Steve McIlhargey
Encyclopedia
Stephen "Steve" McIlhargey (born 23 August 1962 in Glasgow
) is a retired Scottish
professional goalkeeper. During his career, he played for Walsall
, Chester City
and Blackpool
. He also represented Scotland
at schoolboy level. He is currently goalkeeping coach at Fleetwood Town
.
. He made his league debut in the opening game, against Wigan Athletic
at Bloomfield Road
on 19 August, and kept a clean sheet in a goalless draw. His first season with the Seasiders wasn't a successful one. The club finished second-bottom of Division Three
and were relegated, though McIlhargey only started 22 of the 46 games.
In October 1989, McIlhargey required fifty stitches in a facial injury sustained during a training-ground accident three weeks earlier.
In the 1990-91
season, McIlhargey missed only two league games and kept seventeen clean sheets. Blackpool finished the campaign in fifth place, but missed out on promotion after losing to Torquay United
in the play-off final.
During Blackpool's FA Cup
third-round tie against Tottenham Hotspur
at Bloomfield Road on 5 January 1991, BBC
commentator Tony Gubba
mispronounced McIlhargey's surname as McIlluggy for the duration of the tie.
The conclusion of the following season, 1991-92
, was the moment for which he is best remembered. Blackpool made the Wembley
play-off final for the second consecutive season, this time against Scunthorpe United
. After 90 minutes, the score was tied at 1-1, and the match went to extra time and then a penalty shoot-out. It was in the latter that McIlhargey's save from Scotland international Graham Alexander
's penalty, combined with Jason White
's subsequent miss, sent the Seasiders into the new Division Two
. In an act of sportsmanship, McIlhargey broke away from celebrating with his teammates and was the first to commiserate with White.
The Scot traded the Blackpool seaside for that of nearby Morecambe
for the remaining decade of his playing career. He helped the Shrimps to secure their place in the Conference
, and his league experience was crucial in their push for promotion.
In the years leading up to his retirement, McIlhargey became the Shrimps back-up goalkeeper but was rarely named on the substitutes' bench, with manager Jim Harvey
preferring to have five outfield players to choose from.
McIlhargey retired from playing in May 2004 but remained at Morecambe in the capacity of goalkeeping coach. He was named on the bench for both of Morecambe's Johnstone's Paints Trophy
regional final matches during the 2007-08 season, due to first-choice goalkeeper Jalal being cup-tied.
Morecambe
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
) is a retired Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
professional goalkeeper. During his career, he played for Walsall
Walsall F.C.
Walsall Football Club are an English association football club based in Walsall, West Midlands. They currently play in League One. The club was founded in 1888 as Walsall Town Swifts, an amalgamation of Walsall Town F.C. and Walsall Swifts F.C. The club was one of the founder members of the Second...
, Chester City
Chester City F.C.
Chester City Football Club was an English football team from Chester. The club was founded as Chester F.C., and joined the Football League in 1931, spending most of their time in the lower divisions. They changed their name to Chester City in 1983. Chester won their first league title in 2004, the...
and Blackpool
Blackpool F.C.
Blackpool Football Club are an English football club founded in 1887 from the Lancashire seaside town of Blackpool. They are competing in the 2011–12 season of the The Championship, the second tier of professional football in England, having been relegated from the Premier League at the end of the...
. He also represented Scotland
Scotland national football team
The Scotland national football team represents Scotland in international football and is controlled by the Scottish Football Association. Scotland are the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside England, whom they played in the world's first international football match in 1872...
at schoolboy level. He is currently goalkeeping coach at Fleetwood Town
Fleetwood Town F.C.
Fleetwood Town F.C. is an English football club based in Fleetwood, Lancashire. They currently play in the Conference National having been defeated in the Conference National play-off semi-final by AFC Wimbledon in the 2010–11 season.-History:...
.
Playing career
McIlhargey joined Blackpool from Walsall in the summer of 19891989-90 in English football
-European competitions:English clubs were still banned from competing in European competitions following the Heysel Stadium disaster.- First Division :...
. He made his league debut in the opening game, against Wigan Athletic
Wigan Athletic F.C.
Wigan Athletic Football Club is an English Premier League Association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, having been promoted from the Championship in 2005. Wigan's current spell in the Premier League is the only top flight run in the club's history.They have played at the DW...
at Bloomfield Road
Bloomfield Road
Bloomfield Road is an all-seater football stadium in the English town of Blackpool, Lancashire. It has been the permanent home of Blackpool F.C. since 1901 and is named after the road on which the stadium's main entrance used to stand. The stadium has been in a process of redevelopment since 2000...
on 19 August, and kept a clean sheet in a goalless draw. His first season with the Seasiders wasn't a successful one. The club finished second-bottom of Division Three
Football League Third Division
The Football League Third Division was the 3 tier of English Football from 1920 until 1992 when after the formation of the Football Association Premier League saw the league renamed The Football League Division Two...
and were relegated, though McIlhargey only started 22 of the 46 games.
In October 1989, McIlhargey required fifty stitches in a facial injury sustained during a training-ground accident three weeks earlier.
In the 1990-91
1990-91 in English football
The 1990–91 season was the 111th season of competitive football in England.- First Division :Arsenal won the league. Runners-up spot was achieved by Liverpool, who had led the table for much of the first half of the season but had been shell-shocked in February by the sudden resignation of manager...
season, McIlhargey missed only two league games and kept seventeen clean sheets. Blackpool finished the campaign in fifth place, but missed out on promotion after losing to Torquay United
Torquay United F.C.
Torquay United Football Club, nicknamed the Gulls, are an English association football club based in the tourist resort town of Torquay, Devon. They played in the Conference National in 2008–09, but were promoted to Football League Two after a 2–0 win over Cambridge United on 17 May 2009 at Wembley...
in the play-off final.
