bridges 30 years gap for Derry City in Europe

Little did he know that 30 years later in August 1995, he would be the main protagonist as Derry once again tasted victory in a European tie, bringing back a flood of memories from that unprecedented win against the Norwegians!

It was worth the wait as, this time, Felix Healy’s talented part-timers knocked Bulgarian outfit, Lokomotiv Sofia off their perch in a 1-0 win, causing a shock in the first leg of European Cup Winners’ Cup tie.

No one had given Derry the slightest chance of getting a result but, thanks to McCourt’s strike, the Foylesiders were only 90 minutes away from yet another historic achievement.

The gifted forward admits the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end only twice during his career, when he first donned the Candy Stripes shirt in Terryland Park on his debut on December 1994 when he scored twice in a 4-1 win and when he later won the FAI Cup with his hometown club at the end of the 1994/95 domestic season.

However, he ranks that ‘special’ moment when he scored the winning goal against the Bulgarians in the Cup Winners’ Cup in front of a packed Brandywell right up there on his list of top footballing memories.

Harry was little more than two years-old when Derry trounced FK Lyn of Oslo 5-1 on home soil but he was more than familiar with the stories from that famous night.

“It was definitely special,” said McCourt, now aged 52. “I always remember the stories. You always heard them from the older fellas when you went out to have a pint with them, even at that time, Ivan Parke and Jimbo Crossan, they always talked about the FK Lyn game.

“I was only a baby when that happened but I remember hearing all the talk about it growing up. That’s what you grew up with.”

And so to emulate those City stars of yesteryear caused a major sensation at the time.

“We didn’t win the tie but it was great to even win the first leg. You look down the years and you have ‘Hargy’ (Sean Hargan) in Gothenburg and then Gretna, so maybe it gave the club a bit of confidence that we could go on and win an odd game in Europe and compete.

“To be honest the hairs stood on the back of my neck on two occasions when I was playing football. One was when I put my jersey on down at Terryland Park for my Derry City debut and the second was when we got to the FAI Cup Final and were standing out in front of the crowd.

“But the European night was another memory which was unbelievable just playing in it for Derry.”

Just like Crossan’s wonder strike against FK Lyn 30 years previously, McCourt’s 43rd minute winning goal would be the talk of legend.

However, that goal didn’t come without its controversy and as the years rolled on, McCourt’s recollection of the moment he collected the ball on the edge of his own box has, by his own admission, altered slightly through the fog of time.

“Down the years I learned to call it a shot,” he laughs.

The ‘Journal’ match report at the time read differently . . . “McCourt gained possession midway inside his own half. He skilfully skipped past Bulgarian international defender Adelbert Zafirof before dispatching what could only be described as a cross-cum-shot at the Lokomotiv goal.

“As the vast majority of fans expected the danger to be easily dealt with by keeper, Rumen Apostolev, he appeared to misjudge the flight of the ball and it flicked off the underside of the crossbar but the linesman adjudged that it had already crossed the line.

“Not surprisingly all hell broke loose when Belgian referee, Marnix Sandra pointed to the centre circle.”

An ‘ecstatic’ Brandywell boss, Healy had no doubt afterwards: “Harry’s shot definitely crossed the line. Let there be no doubt about that,” he said. “It’s absolutely marvellous result for Derry City and it has given a lift to Irish football.”

The injured Peter Hutton, who watched from the sidelines added: “It was a brilliant result. I was gutted I didn’t play on one of the greatest nights in Derry City’s history. It’s only our second ever win in European football but the boys battled well and deserved it. They chased shadows and even the shadows of shadows. They did themselves proud.”

“It was a ‘skite’,” claimed McCourt directly after the game. “The wind carried it in but we battled well and deserved it. No one can take it off us; brilliant wasn’t it?”

Twenty five years later McCourt recalls fondly the moment.

“In the home leg I remember two things about it. One of them was the goal but no one realises Tony O’Dowd rolled me the ball on the edge of our box and nobody else touched it. So Tony has an assist in Europe,” he pointed out.

“I just happened to carry it the whole way until I saw the keeper off his line and I chipped him,” he joked.

