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Reliving 95/96: The County Ground's 'worst ever refereeing decision'
TWENTY years on from Swindon Town’s title-winning season in Division Two, David Wallis tells the tale of that 1995/96 campaign week by week on Total Sport. The story continues as Town announce strong finances at Christmas, before one of the worst ever refereeing decisions occurs at the County Ground.
A week before Christmas 1995 saw a headline that we would all like to see again today.
Not ‘Town win at Old Trafford’. Not ‘The Robins qualify for European competition’, but almost as unbelievable.
On 18th December Swindon media lead with the headline ‘Profits soar for football club. Record figures help give Town a boost’.
The accounts just released showed a profit of £1.2m for the financial year ending the previous May, a period that had seen Town relegated for the second successive season and surely an indication that prudence was being exercised at the County Ground.
Further detail indicated that Town had generated £2.9m in player sales, which of course was a double-edged sword. A large proportion of that income had come from the sale of Jan Aage Fjoftoft, the talismanic striker whose departure still rankled with so many Town supporters.
When it was revealed that a total of £1.8m had been spent on the arrival of the likes of left back Jason Drysdale, that the total wage bill of £3.4m had actually increased by £300,000 and that all told there were 89 people on the club’s wage bill, hindsight suggests that all was not as rosy as it sounded.
But on the pitch Town continued their relentless progress towards the Division Two title. A Saturday fixture at the County Ground on 16th of the month saw Wrexham, defeated only once in the previous 13, arrive in Swindon, and two people were to have instrumental influences on the result.
The first was referee Barry Knight, who was described by the local paper as committing ‘one of the worst refereeing decisions ever witnessed at the County Ground’.
Knight adjudged that Shaun Taylor had committed a foul on visiting striker Karl Connolly with just four minutes of the match remaining, awarding a spot kick and allowing the Welsh side to grab a share of the spoils.
Knight later explained that it was for a pull on the shirt, Wrexham manager Brian Flynn had looked on in surprise and the ref was jeered off the pitch just minutes later.
Surprisingly wisely, Town manager Steve McMahon was slightly circumspect.
"I’ve got no comment to make. I might say something that will get me in to trouble. Everyone saw my reaction to the penalty award, but he (Knight) is not worth the paper he is written on."
That confusing comment may have been reference towards the report that Town would file on the referee’s performance, of which McMahon commented ‘We give them marks out of ten and you can probably imagine what I might give him.’
The game itself had been open and entertaining with Swindon enjoying much of the possession but with the visitors looking dangerous on the break.
Wayne Allison was denied by Wrexham keeper Andy Marriott after just five minutes while, not to be outdone, referee Knight, flourished the first of five yellow cards three minutes later.
Further chances fell to Allison, Ty Gooden and Shaun Taylor, but injury to Allison ten minutes before half time saw Peter Thorne replace the big striker.
Wrexham then produced their own threats, forcing Fraser Digby to pull off a close range save from Wayne Phillips, and Craig Skinner being denied by a goal line clearance from Paul Allen.
Things continued to be tight in the second half, and when Town striker Steve Finney retired through a hamstring pull it allowed the second key performer of the afternoon to enter the fray.
Wayne O’Sullivan had come through the youth set up and would make a total of over 100 appearances for the club, also gaining two U21 caps for the Republic of Ireland.
With 76 minutes on the clock Allen bettered his marker down the right, swung in a pin point cross to O’Sullivan, and the 5ft 8in, Cypriot-born midfielder rose to head his third goal of the season to put Town in the driving seat.
Despite Gooden’s 89th minute drive from 20 yards the referee was to have the last say with what was described as his ‘laughable’ decision for Wrexham’s penalty.
O’Sullivan’s goal would be his last in the League for Town.
In August 1997 and after failing to establish himself in Town’s newly crowned Division One team he moved on to Cardiff City in return for £75,000. Again around 100 appearances followed before a similarly rewarded spell at Plymouth Argyle.
Shortly after the turn of the millennium O’Sullivan decamped to Australia where he completed his playing career before going into management.
The 1-1 draw meant that Town’s lead at the top of the table had been cut to just two points above second placed Crewe, with Alex about to produce the first serious challenge that Town would face for the title that season.
Also newsworthy that Monday was that, following a confrontation with McMahon, left back Paul Bodin was now on the transfer list.
Tellingly, Bodin commented ‘The manager has made up his mind about his first choice of left back. He’s not going to spend a lot of money on a player and not play him. I had to consider my future.
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