During Blackpool's FA Cup
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
third-round tie against Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur F.C.
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club , commonly referred to as Spurs, is an English Premier League football club based in Tottenham, north London. The club's home stadium is White Hart Lane....
at Bloomfield Road on 5 January 1991, BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
commentator Tony Gubba
Tony Gubba
Tony Gubba is a British journalist and sports commentator. He was educated at Blackpool Grammar School in Blackpool, a coastal town in England's North West...
mispronounced McIlhargey's surname as McIlluggy for the duration of the tie.
The conclusion of the following season, 1991-92
1991-92 in English football
- First Division :The last-ever league championship before the creation of the Premier League was won by Leeds United who overhauled Manchester United thanks to the efforts of, among others, Gordon Strachan, Lee Chapman, David Batty, Gary Speed and Gary McAllister...
, was the moment for which he is best remembered. Blackpool made the Wembley
Wembley Stadium
The original Wembley Stadium, officially known as the Empire Stadium, was a football stadium in Wembley, a suburb of north-west London, standing on the site now occupied by the new Wembley Stadium that opened in 2007...
play-off final for the second consecutive season, this time against Scunthorpe United
Scunthorpe United F.C.
Scunthorpe United Football Club is an English association football team based in the town of Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire, who play in the Football League One....
. After 90 minutes, the score was tied at 1-1, and the match went to extra time and then a penalty shoot-out. It was in the latter that McIlhargey's save from Scotland international Graham Alexander
Graham Alexander
Graham Alexander is a Scottish international footballer who plays for Preston North End. He is naturally a right back, but has recently been deployed in defensive midfield, as he did early on in his career with Scunthorpe. He is currently the third oldest player to score in Premier League history...
's penalty, combined with Jason White
Jason White (footballer born 1971)
Jason Gregory White is an English former professional footballer. He played as a striker.-Career:White began his career with Derby County in 1990, but after failing to break into the Rams first team, he left to join Scunthorpe United the following year...
's subsequent miss, sent the Seasiders into the new Division Two
Football League Second Division
From 1892 until 1992, the Football League Second Division was the second highest division overall in English football.This ended with the creation of the FA Premier League, prior to the start of the 1992–93 season, which caused an administrative split between The Football League and the teams...
. In an act of sportsmanship, McIlhargey broke away from celebrating with his teammates and was the first to commiserate with White.
The Scot traded the Blackpool seaside for that of nearby Morecambe
Morecambe
Morecambe is a resort town and civil parish within the City of Lancaster in Lancashire, England. As of 2001 it has a resident population of 38,917. It faces into Morecambe Bay...
for the remaining decade of his playing career. He helped the Shrimps to secure their place in the Conference
Football Conference
The Football Conference is a football league in England which consists of three divisions called Conference National, Conference North, and Conference South. Some Football Conference clubs are fully professional, such as Luton Town, but most of them are semi-professional...
, and his league experience was crucial in their push for promotion.
In the years leading up to his retirement, McIlhargey became the Shrimps back-up goalkeeper but was rarely named on the substitutes' bench, with manager Jim Harvey
Jim Harvey
James "Jim" Harvey is a Northern Irish football manager and former player. He is currently manager of Conference North side Stalybridge Celtic.-Playing career:...
preferring to have five outfield players to choose from.
McIlhargey retired from playing in May 2004 but remained at Morecambe in the capacity of goalkeeping coach. He was named on the bench for both of Morecambe's Johnstone's Paints Trophy
Football League Trophy
The Football League Trophy, currently known as the Johnstone's Paint Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is an annual English association football knock-out competition open to the 48 clubs in Football League One and Football League Two, the bottom two divisions in the four fully professional top...
regional final matches during the 2007-08 season, due to first-choice goalkeeper Jalal being cup-tied.
Honours
Blackpool- Division FourFootball League Fourth DivisionThe Fourth Division of The Football League was the fourth-highest division in the English football league system from the 1958–59 season until the creation of the Premier League prior to the 1992–93 season...
play-off winner: 1991-92
Morecambe
- Northern Premier LeagueNorthern Premier LeagueThe Northern Premier League, is one of the regional English football leagues which sits directly below the Football Conference featuring semi-professional and amateur clubs. Geographically, the league covers all of Northern England, and the northern areas of the Midlands. Originally just one...
runner-up (promotion): 1994-951994-95 in English football-Premiership:Blackburn Rovers ended their 81-year wait for the league title thanks to the strike partnership of Alan Shearer and Chris Sutton which scored a total of more than 50 league goals. Manchester United would have made it three league titles in a row if they had been able to turn a 1-1 draw... - Lancashire FA Challenge TrophyLancashire FA Challenge TrophyThe Lancashire Football Association Challenge Trophy is an English football competition for senior non-league clubs who are members of the Lancashire County Football Association. The trophy was first played for in 1885, when it was known as the Lancashire Junior Cup. It is currently sponsored by...
winner: 1995-961995-96 in English football- Premiership :Newcastle United were 12 points clear at the top of Manchester United, but Alex Ferguson's relatively young and inexperienced side overhauled them during the second half of the season to win the title....
, 1998-991998-99 in English football-Premier League:Manchester United overcame close competition from Arsenal, Aston Villa and Chelsea to win their fifth Premiership title in seven seasons thanks to the comeback of Roy Keane after his long-term injury and a transfer raid totalling nearly £30 million which netted Aston Villa striker... - Spalding Cup winner: 1997-981997-98 in English footballThe 1997-1998 season was the 118th season of competitive football in England.-Premier League:Arsenal overhauled Manchester United's lead during the final weeks of the season to win the Premiership title...