Alan Gowling thought all his wishes had come true when the former Manchester United and Newcastle United man was handed his dream debut by Matt Busby for the Reds some 55 years ago.

The last player to score for the Magpies in a major cup final - the 1976 League Cup Final to be specific - 47 years ago, was none other than a Manchester United youth graduate.

Gowling made his first team bow in a 4-2 victory over Stoke City in March 1968 in the First Division, but it wasn’t scoring at the Victoria Ground or playing at the highest level under a cult figure just two weeks after turning 19 that had the teenager beaming at full-time.

“Can you imagine that, playing with your boyhood hero?” he questions. “My father used to take me to Maine Road when Dennis played for Manchester City and he used to say, ‘now, there’s a player you want to try and emulate.’ I quickly learned you don’t try and emulate Dennis Law.”

The forward was among esteemed company at Manchester United, in a team packed full of England stars and world class players.

“I started my career at Manchester United playing with the greats and I mean the greats when you include Dennis Law, Bobby Charlton – what a player he was – George Best, and one or two others such as Nobby Stiles,” he continues.

“Particularly when you consider my early career at Manchester United when I was an amateur player, not a professional, I was a full-time student at Manchester University.

“Trying to combine the two was quite difficult in as much as you had to be very focused on the two. I had my studies to do and to play football at the same time at such a high level was a real challenge.”

The now-73-year-old eventually signed for Huddersfield Town, but after the Terriers suffered relegation to Division Four at the conclusion of the 1974/75 campaign, he moved on to pastures new. That was when the Magpies came calling for Gowling.

“I didn’t hesitate in going to Newcastle,” he says. “I already had a very good Geordie friend who I’d been on holiday with on several occasions. It was a real privilege to go up to the North East to play for Newcastle United and enjoy the fans up there.

“There aren’t many Clubs that could grab me like Newcastle did. It’s the massive fanbase. You get that feeling all the time when you step out at St James’ Park. You’re playing for those people that are watching you every day.”

Gowling came painstakingly came close to lifting a trophy in his maiden season at St James’ Park after Newcastle secured their place in the League Cup Final 1976.

The Magpies were set to take on Manchester City at Wembley Stadium and Gowling, who was raised as a Sky Blues supporter as a child, was named in the starting line-up by manager Gordon Lee.

“Being a Stockport lad, that was a bit of a challenge to me,” he recalls. “I thoroughly enjoyed the build-up to the Final. Playing against Manchester City who were a local team to where I used to live was quite a big challenge.”

Things didn’t quite follow the script when Manchester City took an early lead through Peter Barnes. But Gowling gave Newcastle hope when he rippled the net in front of 100,000 fans packed inside the National Stadium, levelling from close range just 10 minutes before the break.

“Every footballer’s dream is to score a goal at Wembley, there’s no doubt about that,” he continues. “In all honesty, I would’ve given up that goal to be a winner. The team that got to Wembley deserved it. We had players like Tommy Cassidy, Micky Burns and Glenn Keeley in there.”

City restored their lead in the second period as the Magpies eventually slipped to a 2-1 defeat.

“It was going to be a hard game from then on – I knew that,” he explains. “We didn’t give up and there was an opportunity. Tueart with his overhead kick saw the end of us, I’m afraid. It was disappointing walking up the Wembley steps as the second team.

“We were playing against a top team. On the day, we didn’t raise our game to their level. In some respects, we let the fans down. They were the better side. All the lads were so disappointed.”

His two former teams go head-to-head in Round Four of the Carabao Cup next month - in a repeat of last year's Final which saw Man Utd beat Newcastle under the famous arch - and Gowling is a man with a foot firmly planted in both camps.