The Unofficial European Cup 1960-61 Preliminary Round Second Leg...

The Cold War claimed many victims, none more so than Glenavon of Northern Ireland. Back in 1960, the Lurgan based side made the European Cup, with the preliminary round throwing up a tie against Wismut Karl Marx Stadt of East Germany. You can probably guess how it unfolded, in that it didn't unfold at all. The Lurgan Blues were unable to travel beyond the Iron Curtain, meaning Wismut Karl Marx Stadt (now known as Erzgebirge Aue) received a walkover into Round One without even kicking a ball.

But why did the East German side go through? Well, it was a familiar tale of the side with more limited finances being punished. UEFA allowed both legs to be played in neutral venues, but Glenavon simply couldn't afford to travel, and so we were left with a game that never was. 

End of story? Well, not quite. We may be 65 years beyond this miscarriage of justice, but believe it or not, this tie still isn't over. A year ago, Glenavon traveled to Aue to replay this first leg, where they were even given a motorcade courtesy of the 'Violet Bikers' of Erzgebirge Aue. Both sides even took to the field in Aue greeted by the Champions League anthem.

You'll notice I've not mentioned the score in the first leg. Well, that's because it was 5-0 to the German side who have a substantially larger budget than their Northern Irish counterparts. But that is beside the point - the beautiful part of this is Glenavon were given another chance to amend an injustice. They may have lost the original game 5-0, but at least they would have been given a chance. 

All of this is to say the result is irrelevant here, and a beautiful precedent is being set between these two teams. There must be countless ties of yesteryear in a similar position that offer teams the chance to allow fans to travel and see another part of the world they wouldn't dream of seeing without football. 

That's not to say Glenavon don't have more recent European experience - they've played four qualification ties in the 2010s, though their fans haven't had the most convenient of travel destinations, with two ties in Iceland (KR Reykjavik and FH), one in Belarus (Shakhtyor Soligorsk), and most recently Norway (Molde). The last of these even saw the so-called Mourneview Aces win the first leg 2-1 in Lurgan in front of 631 fans, though they lost the second leg 5-1.    

Glenavon 0-2 Ezgebirge Aue, Mourneview Park, 5th July 2025 

To my delight and surprise, Glenavon actually contacted me on Twitter and offered me a media accreditation pass. Naturally, I accepted with immense grattitude, given that these blogs are the furthest thing from professional. It was something of a once in a lifetime experience for a football traveller that loves destinations off the beaten track.

As a result, I took the train from Drogheda (check out my blog from yesterday in the link if you fancy) up to Portadown, then changed there for a six minute one up to Lurgan where Glenavon are based. I chatted to a couple of Germans on the train up - they were two of around a thousand who'd made this unforgettable trip from Saxony.

I took a long walk to my accomodation to drop my stuff off before heading to the ground nearby to get my accreditation pass - there already seemed to be hundreds of Aue fans at the gate before the clock had even struck twelve some two hours before kick-off. The fan zone was open at 11am, and it was certainly brimming with energy. I queued for Chips and Curry Sauce, also managing to convince some Germans in the queue to try it - I can only hope they were convinced, as one of the women said they would come and find me if they didn't...

I took in the sights, smells, and sounds of the ground, grabbing a free Rock Ale from the bar, kindly provided courtesy of the club. Both home and away ends were bouncing, though the away fans outnumbered the hosts and were certainly louder as a result. They were clearly here to party, and Glenavon fans seemed genuinely delighted to have them.

The game took on the friendly atmosphere and flow you'd expect, bar some minor handbags in the first-half that ultimately led to nothing. Both sides also, of course, came out to the Champions League theme. Aue managed to win 2-0 courtesy of two first-half Erik Weinhauer goals - Erzgebirge's new signing making an immediate impact in the (unofficial) European Cup! Glenavon weren't terrible by any means, but as mentioned, there is a huge difference in budgets between both clubs.

I missed the first goal, as I was speaking to Aue fan and fellow groundhopper Alrik behind the goal (you should definitely give rotertotertiger7 a follow on Instagram, as well as the excellent Northern Irish groundhopping page Around the Grounds). Hopefully I'll be able to make an Aue game in December given that it's not too far from Brno.

So yes, while history cannoy necessarily repeat itself, things can certainly be done to redress the balance, even after six decades. Above all though, a load of kind and friendly Germans can come to Northern Ireland and get trollied, which is the real quiz...

Five things you didn't know about Glenavon (and Lurgan)

1.) Glenavon were the first provincal champions of the Irish League back in 1951-52, as well as the first provincal side to do the double in 1956-57. As a result of this success, they became the first Northern Irish side to compete on the continent. Neil Lennon also began his career at Glenavon having been born in Lurgan.

2.) In recent years, the club haven't been as successful, though the 2010s saw the Lurgan Blues claim the Irish Cup on two occasions, even defeating David Healy's seemingly perennial champions Linfield to the title in 2016.

3.) Lurgan is home to many famous buildings, such as Brownlow House and Lurgan Town Hall, as well as what is apparently the largest urban park in the entirety of Northern Ireland. Post-industrial revolution, the town was renowned for its linen industry, though in more recent times, this is something that has steadily declined.

4.) There apparently exists an expression in Irish English - to have a face as long as a Lurgan spade - which apparently means to be miserable. The origins are unclear, though some think it has very little to do with the town, and refers to the 'shin' of a spade, which is what Lurgan generally translates to in Irish.

5.) The town is also part of what was essentially a more widely planned combining of towns into one named Craigavon, which wouldn include Lurgan and Portadown. Though the town itself largely failed, the wider area is still known as Craigavon.