Football is Academical

Scotland Late Winning Goals

Kieran Tierney and Kenny McLean scoring injury time goals to clinch qualification for World Cup 2026 brought back memories of other important late goals for Scotland.

1 Jim Bett v 1-0 Iceland 28/5/1985

Scotland travelled to Reykjavik at the end of the 1984/85 season for a tricky World Cup qualifier for Mexico 86 and a were fortunate to be level late in the game after Jim Leighton saved a first half penalty. Jim Bett swept home with a few minutes left to win the game 1-0 with his only international goal.

The game was overshadowed by an incident when Scotland captain Graeme Souness tackled rising Icelandic superstar Siggi Jonsson and left the youngster with a broken leg.

Scotland Team – Leighton , Gough , Malpas, Aitken, McLeish, Miller, Strachan, Souness, A Gray, Bett, Sharp – Sub – Archibald

Manager – Jock Stein

2 Richard Gough v 3-2 Cyprus 8/2/1989

A tricky trip to Cyprus on the road to Italia 90 where France had drawn 1-1 , saw Scotland take an early lead through Mo Johnston but the lead only lasted a few minutes and the teams were level at 1-1 by half time. Cyprus took a shock lead early in the second half but Richard Gough brought Scotland level shortly afterwards. The game was played in an afternoon and many fans listened on radios and watched on TVs at work. The game was 6 minutes into injury time when Richard Gough headed a famous winner to keep Scotland on track for the World Cup in Italy.

Scotland Team – Leighton , Gough , Malpas, McLeish, Narey, Nicol, Aitken , McClair , McStay Johnston, Speedie – Sub – I Ferguson, McInally

Manager – Andy Roxburgh

3 Craig Beattie v 2-1 Georgia 24/3/07

Scotland Euro 2008 campaign saw Scotland beat France 1-0 at Hampden when Gary Caldwell scored the only goal , but a defeat in Ukraine meant a victory over Georgia was vital. Kris Boyd opened the scoring but Shota Arveladze equalised before half time. Time was running out when Craig Beatiie scored his only Scotland goal and avital one on the day at Hampden, to rescue a 2-1 win. James McFadden scored a famous winner in Paris against France but defeats in Georgia and at home to Italy in the final two matches , saw the 2006 World Cup finalists France and Italy qualify at Scotland’s expense.

Scotland Team – Gordon , Alexander , Weir, McManus, Naysmith, Teale, B Ferguson , Hartley , McCulloch, Miller, Boyd – Sub – Brown, Maloney, Beattie

Manager – Alex McLeish

4 Stephen McManus v 2-1 Liechtenstein 7/9/10

Scotland were facing humiliation against lowly Liechtenstein after drawing the opening qualifier for Euro 2012 in Lithuania 0-0. The minnows took a surprise lead early in the second half before Kenny Miller equalised. Stephen McManus however scored in the 97th minute much to the relief of the 37,050 Hampden crowd. Manager Craig Levein would famously go into the following game in Prague against the Czech Repuplic with an infamous 4-6-0 formation and lose 1-0.

Scotland Team – McGregor , Hutton , Weir, McManus, Wallace, Brown, Fletcher, McCulloch, McFadden, Miller, Boyd – Sub – Robson, Morrison , Naismith

Manager – Craig Levein

5 Chris Martin v 1-0 Slovenia 26/3/17

Scotland were drawn in the same 2018 World Cup qualifying group as England who had beaten Scotland 3-0 at Wembley leaving Scotland in a battle with Slovakia for second place. Chris Martin scored in 88mins as Scotland beat Slovenia to keep qualification hopes alive. The following match saw Leigh Griffiths score two late free kicks against England before Harry Kane snatched a 2-2 draw. Scotland would finish level on points with Slovakia but with inferior goal difference, however their record was the worst of the second place teams and also miss out on the playoffs.

Scotland Team – Gordon , Mulgrew , Martin, Robertson, Tierney, Armstrong, Morrison, Brown, Griffiths, Snodgrass, Forrest – Sub – Anya, Martin , Naismith.

Manager – Gordon Strachan

6 Oli Burke v 2-1 Cyprus 8/6/19

Steve Clarke’s first game as Scotland manager saw Andy Robertson with confidence high a week after winning the Champions League with Liverpool scored with a long range effort. Cyrus shocked Hampden with an equaliser 3mins from time but Oli Burke headed a cross against the post and followed up to net the rebound.

Scotland Team – Marshall , O’Donnell , Robertson, Mulgrew, McKenna, McLean, Forrest, McGinn, Brophy, McGregor, Fraser – Sub – Burke, McTominay, Armstrong.

Manager – Steve Clarke

7 Scott McTominay v 3-2 Israel 9/10/21

Scotland kept their hopes alive of a playoff for World Cup 2022 when they twice came from behind and Lydon Dykes missed a penalty as they beat Israel 3-2. Scott McTominay squeezed home his first Scotland goal in injury time to complete the comeback and send a 50,585 Hampden crowd wild.

Scotland Team – Gordon, Patterson, Robertson, Hendry, McTominay, Tierney, McGinn, McGregor, Dykes , Adams, Gilmour. Sub – Christie, Cooper.

Manager – Steve Clarke

8 Kenny McLean v 2-1 Norway 17/6/23

Scotland had opened their Euro 2024 qualifying campaign with home wins over Cyprus 3-0 and Spain 2-0 and went to Oslo to face Norway who were the likely to fight out second place with Scotland behind Spain. Erling Haaland scored a second half penalty and had been substituted as Norway looked to hang on to their 1-0 lead. Lydon Dykes fastened on to a Norwegian defensive mistake after 87mins to level the game. Scotland then produced a flowing move Stuart Armstrong fed Scott McTominay on the right , his cross evaded Lydon Dykes but feel to John McGinn. McGinn cut the ball inside to Dykes who laid it back into the path of Kenny McLean, who passed the ball into the bottom corner to produce an incredible 2-1 victory which was pivotal in qualification for Euro 2024 in Germany.

