Burnley: FA Cup shocker was the undoing for 2001 recruit - View | OneFootball

Luigi Cennamo starred in one of Burnley's worst ever cup upsets and was never seen again

Key Takeaways

Some players come to the English game and flourish, some flop, such is life, and former Burnley goalkeeper Luigi Cennamo fits firmly into the second of those two categories.

The Greek’s time at Turf Moor is a thing of legend among Clarets fans, with the Olympiacos recruit playing less than 90 minutes in an FA Cup clash with Cheltenham Town before never being seen again.

Stan Ternent obviously didn’t believe in second chances, with the Burnley boss bringing in a replacement before the following week came to an end, as Cennamo’s future was laid out before him just weeks after moving from his homeland.

It will come as no surprise to hear that he was back in the land of the Gods before the year came to an end, having played the smallest of roles in the Lancashire side’s history, but having a big part to play in one of their biggest cup upsets.

Luigi Cennamo suffers humiliation in Cheltenham Town FA Cup defeat

Cennamo was one of three Greeks to arrive at Turf Moor near the turn of the Century, as he joined compatriot Nikolaos Michopoulos who also played between the sticks, while Dimitrios Papadopoulos also joined the club to play up top.

With Michopoulos very much the first-choice at the time, Cennamo seemed content in his role of number two at Burnley, but a trip to Whaddon Road in January 2002 would change matters entirely, with his future hinging on a 72-minute performance against Cheltenham Town.

After seeing his countryman forced off with a serious injury, the 21-year-old was forced into the action around the 18-minute mark, and just five minutes later he was picking the ball out of his own net, as he failed to keep out a skimming free-kick from Town’s Russell Milton.

With 52 places separating the two sides, Burnley were expected to steamroll their opposition and head into the next round, but as Cennamo misjudged a cross six minutes later, Julian Alsop doubled the advantage, leaving the Robins in dreamland with less than half an hour gone.

And although Alan Moore immediately got a goal back, the visitors couldn’t pull themselves back into the game, leaving them crashing out of the competition, and all fingers pointing at Cennamo in between the sticks.

Stan Ternent takes drastic action after Burnley FA Cup exit

Ternent [pictured] was understandably raging after being shown up by a side in the fourth tier, with the Clarets boss reviewing the game after the full time whistle: "It was a very disappointing day and a very disappointing performance.

"We didn't perform at all and Cheltenham fully deserved to go through. I've got no excuses, we were miles away from how we can perform.

"I don't mind losing, but it's how you lose and a lot of players were found wanting when it came to scrapping and battling."

Never one to do things by half measures, the Burnley manager had brought in former gloveman Marlon Beresford on loan, who would help to see out the remainder of the season, with Michopoulos still on the sidelines.

For Cennamo, he wasn’t even on the bench after his Whaddon Road nightmare and was never seen in a Burnley shirt again, as he moved back to Greece before the season had even come to a close.

After stints in Cyprus and Israel, the shot-stopper called a day on his career at Panetolikos in 2019, where he has recently returned to be the goalkeeping coach, which is a scary thought for many a Clarets fan.