Peter Withe will forever be remembered fondly by the Aston Villa faithful for the fact that he scored the only goal of the game in the 1982 European Cup final against Bayern Munich.
Yet, while Withe was the hero of the campaign, another player that made a major contribution to the goal was Tony Morley, who drilled in the low cross that saw the centre-forward find the back of the net via the post.
It would also be fair to suggest that without Morley, Villa would not have made the final. It was his goal against Anderlecht in the semi-final that sent Villa to Rotterdam, while 34 years ago today the winger was in fine form during the first leg of his side's second-round tie away at Dynamo Berlin.
The East German champions had overcome Zurich on away goals in the previous round and were regarded to be particularly tough opposition at home, but with Morley running riot, Villa were able to take a positive result with them back to Villa Park.
There was only five minutes on the clock when Des Bremner's cross, which was intended for Gary Shaw, was cleared as far as Morley on the edge of the Berlin penalty box. Rather than take a touch, the No.11 produced an instant volley that flew into the back of the net.
However, shortly after the restart, Ron Saunders's team were pegged back. The Villa defence failed to deal with Ralf Strasser's deep cross and Hans-Jurgen Riediger was on hand to bundle the ball past Jimmy Rimmer from close range.
The equaliser sparked a period of sustained domination from the hosts and it appeared that they would take the lead in the 81st minute when Villa substitute Ivor Linton was adjudged to have fouled Wolf-Rudiger Netz, despite replays having shown that he had taken the ball first.
However, Artur Ulrich's kick from 12 yards struck the post and when the rebound fell his way, Rimmer showed swift reactions to turn the second shot over the crossbar with his outstretched foot.
Still Berlin pushed forward in search of a second goal, yet it was from one of their ventures forward that Morley ensured it would be advantage Villa for the second leg in Birmingham.
A corner was cleared by Withe, which saw Morley pick up the loose ball midway inside the Villa half. The England international then proceeded to negotiate his way beyond one sliding challenge, before he sped away from the retreating defence. All of a sudden he found himself inside the Berlin area, where he kept his composure to slot the ball down the centre of the goal.
Not only did it seal a 2-1 win, it proved to be the crucial moment in the tie because although Berlin triumphed 1-0 in the return meeting thanks to Frank Terletzki's goal, Villa advanced through to the quarter-finals on the away goals rule.
Villa: Rimmer; Williams, Ormsby, Mortimer, Gibson; Evans, Bremner, Shaw, Morley, Cowans; Withe
Liam Apicella
