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Dennis Guy

By jcd
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Name: Dennis J.D. Guy (Denis)
Born: 16 September 1944, Portadown
Died: 9 September 2022, Portadown (age 77) 
Height: 
Weight: 
Position: Forward

Representative Honours: Northern Ireland: 8 Amateur Caps / 5 Goals (1965-1969), 1 Junior Cap (1963), Youth Caps (1961-1963), 3 Schools Caps (1960); Irish League: 3 Caps (1965-1967); Great Britain: Representative (1967). 
Club Honours: (with Portadown Tech) Northern Ireland School's Cup Winner 1959/60; (with Linfield Rangers) IFA Youth Cup Winner 1959/60, 1960/61, 1961/62; (with Linfield Swifts) George Wilson Cup Winner 1961/62; (with Glenavon) Irish Cup Runner-Up 1964/65; (with Ards) Irish Cup Winner 1973/74; Gold Cup Winner 1973/74; Ulster Cup Winner 1973/74; Blaxnit Cup Winner 1973/74.
Awards: Irish League Top Scorer (19 goals) 1964/65.

Club Career: 

Teams

Seasons

Signed

Fee

League

Europe

Other

Portadown Tech

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Youth

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Linfield

61/2-63/4

-1960

Youth

20/ 11

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Glenavon

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-1964

Amateur

373/295

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Ards

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4/2

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Portadown BBOB

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£0

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Biography:
Dennis Guy's goalscoring talents were recognised from a young age. In the spring of 1960, aged just 15, he scored in each of Northern Ireland's Schoolboy Victory Shield fixtures; scored in each of the games it took to claim the Schools' Cup for Portadown Tech; then featured in Linfield Rangers' Youth Cup victory over Lower Shankill Boys' Club - that Youth Cup win was the first of three.

In 1961 Guy scored on his Youth international debut against Scotland and in 1963 he scored twice in a 3-2 win over the Republic of Ireland at Windsor Park as Northern Ireland secured a place at the International Youth Tournament. He played in every match as Northern Ireland finished as runners-up, losing out to host England in the "Little World Cup Final" at Wembley.

Dennis Guy (back row, second left) in a Northern Ireland Schools team that included 16-year-old George Best (front row, second left)

On 11 November 1961, still just 17, Guy made his senior Linfield debut in a 4-0 City Cup win over Crusaders. This was Linfield's famous "Seven Trophy Season" and the youngster would not be afforded another first eleven opportunity in that campaign and made do with a George Wilson Cup success, scoring in Linfield Swifts' 1-0 final win over Dundela. He scored his first senior goal in a 3-0 win over Glentoran in September 1962, and claimed a hattrick in the Irish Cup semi-final win over Crusaders. 

That he still missed out on the final proved the strength of the Linfield squad! In addition to his twenty senior appearances at Linfield, he also played 104 times for the Swifts, scoring 97 goals. This included a 6 goal haul against Ballyclare Comrades during the 1962/63 season.

In November 1963 Guy left Linfield for Glenavon in an exchange deal that took goalkeeper Sam Cowan in the opposite direction. It was at Mourneview that Guy had the opportunity to prove himself as one of the Irish League's most deadly goalscorers. He was the club's leading goalscorer for eight consecutive seasons, between 1964/65 and 1971/72, and was the Irish League's topscorer in 1964/65. With 295 goals he remains second in Glenavon's all-time standings, behind only Jimmy Jones. On Christmas Eve 1966 he scored six times in a match against Glentoran - becoming the only Glenavon player to manage that feat in an Irish League fixture.

While with Glenavon, Guy was a regular for Northern Ireland Amateurs, and with five goals he is third-equal in the team's all-time goalscoring list. In 1967 he was selected for the Great Britain XI that faced famous Scottish amateur club, Queen's Park in their Centenary match.

Dennis pictured second from left of the back row in the Glenavon squad from 1970. Also included are Maxie Patton, Errol McNally, Hugh Dowd, Philip Anderson, Jackie Hughes, Jimmy Jones. Front: Albert Mackin, Sammy Magee, Wilbur Cush, Jackie Fullerton, Freddie Clarke, Dessie Bell (trainer).

Sadly, Guy's time at Mourneview saw Jimmy McAlinden's great side of the late-50s/early-60s break-up, and during his time at Glenavon he managed to claim only a single Irish Cup runners-up medal.  He had more success on moving to Ards, scoring 44 times in the clubs' famous "Four Trophy Season" in 1973/74, including a goal in the Irish Cup final win over Ballymena and two in the Gold Cup final against Bangor. He also enjoyed goalscoring successes in Europe, netting against Standard Liege in the 1973/74 UEFA Cup and PSV Eindhoven the following season in the Cup Winners' Cup.

From a sporting family, his uncle was Davy Cochrane and his son John also played in the Irish League. Dennis also played cricket with his brother Tom, and enjoying success with the bat for Portadown, Lurgan and Laurelvale. 

With his own playing career over, Guy remained an active football and cricket coach in the Portadown area, including a spell with Portadown Reserves. He passed away in September 2022, just a week shy of his 78th birthday.


Northern Ireland Amateur Cap Details:
16-01-1965 Wales... A D 1-1 BAC 1 goal
03-04-1965 Scotland H D 1-1 BAC
12-03-1966 Scotland A W 3-2 BAC 1 goal
24-09-1966 England. A L 0-2 BAC
14-01-1967 Wales... A D 3-3 BAC 2 goals
18-03-1967 Scotland H L 1-2 BAC
23-09-1967 England. H L 0-1 BAC
15-03-1969 Scotland H L 1-2 BAC 1 goal

Summary: 8/5. Won 1, Drew 3, Lost 4.

Northern Ireland Schoolboy Cap Details:
19-03-1960 Scotland H W 4-3 VS 2 goals
02-04-1960 England. A L 1-4 VS 1 goal
19-04-1960 Wales... A D 2-2 VS 1 goal

Summary: 3/4. Won 1, Drew 1, Lost 1.

Great Britain Representative Match Details:
04-08-1967 Queen's Park FC A D 0-0 Centenary Match

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

Irish League Representative Match Details:
14-05-1965 League of Ireland A W 1-0 1 goal
08-09-1965 Scottish League.. A L 2-6 1 goal
22-03-1967 League of Ireland H W 3-1 1 goal

Summary: 3/3. Won 2, Drew 0, Lost 1.
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