The stuff of fantasy in 1989 final

Their astonishing 6-1 replay victory had fans pinching themselves to make sure it wasn’t just a dream.

The victory over a Linfield side which had been virtually invincible over the previous decade, was accomplished with style, sophistication and skill and ended their 23-year wait for a trophy.

Manager Terry Nicholson said it was their most exciting display since his appointment, and it helped silence some fans who had wanted to see the back of him.

Glenavon opened the scoring on 18 minutes through top-scorer Geoff Ferris - his first of three on the night - and from then on they never looked back.

Two minutes into the second half Glenavon made it 2-0 when Ferris burst past a static David Jeffrey before crossing for Gary Blackledge to score.

It wasn’t long before the Blues made it three when Stevie McBride played in Ferris, who curled past the helpless George Dunlop in the Linfield goal.

Linfield became increasingly frustrated and had captain Lindsay McKeown sent off on 74 minutes. Just five minutes later McBride made it 4-0 before Linfield grabbed a consolation through Philip Knell.

However, Glenavon weren’t going to let Linfield have the last word, with two more goals coming in injury time, the first a header from skipper Duncan Lowry and the second swept home by hat-trick hero Ferris, putting the icing on the cake for the Mourneview men.