AFTER 74 agonising minutes of football, the stage was set for arguably the most important penalty Burnden Park ever saw.

May 8, 1993, and what had been a tense, bitty affair rested on a single spot kick – given somewhat controversially for a handball by Preston defender Simon Burton.

More than 21,000 faces looked on at talismanic striker John McGinlay in hope, knowing direct promotion rivals Port Vale were winning their game at Blackpool and only three points would be enough for Bruce Rioch’s Super Whites.

“There were lots of nerves, put it that way,” said the Scot, early 14 years later. “I knew what was riding on it. And you could feel the tension in the air.

“I knew that score and I’d be on cloud nine but if that goal didn’t go in it could have given Preston a lift, something to hang on to.”

Not for the first, or the last time, McGinlay came through for Bolton.

But while many remember the noise when his spot kick beat Simon Farnworth and hit the back of the net or the joyous celebrations thereafter, the game itself has faded in significance.

This weekend Wanderers go into their game against Peterborough in the driving seat for an automatic promotion place. One point will be enough to secure an immediate return to the Championship and avoid the play-off lottery.

McGinlay does not expect a classic. Rioch’s side had won many fans with their free-flowing football in an 18-game unbeaten streak at the end of the 1992-93 campaign but circumstances made that particular match a poor one to watch.

“It was a terrible game,” he recalled to The Bolton News. “We had been flying at the time. We knew to stay in touch we needed to win every single week and that brought a lot of pressure.

“John Beck was in charge at Preston and he put 10 men behind the ball at all times. They were belting balls out of play, wasting time, pulling every trick they could to make sure they didn’t lose the game. They had to get something out of it to stay up but in the end that negativity cost them.

“David Lee was flying and he’d created all sorts of chances, balls going across the penalty box and no-one getting a touch, it was bobbling about all over the place and at one stage I thought ‘this is just going to be one of those days.’

“But then it happened. Didsy takes a player on and puts a ball in, gets a dubious penalty for handball and that’s the chance. It’s handed to us on a plate.

“Everyone thought we were going to roll straight over them because of how well we’d been going and it wasn’t that type of game. It’s definitely a lesson for how things could go on Sunday.”

McGinlay remains confident Wanderers can get the result they need to secure their promotion place, with Parkinson unlikely to take anything for granted.

“I’ve watched Peterborough three or four times live this season and they are a decent side,” he said. “They play some good football and have players who on their day can cause problems.

“They are going to play without any pressure at all on them. This is a free hit.

“And when you think the Sky TV cameras are in as well, there are a few lads there who’ll be thinking ‘hey, this might get me a decent move this summer.’

“You have to expect them to come at you from the off and I’m sure Phil Parkinson will do that. You have to expect that Peterborough will play well and be at 100 per cent. Anything less and you’ll set yourself up for a fall.”

The Preston game was not the only time Wanderers have had to get a result on the last game of the season - in 1934/35 a goal from Ray Westwood against Blackpool ensured promotion back to Division One for Charles Foweraker’s team behind Brentford.

In 1977/78 the equation was a complex one at the top of the Second Division as Ian Greaves’s men held out for a 0-0 draw at home to Fulham to secure the title. Elsewhere a controversial goalless draw between Southampton and Tottenham ensure both teams went up behind the Whites - while Brighton, who had beaten Blackpool 2-1, stayed down.

Fast forward to 1988 and Wanderers had to win at Wrexham and hope Torquay United fluffed their lines against Scunthorpe United.

Robbie Savage scored the winner midway through the second half, after which it was a case of transistor radios at the ready. John Thomas’s red card frayed nerves further but when news finally came through that Torquay had lost, the scenes at the Racecourse Ground will not be forgotten in a hurry.