Scotland Team – Gunn, Hickey, Robertson, Porteous, Hendry, Tierney, McGinn, McGregor, Christie, McTominay, Dykes. Sub – Cooper, Gilmour, McLean, Armstrong, Hyam.

Manager – Steve Clarke

9 Andy Robertson v 2-1 Poland 18/11/24

Scotland had been promoted to League A of the Nations League and after losing their opening three games , 3-2 to Poland at Hampden then 2-1 in Portugal and 2-1 in Croatia bottom spot was almost assured. A 0-0 draw at Hampden against Portugal and a 1-0 win over Croatia with a late John McGinn goal left Scotland needing a win in Poland to avoid automatic relegation.

John McGinn’s early goal gave Scotland the lead for almost an hour before a Polish equaliser, looked to have given them the point they needed. It was captain Andy Robertson who headed home in the 93rd minute to give Scotland a 2-1 win and playoff with Greece , which was subsequently lost.

Scotland Team – Gordon, Ralston, Robertson, Souttar, Hanley, McGinn, McLean, Gilmour, McTominay, Dykes, Gannon-Doak. Sub – Shankland, Christie, Gauld, Devlin, Armstrong.

Manager – Steve Clarke

10 Kieran Tierney and Kenny McLean v 4-2 Denmark 18/11/25

Scotland had drawn in Copenhagen 0-0 and then produced wins over Belarus away , Greece at home and Belarus at home in unconvincing fashion. A 3-2 defeat in Athens seemed to have put Scotland in the playoffs for World Cup 2026. Denmark’s surprise 2-2 draw at home to Belarus on the same evening opened the door to a winner takes all class at Hampden, with Denmark only requiring a draw.

Scotland opened brightly and a sensational overhead kick by Scott McTominay opened the scoring for Scotland, from a Ben Doak cross. Doak was injured in the first half and replaced by Kenny McLean. Denmark equalised when a VAR check gave them a penalty. Denmark were reduced to ten men when Nissen was sent off for a second booking. Scotland regained the lead when substitute Lawerence Shankland tapped home a Lewis Ferguson corner. the lead only lasted a short time before Manchester Utd’s Patrick Dorgu equlaised.

Denmark looked as if they had consigned Scotland to the playoffs until three minutes into injury time the ball broke to substitute Kieran Tierney who swept the ball into the Danish net past his Celtic team mate Kasper Schmeichel, and put Scotland into World Cup 2026. Kenny McLean then chipped the ball from halfway into the unguarded net with the last kick of the game, to make the score 4-2.

Scotland Team – Gordon, Hickey, Robertson, Hanley, McKenna, McGinn, Ferguson, Christie, McTominay, Dykes, Gannon-Doak Sub – McLean, Tierney, Adams, Shankland.

Manager – Steve Clarke

ITALIA 90 Part 3

KNOCKOUT STAGES – 23RD JUNE TO 8TH JULY 1990

ROUND OF 16

Saturday 23rd June

CAMEROON 2 COLOMBIA 1 AET – Naples

The last 16 opened with a poor game that finished 0-0 after 90 mins however Cameroon veteran striker Roger Milla came off the bench and put the Africans ahead in extra time before he robbed the Colombian goalkeeper three minutes later to score a second and book a Quarter Final place despite a late Colombian goal by Bernardo Redin. Cameroon became the first African nation to qualify for a World Cup Quarter Final.

CZECHOSLOVAKIA 4 COSTA RICA 1 – Bari

Costa Rica’s remarkable World Cup campaign came shuddering to a halt when Thomas Skuhravy scored a hat trick for Czechoslovakia in a 4-1 win.

Sunday 24th June

ARGENTINA 1 BRAZIL 0 – Turin

A game dominated by Brazil but with 9mins remaining Diego Maradona burst from the halfway line to set the winning goal for Claudio Caniggia.

WEST GERMANY 2 HOLLAND 1 – Milan

The game between the two European powerhouses was over shadowed by an unsavoury incident after 22mins when Rudi Voller and Frank Rijkaard were sent off with the Dutchman spitting on Voller as they left the pitch.

Jurgen Klinsmann opened the scoring for the Germans early in the second half, with a clever near post flick, before Andreas Brehme curled a great right foot shot from the edge of the area into the far corner to seal the victory. The Dutch scored a late consolation when Ronald Koeman netted from the penalty spot.

Monday 25th June

REP IRELAND 0 (5) ROMANIA 0 (4) AET – Genoa

The Irish fans enjoyed a famous victory in Genoa after a poor game finished goalless and a penalty shootout was required to decide the winner.

David O’Leary completed the victory for the Irish as he netted their 5th penalty after goalkeeper Pat Bonnar had saved the Romanian’s fifth kick from Timofte.

ITALY 2 URUGUAY 0 – Rome

Italy progressed after a nervous first half when Toto Schillaci scored after 65mins and with 7mins remaining Aldo Serena completed the victory.

Tuesday 26th June

SPAIN 1 YUGOSLAVIA 2 AET – Verona

A late goal by Dragan Stojkovic seemed to have won the game for the Yugoslavs before Spain equalised through Julio Salinas with 6mins left to send the game to extra time. It was however a superb free kick from Stojkovic that sent Yugoslavia to the Quarter Finals.

