Former Dundalk FC hero John Archbold reached out to Ryan O’Kane after his corner-kick goal against Cork City

While O’Kane’s goal in Turner’s Cross helped Stephen O’Donnell’s side come from behind to claim a 2-1 win just before the break, Archbold undoubtedly scored Dundalk’s most memorable corner-kick goal when his delivery in the 1981 FAI Cup final broke the deadlock in the club’s 2-0 win over Sligo Rovers at Dalymount Park.

Having been put in touch with Ryan’s grandad, former club chairman Tony, by mutual friend Gerry McNamee, Archbold offered congratulations to the teenager on joining him in the exclusive corner goal club.

“I sent him a message basically saying that I had seen his goal and as a scorer of another famous goal from a corner, I’d like to congratulate him and wish him well in his career. He messaged me back through Gerry so it was nice,” Archbold told The Argus on Monday evening.

Archbold, who scored 13 goals in 81 appearances during a three-season spell at Oriel Park under Jim McLaughlin from 1980 to 1983, said it was Faughart-native Gerry – who now lives near to him in Leicester in England – who kept him up to date on how his old club were doing.

“It’s probably getting on to 15 years ago or more and I was coming out of Mass in a little place called Rothley where Madeleine McCann came from. I used to live there and Gerry lived not far from there and I was coming out one Sunday when I got a tap on the shoulder and this guy said to me ‘Are you John Archbold?’ and it was Gerry.

“Then we got chatting and met up and we’ve become good friends since. He’d come to see me in my house and I’d go to see him in his house and we go out for a few beers and all that so I’ve kept in touch with him ever since. I went back for one of the games that he sponsored the season before last at Oriel and that was good fun to go back and revisit it. It was great.”

While there’s always an element of luck when a corner hits the net, Archbold said his famous strike against Sligo came about on the instructions of McLaughlin – a manager he described as “ahead of his time.”

He said: “Anyone who remembers that game, it was an absolutely brutal game because it was the end of the season and the pitch was rock hard and there was a really strong wind that ruined the game.

“At half-time Jim McLaughlin specifically just said to me that on corners I was to just drive them in at the front post and see what happens. Then not too long into the second half I got a corner and put the cross in and just smashed it in at the front post and the wind took it and it just flew in. It was in the back of the net before I knew what was happening.

“I’d like to claim more intent for it than that but I was aided and abetted by hurricane strength winds and McLaughlin just saying to drive the corners in and it just worked out.”

Work in England meant that Archbold, who had broken through at Home Farm prior to his move to Dundalk, departed Oriel Park after just three seasons but his playing career did continue.

“I played Conference to start with and then the old Southern League, which was the next level down from the Conference. I played in the Gravesend and North League when I lived down in Kent and then I came up to Surrey and played with Sutton United and Carshalton. Then as I got older and a bit slower I dropped down a couple of leagues and played with Dorking and the famous Corinthian Casuals and that’s where I finished up in my early 30s because I was getting too many injuries so I just gave up then.”