As he recalled, 'I trained with the reserves and juniors the day before and as we were walking off Fullerton Park the manager called me over and told me he wanted me to train with the first team. Later on, when the team sheets were pinned to the board, I had been named in the first-team squad for the following day's game with Aston Villa. We had dinner at the ground on the Saturday and at 1:45 I was in the dressing room. Barry Murphy handed me a shirt which was all nicely folded. When I unravelled it, it was the number nine shirt. I couldn't believe it and it was at that point that I realised adrenaline was brown!

'We were a goal down and in the second half we attacked the Kop. Villa centre back Allan Evans inadvertently headed the ball into my path and as Brendon Ormsby came across, I flicked it over his head, chested it down and stuck it into the net past Jimmy Rimmer.

'I almost scored a second soon after the equaliser when I got on the end of Arthur Graham's cross but Jimmy Rimmer clawed the ball out from underneath his crossbar.'

John Helm described it as a dream start straight out of a story book and one of the Sunday newspapers described it as an 'embryo Pele!!'

For all his cool finishing, Balcombe would manage only more one appearance for Leeds before fading into obscurity.

Balcombe, born in Bangor, North Wales on 2 September 1961, spent his teenage years in Dublin in Ireland, He was good enough to play for Ireland Schoolboys and signed for Home Farm, the source of numerous Irish football stars.

He came to the attention of Leeds United and signed in June 1978, earning a professional contract in October 1979. Balcombe had been prolific for the youth team and caught the eye of manager Jimmy Adamson, who named him as substitute for the first team squad which travelled to Southampton.

It would be two years before Balcombe got another sniff of first-team football, though he earned Under-18 and Under-21 caps for Wales.

Balcombe's big chance came with Leeds struggling so badly for goals that manager Allan Clarke took a gamble on the unproven 20-year-old, playing him as centre-forward in a front line that included three wingers, Carl Harris, Arthur Graham and Peter Barnes. Balcombe took the place of converted midfielder Gwyn Thomas, who had temporarily covered for the injured Derek Parlane and Terry Connor.

Balcombe was retained for the League Cup-tie with Ipswich but was the victim of a hefty challenge on halfway which left him with a haematoma, a blood clot the size of cricket ball on his calf which ruled him out for three months. 'If I had stayed fit, I was sure I would have been in the squad for the next game which was against Liverpool ... I fought my way back to fitness and was named in the squad to face Manchester City at home but unfortunately the game was postponed.'

Clarke brought Frank Worthington in from Birmingham, and Balcombe never got near the side again, released at the end of the season following Leeds' relegation.

He had trials with Bristol Rovers and Mjallby before rejoining Home Farm in September 1982. In August 1983 he moved to Dundalk, before a five-month spell at Shamrock Rovers from December 1983. He became player-coach with Irish club Oaklands, before joining Eddie Gray at Whitby Town. He later played for Harrogate Town, Collingham and Tadcaster before becoming a publican.