ENGAND 1 BELGIUM 0 AET – Bolonga

Belgium were unfortunate with their star man Enzo Scifo and their striker Jan Ceulemans both hitting the post but unable to break down the English defence.

Extra Time produced no goals until the final seconds when a free kick into the penalty area was spectacularly volleyed home by substitute David Platt the first of his 27 goals for England.

I had a very lucrative few years betting Platt as First Goalscorer in England games which he went on to do a further 10 times until November 1994.

He was also England top scorer at Euro 92 with 1 goal !

QUARTER FINALS

Saturday 30th June

ARGENTINA 0 (3) YUGOSLAVIA 0 (2) AET – Florence

A goalless stalemate was followed by a penalty shootout where despite Diego Maradona missing , it was Argentine goalkeeper Sergio Goycochea who was the hero by saving two spot kicks. He had started the tournament as second choice but came to the fore when the number one Nery Pumpido broke his leg against Soviet Union.

REP IRELAND 0 ITALY 1 – Rome

Italy progressed to the semi finals with Toto Schillaci again scoring the vital goal after a mistake by Irish goalkeeper Pat Bonnar, in the 38th min..

Sunday 1st July

CZECHOSLOVAKIA 0 WEST GERMANY 1 – Milan

A Lothar Matthaus penalty after 25 minutes was enough to see the Germans into the semi finals.

ENGLAND 2 CAMEROON 2 AET – Naples

David Platt was brought into the England starting line up in place of Steve McMahon after scoring the winner against Belgium and opened the scoring 25mins. Cameroon’s Emmanuel Kunde equalised from the penalty spot after 61mins and took a surprise lead 4minutes later, when Ebelle Ekeke scored.

It wasn’t until Gary Lineker scored a penalty with 7 minutes remaining that England forced extra time.

The winning goal came halfway through extra time when Lineker again scored from the penalty spot.

SEMI FINALS

Tuesday 3rd July

ITALY 1 (3) ARGENTINA 1 (4) AET – Naples

The host nation faced the hero of Naples football Diego Maradona playing for his nation Argentina in his adopted city.

Italy started well with the pressure of being hosts and once again Toto Schillaci opened the scoring after 17 mins . Walter Zenga’s clean sheet record during the tournament was finally half way through the second half, when Claudio Caniggia equalised to take the game to extra time and eventually a penalty shoot out to decide the World Cup finalists. Argentina’s Ricardo Giusti was sent off during extra time.

The penalty shoot out saw Italy’s Baresi and Argentina’s Serrizuela scored with the first kicks before Baggio and Burruchaga, made it 2-2. The third kicks were also scored by De Agostini and Olarticoechea. The decisive moment came when Argentine goalkeeper Goycochea saved from Donadoni. Diego Maradona netted Argentina’s fourth penalty and it was down to Goycochea to complete the Italian misery and put Argentina into the final when he saved the final Italian penalty from Serena

Wednesday 4th July

ENGALND 1 (3) WEST GERMANY 1 (4) AET – Turin

There was even more drama in the second semi final with the game locked at 0-0 into the second half an Andreas Brehme free kick was deflected past England goalkeeper Peter Shilton by defender Paul Parker who tried to charge down the powerful free kick. There were ten minutes remaining when England hero Gary Lineker equalised to send the game into Extra Time. Paul Gascoigne was famously booked during extra time and his tears were seen clearly on TV as he knew he would miss the final through suspension , if England progressed.

The penalty shoot out began with Lineker, Beardsley and Platt netting for England while the Germans made it 3-3 through Brehme , Matthaus and Riedle.

The match turned in the Germans favour when Pearce missed the 4th English kick before Thon put the Germans 4-3 ahead. German goalkeeperIllgner then saved from Waddle to complete the victory.

THIRD PLACE PLAYOFF

Saturday 7th July

ITALY 2 ENGLAND 1 – Bari

Roberto Baggio put the hosts in front in 71mins after a mistake in his final International appearance by Peter Shilton before David Platt equalised, ten mins later.

Toto Schillaci won and scored a late penalty to give the host nation the final say in a rather meaningless match.

WORLD CUP FINAL 1990

Sunday 8th July

ARGENTINA 0 WEST GERMANY 1 – Rome

The 1990 World Cup final saw a repeat of the great final of 1986 between Argentina and West Germany but this was a very poor final with Argentina’s physical approach resulting in Argentina being reduced to 9 men through red cards to Monzon and Dezotti.

The game was decided in the 85min when Voller was fouled and Andreas Brehme netted from the penalty spot.

ITALIA 90 Part 2

Italia 90 was an incredible World Cup as it was the first time I travelled abroad to support Scotland. The is how out trip and the tournament unfolded.

The Tartan Army on Tour to Italia 90

WEEK TWO – 15TH JUNE TO 22ND JUNE 1990

Friday 15th June

We went on a day trip to San Marino, never thinking we would return to see Scotland play their a few years later and win 2-0 as always

Group A – AUSTRIA 0 CZECHOSLOVAKIA 1 – Florence

Czechoslovakia qualified for last 16 virtually eliminating the Austrians

Group D – WEST GERMANY 5 UAE 1 – Milan

Another powerful performance by the Germans against the minnows

Saturday 16th June

We made our way by coach from our hotel in Rimini back to Genoa in more hope of a Scotland win than expectation as we faced Sweden in a must win game.

There was a mixture of excitement and trepidation in the air following the display Costa Rica

Group C – BRAZIL 1 COSTA RICA 0 – Turin

Another mediocre performance from Brazil with a first half Muller goal being the highlight of a poor game. Maybe Costa Rica aren’t as bad as the Scottish press made them out to be.

