Martin McGaughey

Name: Martin McGaughey
Born: 31 August 1960, Moneyreagh
Height:
Weight:
Position: Forward

Representative Honours: Northern Ireland: 1 Full Cap (1984), Junior, Youth, 1 Schools Cap (1976); Irish League: 5 Caps / 1 Goal (1984-1989), 'B' Division; Co. Antrim Representative.
Club Honours: (with Linfield) Irish League Champion 1981/82, 1982/83, 1983/84, 1984/85, 1986/87, 1988/89; Irish Cup Winner 1981/82, Runner-Up 1982/83, 1991/92; Irish League Cup Winner 1986/87, 1991/92; Gold Cup Winner 1981/82, 1983/84, 1984/85, 1987/88, 1989/90; Ulster Cup Winner 1984/85; Co. Antrim Shield Winner 1980/81, 1981/82, 1982/83, 1983/84.
Awards: Ulster Footballer of the Year 1985; NI Football Writers’ Player of the Year 1985; European Silver Boot 1984/85.

Club Career:

Teams	Seasons	Signed	Fee	League	FA Cup	Europe	Other
Linfield	77/78-92/93	-77	Youth	482(36)/313	-	14(1)/4	-
Ards	93/94	May-93	Free	16 (8)/  7	-	-	-
TOTALS	-	£0		498(44)/320	-	14(1)/4	-

Goals by Season:
(some totals do not add-up)

Season	League	Irish Cup	Europe	Other	TOTAL
Linfield
1978/79	1			3	4
1979/80	0				0
1980/81	9	0		5	14
1981/82	17	3	0	9	29
1982/83	14	3	0	11	28
1983/84	15	1	0	16	32
1984/85	34	1	2	16	56
1985/86					0
1986/87	12	0	0	15	27
1987/88	18	1	2	21	42
1988/89	10	3	0	13	26
1989/90	19	1	0	4	24
1990/91	4	2		1	7
1991/92	14	3		7	24
1992/93				0	0
Ards
1993/94	3			4	7
TOTALS	170	18	4	125	320

Biography:
The 1984/85 campaign witnessed the most sustained consistent goalscoring run by an Irish League player since before World War Two. From a 26 game League season Martin "Buckets" McGaughey scored 34 goals, and a total of 56 in all competitions from fifty appearances for Linfield. He took his seasons tally to 57 with a goal in a 4-0 inter-league win over the League of Ireland at Windsor, but an injury in the closing weeks of the season caused him to miss the Irish Cup Final defeat by Glentoran, and possibly robbed him of the European Golden Boot as Europe’s top goalscorer – he had to make do with the Silver prize.

First spotted by Linfield scouts as a youngster in Moneyreagh, McGaughey proved a useful goalscorer with the Rangers and Swifts sides before breaking into the first eleven. He also impressed with the Northern Ireland Youth team, finding the net in a 2-1 defeat by the Republic of Ireland at the Oval in January 1979. For all his pedigree, McGaughey was slow to find favour with the Windsor faithful as he consistently misfired in his first three years as an Irish League player. With the Swifts the touch never left him and he picked up winner’s medals in the ‘B’ Division and George Wilson Cup and represented the ‘B’ Division against their League of Ireland counterparts, scoring in a 3-0 win in 1980.

Finally, mid-way through the 1980/81 season McGaughey found his feet in senior football, taking his goalscoring total to fourteen for the season with a brace in a 4-1 Co. Antrim Shield Final win over Glentoran – it was to be the first of many senior medals. McGaughey finished as Linfield’s top scorer in 1982 as he won his first Irish League and Irish Cup winner’s medals. He added another Co. Antrim Shield medal and a Gold Cup winner’s medal to his collection, scoring the late equaliser against Ballymena which took the final to penalties, and slotting home in the shoot-out success. The honours and goals didn’t stop for another three seasons, he was Linfield’s top goalscorer as the League title was retained in 1983, and topped the Irish League charts for the first time in 1984, celebrating the feat with another title success.

By the end of 1984/85’s first competition, the Gold Cup, McGaughey had seven goals to his credit, the Player of the Tournament and Golden Boot awards (including a flight for two on Concorde!) and of course a winner’s medal after his goal had seen of Glentoran in the Final. In the European Cup Linfield saw off Shamrock Rovers on away goals thanks by a strike by David Jeffrey at Milltown. In the second round they were drawn against Panathinaikos and after Billy Totten gave Linfield an early lead in front of 50,000 baying Greeks they eventually lost 2-1 through a heartbreaking 88th minute goal. In the return at Windsor Park, 7,500 fans saw McGaughey score two early goals (one a penalty) as Linfield raced into a 3-0 lead. The “experienced” Athens team won a “harsh” penalty on the half-hour mark, and from there brought the scoreline to 3-3, and Linfield bowed out “bravely”, 5-4 on aggregate.

In the Ulster Cup McGaughey scored nine goals in nine games, including an 88th minute equaliser in the 2-2 Final draw with little-fancied Larne at the Oval. In the penalty shoot-out Linfield won three kicks to two. As the Irish league campaign kicked-off in November 1984 McGaughey already had 17 goals from his 19 appearances. He also had his first international cap, coming on as a late substitute for Norman Whiteside in a 3-0 friendly win over Israel, and that goal in the Irish League’s win over their southern neighbours. Four goals in the opening Irish League fixture, a 6-1 win over Carrick, proved an excellent indication of what was to come. By Boxing Day his total for the season was 32, and by the end of January he had hit 42 goals as Linfield pulled clear at the top of the Irish League. The Irish Cup kicked off with a convincing 5-2 win over ‘B’ Division Banbridge Town, McGaughey bagging one. His only other Irish Cup goal that season came in the 3-0 semi-final win over Ballymena.

McGaughey didn’t make the final, where Linfield lost out to Glentoran in a replay, as a serious knee cartilage injury ended his season in April. At the time he was clear favourite for the European Golden Boot, but in the end he finished two goals behind the eventual winner, Portuguese striker Fernando Gomes. The knee injury not only robbed him of a potential Irish Cup winner’s medal and Golden Boot, but also almost ended his career. Eventually he travelled to the USA for surgery which saved his career, but he did miss the entire of the 1985/86 season. McGaughey returned to the Linfield team in 1986/87 season, and normal service was quickly resumed with honour following honour, and he finished as the Irish League’s topscorer in 1988 and 1990.

At his peak McGaughey rejected numerous moves to full-time football, notably to Barnsley and to play in Austria, but by the early ‘nineties he was in-and-out of the Linfield firstteam due to continual injuries and younger competition for places. After 317 goals in 533 games for Linfield, McGaughey signed for Ards in May 1993. He continued to struggle with injuries at Castlereagh Park, and he hung-up his boots after just one season.

Northern Ireland Cap Details:
16-10-1984 Israel H W 3-0 FR sub

Summary: 0(1)/0. Won 1, Drew 0, Lost 0.