Shrouded in controversy - but Blackburn keeper who conceded goal in the smoke tells how he helped Albion to promotion

The Blackburn keeper was left helpless back in April 1979 when Teddy Maybank nodded Albion a step closer to the top tier through a cloud of smoke in the South Stand goalmouth.

Now, as Albion try to repeat that feat and Rovers aim to avoid the relegation they suffered that season, Butcher has revealed how he helped Alan Mullery’s men to the top flight all those years ago.

And how he still tells friends he cashed in on the day his hopes of a clean sheet quite literally went up in smoke.

Albion’s 2-1 win over Blackburn in their final home game of 1978-79 enabled them to go on and win promotion in their one remaining game, the 3-1 success at Newcastle.

The first goal against Rovers was controversial in the extreme.

Two smoke bombs were thrown into the goalmouth as Peter Sayer crossed from the right. Smoke was billowing cross the six-yard box when Peter Ward flicked the ball on and Maybank nodded past a confused keeper.

Andy Rollings headed the second after the break and John Aston rifled in a terrific late free-kick for the already-relegated Rovers.

Albion celebrate the opener

Albion supporters sportingly applauded that super Aston strike, even though it put promotion back in the balance but it was the conduct of one or two fans in the first half which eased this match into Goldstone legend.

There were rumours at the time that Albion dug up the pitch for close-season work as soon as possible, fearing the FA would order the game to be replayed.

The match was televised by ITV (highlights, not live) and presenter Brian Moore suggested the goal should have been ruled out.

Maybank, when asked about the incident by The Argus said he only vaguely remembered it but Butcher, the beaten keeper, recalls it vividly. As he does the part he played in helping Albion go up.

He said: “We were already down but I remember the goal. Peter Sayer, who I played with at Chester, was going down the right-hand side and, as he was about to cross, I saw something and thought ‘What’s that?’.

“A smoke bomb landed on the ground by me. I just thought the ref must stop the game. I couldn’t see anything.

“We weren’t happy but we didn’t really argue. It was just one of those decisions you have to accept.

“But I think in that situation you have got to stop the game. Even Brighton players stopped for a second but he gave the goal.”

Butcher, 61, now lives in Chester and runs a gardening business.

He agrees that these days a team conceding a goal in such circumstances would be far less accepting of the decision.

Things were different in the late 1970s and not just because this crucial late-season match took place at 3pm on a Saturday.

Butcher said: “As a goalkeeper back then, fans threw things at you – coins or even darts.

“You knew you were down in Brighton because they were throwing 50ps. Usually at other grounds it was pennies and 2p pieces. But you got 50ps at Brighton. With the wages we were on, it was like a bonus!”

Michael Taylor, a former Royal Marine from Walmer in Kent, was the ref that day and his decision was criticised on TV by Moore.

“There is a case for saying they should have ruled it out.” Moore told viewers. “Surely the smoke must be regarded as an outside agent and indeed it seemed to be interfering with play. I would have thought the game might well have been stopped there.”

However Mike James, who was running the line in that half of the pitch in front of the East Terrace, said there was not a huge fuss at the time.

James, from Horsham, told the Argus: “There were a few half-hearted appeals but more was made of it by Brian Moore the next day when he posed the question whether it was an outside agent and should the goal have been disallowed.”

Evening Argus reporter John Vinicombe also played down the importance of the smoke bomb.

He wrote: “Whoever hurled the canister from the South Stand may have distracted goalkeeper John Butcher but it would have taken a wonderful save to have prevented Maybank from scoring.”

Maybe the smoke, like the ‘challenge’ on the Doncaster keeper when Stuart Storer scored on the Goldstone’s final day in 1997, was a helping hand to a goal which may well have been scored anyway. Both came in the same South Stand net and were among the most important ever scored at the old venue.

Rollings guided home his header from Gary Williams’ angled free-kick after the break to secure victory.

The centre-back was a story in his own right. Already missing Mark Lawrenson to a broken arm, Albion thought they had lost the towering Rollings to injury in a previous game at Cardiff but he made a rapid recovery.

Vinners noted that Albion were put through a tense finale by Blackburn.

Chris Hughton’s men might need to show similarly strong nerves today.

But it turned out Blackburn – the club who did the double over Newcastle this season, remember – were allies of Albion back then.

Sunderland were the team Albion ultimately pipped to third place by winning on the final day at Newcastle.

And that is where proud Geordie Butcher claims an assist in their promotion.

He said: “I was man of the match when we beat Sunderland at Roker Park a few weeks before. They would have gone up instead of Brighton if they had beaten us.

“Being from Newcastle that was a great result for me – but not so good for my family because they were getting abuse in the stand.”