Group C – SCOTLAND 2 SWEDEN 1 – Genoa

There was a determination about the revamped Scotland team from their tunnel exchanges with the Swedes through to Stuart McCall’s opening goal after 11mins. A superb Scotland performance was capped off when Roy Aitken sawn dived in the box and Mo Johnston converted the penalty as we watched from behind the goal. A late Swedish consolation goal made it a nervous finish but in the end we witnessed a Scotland victory at a World Cup , and who knows when the nest win will be , 35 years on we still wait.

We returned to Rimini at 3am just as the bars closed

Group F – ENGLAND 0 HOLLAND 0 – Cagliari

Apparently a young Englishman impressed called Paul Gascoigne

Sunday 17th June

Group F – REP IRELAND 0 EGYPT 0 – Palermo

Boredom in Scilly

Group E – BELGIUM 3 URUGUAY 1 – Verona

Group E – SPAIN 3 SOUTH KOREA 1 – Udine

We watched Spain’s Michel score a hat trick in an Rimini bar

Monday 18th June

A stiflingly hot day , too hot for football on the beach, the evening saw the first of the double headers to decide each group

Group B – CAMEROON 0 SOVIET UNION 4 – Bari

Already eliminated Soviet Union hammered Cameroon already qualified for the knockout stages.

Group B – ARGENTINA 1 ROMANIA 1 – Naples

Romania’s equaliser put them through while Argentina had to await the final games in the other groups to confirm their qualification as one of the top 4 of the 6 group third place teams.

Tuesday 19th June

Group A – ITALY 2 CZECHOSLOVAKIA 0 – Rome

A stunning goal from Roberto Baggio gave Italy a night of celebration as they progressed with ease to Round Two, as he added to Toto Schillaci’s early opener.

Group A – AUSTRIA 2 USA 1 – Florence

Austria’s win was not enough to avoid an early exit as one of the worst two third place teams, and the concession of a late goal opened the possibility of Uruguay and Scotland avoiding a similar fate, as they ended on 2pts and -1 goal difference.

Our final night in Rimini , watching the Italians celebrate late in the night

Wednesday 20th June

We left Rimini in the morning and headed to Turin to watch Scotland’s final Group game against Brazil in the new Stade de Alpi

We drove along the motorway as the rain started and the puddles were enormous , at one point the coach hit a huddle , the huddle took off and landed on top of a passing Fiat Uno

We arrived in Turin at lunchtime and braved the torrential rain all day as we awaited entry to the stadium

Group C – SCOTLAND 0 BRAZIL 1 – Turin

Scotland’s Murdo McLeod was knocked out by a Branco free kick and replaced by Gary Gillespie in an otherwise forgettable first half.

Scotland looked on course for the point they required until a long range shot was parried by Jim Leighton in 81st min to allow Muller to score.

Mo Johnston had a great chance in the final moments to equalise and the ball was net-bound as we peered through the net from behind the goal but the Brazilian keeper Taffarel through out hand to divert it over the bar.

Group C – SWEDEN 1 COSTA RICA 2 – Genoa

Sweden led 1-0 with 15 minutes left then Costa Rica shocked their Scandinavian opponents with two late goals ensuring their qualification and ending any chance Scotland had of finishing second.

We left Turin around midnight as we headed on the long journey home to Glasgow in the knowledge that Scotland and Austria having finished in third place with 2pts and -1 goal difference could still make Round Two if results went our way in the final two groups on Thursday , and even the possibility of drawing lots between Scotland and Austria if one country ended third with a worse record.

Thursday 21st June

We travelled through Italy and into France and with a ferry strike at Calais, we headed to the French port of Boulogne for the ferry crossing to the UK mainland.

Sitting awaiting the ferry I managed to get a radio signal and found that Uruguay were drawing with South Korea late in the game , a result which would put them out and give Scotland the possibility of a place in Round Two.

As I listened to the commentary and the whole bus with their eyes on me , I had to pass the news when Uruguay scored in the 91st minute and Scotland now needed a miracle in the final group.

Group E – BELGIUM 1 SPAIN 2 – Verona

Spain ran out Group winners with a 2-1 win over Belgium with all the goals coming in the fist half.

Group C – URUGUAY 1 SOUTH KOREA 0 – Udine

Uruguay substitute Daniel Fonseca scored the goal to take Uruguay through in injury time and break the hearts of the fans from Scotland and Austria who were on the brink of drawing lots later that evening to decide their fate.

Scotland’s fate at Italia 90 now rested on the final group where all four games had been drawn , so all four countries a win or a draw would take them through and if neither game finished level the two losers could go out of being drawing lots with Scotland and Austria

Group F – ENGLAND 1 EGYPT 0 – Cagliari

Mark Wright’s goal early in the second half took England through to the knockout phase.

Group F – REP IRELAND 1 HOLLAND 1 – Palmero

An early goal by Rudd Gullit gave Scotland hope as the Dutch led but a Niall Quinn equaliser after 71mins allowed both countries to play out a draw and put both through.

Lots were drawn to decide second place in the group with Rep Ireland winning as both sides had identical records.

We were on a rough ferry crossing as Scotland were finally eliminated from Italia 90

Friday 22nd June

The Group stages were complete as we arrived back into Glasgow around 5pm

End of Week Two – Italia 90

ITALIA 90

Italia 90 was an incredible World Cup as it was the first time I travelled abroad to support Scotland with my friends Brian & Scott. The is how our trip and the tournament unfolded, day by day.

