Queens Park Rangers v Blackburn Rovers

HOOPS
by QPR fans of a certain
vintage for his two goals in
a 6-0 destruction of west
London neighbours Chelsea
in the Bush six months earlier.
One which, with a self-effacing
smile, he compared to Diego
Maradona’s mesmerising solo
effort described at the Goal of
the Century. One netted with
QPR’s Terry Fenwick and four
other Three Lions teammates
trailing in Maradona’s wake.
One which helped eventual
champions Argentina defeat
England 2-1 in the quarterfinals
of the 1986 World Cup
in Mexico.
Byrne said: “It was sort of like
Maradona’s - but nowhere
near as good! I remember
picking the ball up just over the
halfway line and going through
about four or five players and
ending up one-on-one with
the goalkeeper and slotting it
in on the angle.
“The QPR fans remember it.
They always go on about it.
It’s up there with the best I
scored, especially as it was in
the biggest win QPR have had
against what the supporters
will tell you are the club’s
biggest rivals.
“Funnily enough I should have
scored an even better one
against Chelsea on another
occasion when I actually went
through the whole team and
even went past the goalkeeper
but missed from six yards. It
was a bit like that famous one
George Best scored when
he played in America - but he
actually hit the back of the net.”
Gary Bannister bagged a
hat-trick and Leroy Rosenior,
who was to manage Brentford
and move into punditry,
completed the scoring against
a Blues side pushing for the
top-flight title.
Byrne, a charming, friendly,
and easy-going individual,
added: “QPR fans will never
forget us beating Chelsea 6-0.
That’s one of the biggest wins
they go on about. I remember
when it was 6-0, Chelsea
defender Doug Rougvie
wanted to ‘kill’ someone. I said
to Gary Bannister, ‘I’m going
to play on the left wing, I’m not
getting injured for the League
Cup final (against Oxford
shortly afterwards).
“Banno said to me, ‘I’m going
to play on the other wing’. We
were both just keeping away
from Rougvie. He was spitting
blood. Which was fair enough.
If you’re 6-0 down you’ve got
to show a bit of pride. We just
didn’t want to get injured for
the final.
“Chelsea were a decent side
with the likes of Pat Nevin,
David Speedie, Kerry Dixon
and Colin Pates. That era.
Good players.
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