Austin Hayes

[IN MY DAY]

Came across this article while looking for something else, apologies if already posted, but a nice article on the Late Austin Hayes

 

 

http://irishpost.co.uk/the-fascinating-life-and-days-of-austin-hayes/

[corky morris]

Came across this article while looking for something else, apologies if already posted, but a nice article on the Late Austin Hayes

 

 

http://irishpost.co.uk/the-fascinating-life-and-days-of-austin-hayes/

 

Enjoyed reading that. Thanks.

[dronskisaint]

I remember being surprised when he was picked after coming back from the States. Nice story...nice for his family and a positive slant on a journalist for a change!

[Fitzhugh Fella]

Following that article I wrote a piece for the Saints programme v Inter - here it is without the photos

 

SAINTS IN EUROPE –by Duncan Holley. An injured player falling off a stretcher and a double delight for a debutant were the memorable moments when Southampton met Carrick Rangers in the 1976 European Cup Winners Cup .

Having won the FA Cup by overcoming Manchester United, Saints were now had their third foray into European football and by beating Olympic Marseilles in the First Round of the ECWC, in a violent affair, they were now pitted against the part-timers from Northern Ireland, Carrick Rangers in the next round. Carrick Rangers from the Irish League ‘B’ Division had stunned Irish football by beating hot favourites Linfield to lift the Irish Cup and then, in their First Round tie, had eliminated a team from Luxembourg. Saints travelled to Belfast for the first leg, played in Crusader’s Seaview Ground and won fairly comfortably 5-2, but there was a non-footballing incident that occurred near the end of the tie involving an injured Carrick player for which the match is best remembered. The Echo’s Peter East described what happened.

“There was a scene which had the crowd in hysterics. Davy McKenzie, twisted his knee badly and had to go off on a stretcher. When the ambulance men first picked up the stretcher, they realised the taller men were at the wrong end with the player’s feet higher than his head. So they turned round, picked up the stretcher again and then realised they were facing each other. At the third attempt, someone let go of one side and McKenzie rolled on to the turf”.

“It wasn’t very funny for me” said McKenzie afterwards and indeed, when the return fixture came around at The Dell, a fortnight later he had not recovered from his injury or the subsequent tumble from the stretcher.

Southampton had injury problems of their own, the most serious being Mick Channon’s knee carbuncle which worsened on the day of the match to such an extent, that with just 90 minutes to kick-off, manager McMenemy told 18-year-old Austin Hayes that he was making his debut as Channon’s replacement. The little forward, who was born in Hammersmith to Irish parents, was a product of Bob Higgins’ London Selection Centre and had been on Saints books since he was 15. Playing alongside Austin was Steve Middleton who took over from the injured Ian Turner in goal while Steve Mills, still recovering from an awful car crash some 20 months ago, deputised for Saints captain, Peter Rodrigues.

The 15,130 attendance meant The Dell was little more than half full but that was still more spectators than Carrick had ever played in front of, even beating the crowd for the Final v Linfield.

It was Steve Williams, another product from Saints London Centre, who opened the scoring, knocking in a 16th minute volley from 20 yards which gave goalkeeper Geoff Cowan – a detective constable back in Ireland - no chance. Despite the gulf in class and status, Carrick decided to have a real go and for several minutes kept Saints on the back foot but, just after half an hour, Hayes got into the picture by finishing off a nine-pass move, converting Peach’s left-wing cross. Undeterred, the visitors continued to push forward and were rewarded when Prenter halved the deficit in the 36th minute, with a “perfectly placed shot from an acute angle”. The same player nearly equalised in the 55th minute and the home crowd grew restless fearing there could perhaps be a bit of an embarrassing end to the game, but gradually Southampton’s extra fitness came to the fore and Bobby Stokes stabbed home goal number three after Osgood had headed on Peach’s free-kick. Austin Hayes, secured his second in the 74th minute when he latched onto a fine Jim McCalliog through ball to slot past Cowan and make the aggregate score 9-3. Carrick Rangers had been far from humiliated, indeed McMenemy described their performance as being “tremendous”, while their manager Jim Brown reckoned “if we were as fit as Southampton I think we might have beaten them”.

Saints went on to be eliminated by Anderlecht in the next round and they also failed to achieve promotion back to the top flight….. that would have to wait to the following season. Carrick Rangers, meanwhile, continue to still be a semi-professional outfit, but are currently a NIFL Premiership team. Their finest moment remains their 1976 Irish Cup win.

Sadly Austin Hayes’s career ended prematurely and tragically. He went on to play for Saints in the 1979 League Cup Final against Nottingham Forest and in total made 29 starts for Southampton plus 12 substitute appearances, scoring nine goals along the way. But competition for forward places was intense with the likes of Boyer, Keegan and Charlie George around and he signed for Millwall in February 1982, but not before winning an Irish cap v Denmark just a few months after his Wembley outing for Saints. It was a proud moment for him and his family. After spending time at Northampton, Austin spent a close season in Sweden playing in their summer league, but when he returned home in the autumn of 1986, he fell ill and a trip to hospital revealed he had lung cancer. Devastatingly he passed away within six weeks, aged just 28. His mother Patsy, a proud native of Limerick, now aged 90 and living in Staines, cherishes the portrait of her son in his Irish shirt.

Southampton v Carrick Rangers: 3 November 1976

Middleton, Mills, Peach, Holmes, Waldron, Blyth, Williams, Hayes, Osgood, McCalliog, Stokes

Captions.

Austin Hayes proudly wearing his Irish shirt.

Steve Williams and Austin Hayes at Wembley before the League Cup Final.