The Tartan Army on Tour to Italia 90

WEEK ONE – 8TH JUNE TO 14TH JUNE 1990

Friday 8th June

I finished up work and went out for a few drinks with work colleagues and watched the opening game.

Group B – ARGENTINA 0 CAMEROON 1 – Milan

This was a major shock as the holders Argentina were beaten by Cameroon who had two players sent off for cynical fouls on the Argentines. Diego Maradona being the star of the Argentine team , virtually kicked out of the game.

Saturday 9th June

Group B – SOVIET UNION 0 ROMANIA 2 – Bari

Group B continued with a comfortable win for Romania.

In Glasgow we set up from Buchanan Street Bus Station by bus for Italy. The guy with ghettoblaster pumping out Pavarotti , dropped and it smashed , to which he shrugged his shoulders and said – Pavarotti’s deid !

A drunk serenaded us off with a solo of Flower of Scotland

Group A – ITALY 1 AUSTRIA 0 – Rome

The host nation kicked off their campaign with a nervy 1-0 win over Austria with substitute Toto Schillaci.

Group D – UAE 0 COLOMBIA 2 – Bolonga

We were heading through the night by motorway southwards into England and a service station stop in the middle of the night.

Sunday 10th June

We travelled through the London Borough of Peckham , famous in the comedy , Only Fools & Horses as we made our way towards the Dover ferry port

Group A – USA 1 CZECHOSLOVAKIA 5 – Florence

A Tomas Skuhravy hat trick is the highlight as the Czechs demolish the Americans

We travel by bus through France and it is as if France is shut , nobody to be seen , service stations closed to our buses until were are eventually allowed a lunch break. We make our ways across the Alps in Switzerland and stop in the evening and briefly see some football on a service station TV in Basle as Lother Matthaus scores the goal of the tournament

Group D – WEST GERMANY 4 YUGOSLAVIA 1 – Milan

A great win for the Germans as they open their campaign in style

Group C – BRAZIL 2 SWEDEN 1 – Turin

In our Group , Brazil open with an unconvincing 2-1 win over Sweden.

We travel through the night across Switzerland and into Italy

Monday 11th June

The coach travelled across the spectacular Ponte Morandi bridge which would infamously suffer a massive collapse in 2018 , as we entered Genoa at 6.30am

The coach is stopped by the Italian police with the guy in charge of the bus asking if anyone can speak Italian , we should have know at that point the day wouldn’t end well

The temperatures rose as the sun brunt off any remaining cloud, the Scotland fans arrived and took over the Italian port city in preparation for our first game.

Group C – SCOTLAND 0 COSTA RICA 1 – Genoa

The pre match excitement and singing along with Rod Stewart was soon to fall flat as despite numerous chances Scotland couldn’t score and a real danger on the heart for Tartan Army when Juan Cayasso scored for Costa Rica early in the second half

**Costa Rica score the only goal of the game**

We left the stadium despondent and tired as we made our way back to the coaches for the final part of our journey to our accommodation in Rimini.

However as the fans go through the tunnel near the railway station defiant signing of Flower of Scotland begins to lift spirits

Group F – ENGLAND 1 REP OF IRELAND 1 – Cagliari

A tight tense tussle was played out on the island of Sardinia

The Tartan Army on their coaches travelled overnight down the Italian coast.

Tuesday 12th June

We arrive in our hotel at 4am and finally our first time to lie on a bed since Saturday morning at home. The holiday rep advises of a meeting at 5pm

The meeting went ahead , with everyone tired and dejected , the room was mainly silent as the young lady tried to sell us a trips to local sights and San Marino.

She concluded the meeting and asked if there were any questions

A voice came from the back of the room in a deep Highland accent –

Aye ! What was Aitken playing ?

The room burst into laughter and this signalled a change in mood as the Tartan Army began to enjoy what was now a holiday with the Scotland performance consigned to history.

Group E – BELGIUM 2 SOUTH KOREA 0 – Verona

We saw the second half of the game in the hotel when the Belgians scored the two goals much to the delight of a group of mature Belgian ladies who danced around with a Belgian flag in front of the TV,

Group F – HOLLAND 1 EGYPT 1 – Palermo

A late penalty gave the Egyptians a surprise point.

We watched the game in an Italian bar – Chequers , mixing with fans of many countries including a couple of Irish guys who worked on the railways and had free rail travel across Europe. We then headed for late night pizzas and met Swedish fans who were confident of beating Scotland on Saturday.

Wednesday 13th June

Time for the Tartan Army to hit the beach , meeting a couple of female Irish fans and playing football in the midday sunshine. Newspapers now arriving from back home suggesting the Tartan Army want to come home are way of the mark as we are having a great time enjoying the Italian hospitality and weather as well as the Pizza

Group E – SPAIN 0 URGUAY 0 – Udine

This first round of games concluded with a boring game.

Group B – ARGENTINA 2 SOVIET UNION 0 – Naples

Argentina bounced back in a must win game.

Thursday 14th June

The Irish guys appear with their giant soft toy leprechaun (they even had tickets for it at the 3 Irish matches) , before we meet them again in the evening with the Irish girls. The party mood ends when the DJ shuts down his music , he took a dislike to the Scotland fans singing about Jimmy Hill.

**Our Irish friends with 3 tickets for each game**

Group B – CAMEROON 2 ROMANIA 1 – Bari

Group D – YUGOSLAVIA 1 COLOMBIA 0 – Bolonga

The early kicks see Cameroon’s ageing star Roger Milla score twice to take them through to the last 16 , while Yugoslavia comeback from their trouncing by West Germany to lift their qualification hopes.