McCourt even abandoned his attacking duties to help out his defensive teammates on the night to ensure victory.

“This boy went past Stuarty (Gauld) and Stuarty says when he went past him he thought, ‘Ah no there it is - 1-1’. I tracked back and followed the boy that far, Stuarty said he just remembers my foot going in and taking the ball away from him. He said he was never as relieved to see someone track back.”

And regardless of how his goal found the net, Derry were, for the first time in three decades, on the verge of qualifying for the first round proper of a European competition as they went with hope and expectation to Bulgaria’s National Stadium.

It was an exciting time for the club but the occasion certainly wasn’t going to affect the laid back McCourt.

“I remember the away game, myself and Pascal (Vaudequin) fell asleep over there and missed the bus for training. I remember that! We were sound sleeping and the rest of them were out training and we had to get a taxi to the ground,” he recalled.

Derry were, McCourt claims, confident they could finish the job despite City boss, Healy admitting after the first leg they were braced for ‘the Alamo’. They were 90 minutes from making history but it proved an uphill battle from the first whistle.

‘Healy’s Heroes Go Down Fighting’ read the headline as the cup dream ended in Sofia.

Only five minutes in a lapse in concentration allowed Ivor Latchev in to score with a spectacular overhead kick. Derry looked comfortable for a 20 minute spell after the opening goal but then disaster struck in the 27th minute following a set-piece as Boris Hvoynev curled a delightful right foot effort into the top corner.

Healy changed his formation from 4-5-1 back to Derry’s more accustomed 4-4-2 - McCourt joining Liam Coyle in the frontline as the visitors chased an equaliser.

Paul Curran hacked a shot off his own goal line with goalkeeper, Tony O’Dowd beaten on the hour mark. And O’Dowd certainly didn’t help matters in the 64th minute when the Dubliner was sent off for bringing down striker, Donnev as he broke clear.

Stand-in keeper, GAA star, Anthony Tohill was given a baptism of fire as he came on to replace the unfortunate McCourt for the latter stages but it proved a step too far for the Candy Stripes who bowed out.

“They were a decent side,” recalls McCourt. “It was probably one of those occasions when they didn’t play as good as they could have in the first leg. But if we hadn’t gone down to 10 men we really fancied ourselves out there. It was great to play in and they were a decent side. To be honest I remember we were as good as them at the time. At that time we trained two nights a week. You had a hard night on a Tuesday and then an easy night on Thursday - that’s how we trained.”

That talented Derry side came heartbreaking close to winning the league and cup double that year and McCourt agrees it was a special bunch of players.

“I know everyone always talks about us losing to Athlone on the last day and Stuarty missing a penalty or we would’ve won the double but to be fair I always remember when I joined - I think it was the end of November - we were something like 15 points behind the leaders at the time.

“So even to give ourselves a chance was something. It’s just a pity it turned out the way it did. Even to go on that run was something. It was some side at the time.

“I was sitting in the changing room on my debut looking around and seeing Paul Doolin, Stuart Gauld, Pascal, Liam (Coyle), Curny (Paul Curran) and Storky (Paul Carlyle) and I’m asking myself; ‘What am I doing here? They all could play.”

While the European result didn’t favour Derry, it was an impressive effort against a technically superior Bulgarian side.

All these years later, it remains McCourt’s European highlight!

“I played in Europe a few times before that with Ards. We played in the InterToto Cup which was great because you got a group stage and got three games.

“Luckily enough the year we won the league with Cliftonville we were to fly out to Europe only my wife went into labour and my wee boy was born that day.

“Cliftonville were beaten 8-0 that night away to a Polish side (FC Kosice) so I wasn’t exactly raging to miss out. I think the aggregate score over the two legs was 13-1 or something like that. So it was a lucky escape.”

McCourt, who made 62 appearances, scoring 21 goals in his two seasons with Derry was the club's top scorer with 10 goals during the 95/96 campaign. He then left Brandywell for another spell at Ards.

It would be 2010 before Derry were back in Sofia but the Candy Stripes returned to Europe on July 1997 where they were to meet Slovenian side, Maribor in the European Cup.

We take up the story there next week.