Group A – ITALY 1 USA 0 – Rome

Italy took an early lead when Giuseppe Giannini scored and as the Italians looked to run away with the game they were awarded a penalty half way through the first half. The Italians however went into their shell after Gianluca Vialli missed the penalty.

We watched in a bar with football supporting fans mainly Italian and a guy rode up on the motorbike outside, didn’t realise Vialli had missed the penalty and rode off into the distance celebrating, what he thought was a second Italian goal.

These games concluded Week One of Italia 90

GEORGE BEST

George Best – 325 Days in Edinburgh

George Best became a global football superstar in his days with Manchester Utd between 1963 and 1974.

His drinking and social life took him away from football and he ended up playing in the USA before returning to England to play for Fulham in 1976-77.

After a further spell in the USA he made a surprise return to the UK in 1979 to play for Hibernian.

Hibs were bottom of the Scottish Premier League and crowds were small.

Tom Hart the Chairman of Hibs was tipped off to Best’s availability and agreed a deal reputedly of £2,500 per game.

In November 1979 George Best made his debut for Hibs.

This is a look at the 22 games he played for Hibs in 325 days.

1- 24/11/79 St.Mirren 2 Hibernian 1 – Love Street , Paisley – 13,798

George made his debut for Hibs scoring in a 2-1 defeat by St Mirren

2 – 1/12/79 Hibernian 2 Partick Thistle 1 – Easter Road , Edinburgh – 20,622

George made his home debut in a 2-1 home win over Partick Thistle with the crowd quadruple the normal size.

3 – 22/12/79 Hibernian 2 Rangers 1 – Easter Road , Edinburgh – 19,740

Hibs beat Rangers 2-1 coming from behind at half time to a Tommy McLean goal, Tony Higgins equalised before young Colin Campbell scored a late winner in front of 18.740

4- 5/1/80 Kilmarnock 3 Hibermian 1 – Rugby Park , Kilmarnock – 6,092

George played in a 3-1 defeat to Kilmarnock

5- 21/1/80 Hibernian 1 Celtic 1 , Easter Road , Edinburgh -21,932

George scored in a 1-1 draw against Celtic in front of a massive crowd

6- 26/1/80 Meadowbank 0 Hibernian 1 , Tynecastle Park , Edinburgh – 8,415

George played in Scottish Cup tie against Meadowbank played at Tynecastle

Hibs were drawn to play Ayr Utd in the Scottish Cup at Easter Road on Sunday 17th February 1980.

George was staying at the North British Hotel on the Saturday evening prior to the match. He met Blondie singer Debbie Harry and members of the French Rugby team who had lost to Scotland at Murrayfield and reputedly went with them to all night party, missing the game

George was suspended by Hibs for a week , while a large crowd of around 15,000 were left disappointed by the superstar’s non appearance in the team’s 2-0 win.

7 1/3/80 Rangers 1 Hibernian 0 Ibrox Stadium , Glasgow – 26,092

George returned for the trip to Ibrox where Hibs lost 1-0.

8 – 8/3/80 Berwick v Hibs , Sheilfield Park, Berwick – 7,228

George Best only played the first half in front of a Scottish Cup tie at Berwick, as he paid for a taxi to the game having missed the team bus , on a dark , dismal, wet day.

9 – 15/3/80 Dundee 3 Hibernian 0 , Dens Park , Dundee -8,065

George Best was voted man of the match despite Hibs losing 3-0 and he had a goal disallowed for offside.

10 – 25/3/80 Hibernian 2 Dundee 0, Easter Road , Edinburgh – 5,018

George scored a famous individual goal in 2-0 win, 5,018 on a Tuesday night

11 – 29/3/80 Celtic 4 v Hibernian 0 , Celtic Park , Glasgow -20.926

George Best only appearance for Hibs at Celtic Park

12- 2/4/80 Hibernian 0 Dundee Utd 2 , Easter Road , Edinburgh -5,919

Hibs lost 2-0 at home to Dundee Utd

13 5/4/80 – St Mirren 2 Hibernian 0, Love Street , Paisley 5/4/80 – 8.156

Hibs Lost 2-0 in George Best’s second visit to Love Street

14 12/4/80 Celtic 5 Hibernian 0 , Hampden Park , Glasgow -33,445

Celtic won 5-0 in Scottish Cup Semi Final – 33,445

George Best’s only Hampden appearance for Hibs

15 – 16/4/80 Aberdeen 1 Hibernian 1, Pittodrie Stadium , Aberdeen -15,127

Hibs drew 1-1 at Aberdeen

16 – 19/4/80 Hibernian 0 Dundee Utd 2 , Easter Road , Edinburgh 4,921

Hibs lost 2-0 at home to Dundee Utd for the second time in a month.

HIBERNIAN WERE RELEGATED TO FIRST DIVISION

17 – 9/9/80 Dundee 1 Hibernian 2 , Dens Park , Dundee – 5.304

George returned to play for Hibs and set-up Gordon Rae’s winner

18 – 20/9/80 Hamilton Accies 1 Hibernian 1, Douglas Park , Hamilton 5,197

I saw George Best play for Hibs at Douglas Park in a 1-1 draw

19- 24/9/80 Hibernian 2 Clyde 1 , Easter Road , Edinburgh -3,773

League cup Third Round Second Leg Hibs won 2-1 4-1 on agg

20 – 4/10/80 – Dunfermline 0 Hibernian 2 , East End Park, Dunfermline 5,607

Hibs won 2-0 at East End Park

21- 8/10/80 Ayr 2 Hibernian 2 , Somerset Park, Ayr 4.717

League Cup QF First Leg 2-2, Ayr beat Hobs 2-0 at Easter Road after extra time to win 4-2 on aggregate.

22- 11/10/80 Hibernian 2 Falkirk 0 , Easter Road , Edinburgh 6,947

Hibs won 2-0 in George Best last game in a Hibernian shirt in an official game.

Lanarkshire Cup

Weekend Tournament 1979-1985

The Lanarkshire Cup was a competition played in the post war era by Lanarkshire’s four senior football clubs – Airdrieonians , Albion Rovers , Hamilton Accies and Motherwell.

The tournament was a damp squib in the mid to late 1970s with games sporadically played and in many cases no final being played.

It was decided in 1979 to make the tournament a two day event pre season in August at one venue with each club hosting in rotation.

This was quite successful with each team playing two games in two days as a curtain raiser for the season and fans seeing two games each day. The exception being 1983.

This is a look at these two day tournaments.

1979 – Fir Park Motherwell (4th /5th August)

The fist semi final was fairly tame with First Division Hamilton Accies defeating Albion Rovers 2-0

The second semi final saw Motherwell who had been relegated from the Premier League play fellow First Division side Airdrieonians, in an incredible game saw Motherwell score first before Airdrie romped into a 4-1 lead. Motherwell fought back but Airdrie held out to win 4-3.

The 3rd / 4th playoff saw Motherwell beat Albion Rovers 2-0.

Airdrie opened the final with 2 early goals and looked to have the game won when they made it 3-0 before Accies staged a late comeback but the Broomfield side held out to win the cup 3-2.

1980 – Douglas Park , Hamilton (2nd / 3rd August)

Airdrieonians now in the Premier League beat Hamilton Accies in the first semi final 2-0 before Motherwell comfortably saw off Albion Rovers 4-1.

Hamilton Accies John Denney scored 4 goals as they beat Albion Rovers 5-2 to claim third spot.

Motherwell scored a spectacular opening goal in the final before Sandy Clark’s equaliser looked to have sent the game to extra time. Ian Clinging however won the cup for Motherwell 2-1 late in the 90mins.

1981 – Broomfield Park , Airdrie (1st/2nd August)

Second Division Albion Rovers came from a goal down to shock Hamilton Accies in the first semi final and reach the Final for the first time in the new format.

Airdrieonians and Motherwell failed to score during the 120mins of the second semi final and it was Motherwell keeper Hugh Sproat who was the penalty shoot out hero as Motherwell won 5-4 on pens.

Hamilton Accies finished third with a 4-2 win over the hosts Airdrieonians as the shocks continued.

The major shock however was reserved for the final where after a 1-1 draw Albion Rovers beat Motherwell 3-2 on pens.

Second Division Albion Rovers were the cup winners while Premier Division Airdrieonians finished 4th.

1982 – Cliftonhill , Coatbridge ( 7th / 8th August)

Airdrieonians had been relegated to the First Division and Motherwell promoted as Champions to the Premier League.

Airdrieonians drew 1-1 with Hamilton Accies in the first semi final but Accies won the penalty shoot out 4-3.

It was a fairly easy task for Motherwell under new manager Jock Wallace to beat the hosts Albion Rovers 2-0.

The competition organisers dispensed with the 3rd/4th place play off so the Sunday saw Hamilton Accies play Motherwell. Accies took an early lead and fans could hear Jock Wallace tear into his players at half time.

Motherwell improved in the second half and equalised to take the game to extra time where their superior fitness proved decisive as they went on to win 5-1 after extra time

1983 – Games played at home grounds in May with Airdrieonians beating Hamilton Accies 4-3 on pens after a 3-3 draw at Broomfield

1984 – Fir Park , Motherwell (4th Aug / 7th Aug)

The 1984 version saw all games played at Fir Park but after the Saturday semi final double header, the Final was played the following Tuesday.

Airdrieonians came from 2-1 down to Hamilton Accies to win 3-2, before Motherwell who had been relegated from the Premier League beat Albion Rovers 2-1.

The hosts then returned to win the trophy on the Tuesday evening beating Airdrieonians 3-1.

1985 – Douglas Park, Hamilton (3rd/6th August)

Airdrie opened the scoring after 17mins in the first semi final , but a Accies side who would go on to win the First Division came back to destroy their county neighbours 6-1.

It would take a 5-4 penalty shoot out triumph for Premier Division Motherwell to overcome Second Division Albion Rovers after a 1-1 draw.

After a 51 year wait Hamilton Accies finally got their hands on the Lanarkshire Cup the following Tuesday with a 1-0 win over Motherwell, with Gerry Phillips scoring as Motherwell’s Gary McAllister and Ali Mauchlen departed for Leicester City after the game.

Hamilton 2025 and it’s history

A look at Hamilton Town Centre in 2025 and the old days

The Vogue cinema in 2025 before demolition and in while in use

The Bottom Cross in 2025 and back in the day

McGregors Toy Shop at the Top Cross in 2025 and yesteryear

Quarry Street 2025 and the old days as miners walk home

Barncluth former Primary Scholl 2025 and 1904

Regent Way 2025 and 1970s

Hamilton Races New , Old and Overhead views

HAMILTON ACCIES – New Douglas Park and original Douglas Park

Hopefully the club will return to the town one day

Modern Day Hamilton hotels , and changed junction

Chatelherault – a country park on our doorstep

EURO 1976

The recent award by UEFA to Slovakia as joint winners with Czech Republic following the Czechoslovakia triumph in 1976 had me reminiscing about a much forgotten football tournament particularly in the UK, where only the Final was shown on Live TV.

Euro 1976 was the last of the old style format with 32 countries divided into 8 groups of four with the 8 group winners playing two legged Quarter Finals before the final tournament only involved 4 countries and was played over 4 days in June 1976 in Yugoslavia.

In 1976 football used 2pts for a win

GROUP 1

The group opened with England playing three home fixtures at Wembley , three goals in the last 20 minutes saw England beat Czechoslovakia 3-0

A damaging 0-0 home draw with Portugal followed.

Malcolm McDonald scored all 5 goals as Cyprus were defeated 5-0. The Czechs opened with a 4-0 win over Cyprus before a 5-0 win over Portugal meant a win over England would be enough to win the Group. The game was featured on an episode of The Likely Lads TV comedy with the game abandoned after 17 mins due to fog and replayed the following evening where despite Channon giving England the lead , Czechoslovakia would win 2-1 a result which effectively won them the Group.

WINNERS – CZECHOSLOVAKIA

GROUP 2

Austria beat Wales 2-1 in Vienna , but their 0-0 home draw with Hungary gave the Welsh the boost they needed and having beaten Hungary and Luxembourg home and away, it came down to the final game in Cardiff.

Wales beat Austria 1-0 with a 69th min goal by Arfon Griffiths in front of 27,578 in Wrexham , on one of the most famous nights in Welsh international football history as Wales won the Group.

Mandatory Credit: Photo by Colorsport/Shutterstock (3130286a) Arfon Griffiths (Wales) left European Nations Cup 19/11/75 Wales v Austria 1975/76 Ninian Park Cardiff Euro76 Qual: Wales 1 Austria 0 Sport

WINNERS – WALES

GROUP 3

N Ireland opened the scoring early in Oslo but Norway came back to win 2-1 before Yugoslavia beat Norway 3-1 at home. N Ireland however started to make an impression in the group with a 2-0 away win in Sweden before beating Yugoslavia 1-0 in Belfast. Yugoslavia then beat Sweden 2-1 and Norway 3-1 both away.

N Ireland chances of qualifying were given a hammer blow when they lost 2-1 at home to Sweden despite opening the scoring.

Yugoslavia comfortably won the Group beating Sweden 3-0 and N Ireland 1-0.

WINNERS – YUGOSLAVIA

GROUP 4

Spain opened with a 2-1 win in Denmark before they travelled to Hampden Park in Glasgow to face Scotland on 20th November 1974.

Scotland on the back of an impressive World Cup campaign in the summer were backed by a massive 94,331 crowd and took the lead through Billy Bremner. Spain however came back with two goals and a missed penalty by Scotland’s Tommy Hutchison was the decisive moment in the whole Group.

Scotland went to Valencia to play Spain and Joe Jordan’s first minute goal was eventually cancelled out as the Spanish secured a 1-1 draw.

Spain gave Scotland hope as they drew at home to Romania and in June 1975 a last minute equaliser by Gordon McQueen in Bucharest gave Scotland a further boost.

Scotland then closed to within two points of the Spanish when Joe Harper scored in a 1-0 win in Copenhagen against Denmark. The trip however was marred by a nightclub incident which saw 5 Scotland players banned for life by the SFA. Billy Bremner the Scotland captain had his international career ended on 54 caps , one short of Denis Law’s then record 55 caps, u-23 player Pat McCluskey , and the Aberdeen trio of Arthur Graham , Joe Harper and Willie Young. Arthur Graham and Joe Harper were later reprieved with Graham winning more caps and Harper going to World Cup 78 in Argentina winning one more cap.

Spain beat Denmark 2-0 to increase their lead to four points with a game to play in Romania , while Scotland had two games left both at Hampden.

On 29th October 1975 , my first Scotland game saw John Greig come out of International retirement to captain the team , with Billy Bremner banned and Scotland having suffered a humiliating 5-1 defeat in the summer by England at Wembley. The crowd of 48,021 saw Stuart Houston made his only Scotland appearance and his mistake led to part time Denmark take a shock lead at half time before an improved Scotland display saw three early second half goals , saw Scotland win 3-1 and put pressure on Spain in their final game.

Spain secured qualification with a 2-2 draw in Romania, before Scotland ended the campaign drawing 1-1 at home to Romania.

WINNERS – SPAIN

GROUP 5

Holland and Poland came into a tough group alongside Italy after impressive second and third place finishes behind host West Germany in the 1974 World Cup.

Poland began with wins in Finland and at home to the Finns. The Dutch also won in Finland before beating Italy 3-1 at home.

Poland then drew 0-0 in Rome against Italy, and after the Dutch completed their double over Finland they travelled to Poland.

Poland won 4-1 but the Dutch took revenge the following month winning 3-0 in Amsterdam in the pivotal match.

The Dutch claimed the group on goal difference from the Poles despite a 1-0 defeat in Rome against Italy.

WINNERS – HOLLAND

GROUP 6

Republic of Ireland had a sensational start to the group with a Don Givens hat trick in a 3-0 win over Soviet Union. The game marked the debut of a young Liam Brady.

The Irish however suffered a 1-1 draw in Turkey, which gave them three pts from their opening two matches but was seen as a dropped point.

Soviet Union beat Turkey 3-0 at home before Republic of Ireland beat Switzerland 2-1 at home and set up a massive match in Kiev.

Soviet Union would beat Republic 2-1 and deflate the Irish.

The Irish were the first to travel to Switzerland and a 1-0 defeat handed the Soviet Union a massive chance to qualify at the Irish expense. The Soviets won 1-0 in Switzerland and then clinched qualification with a 4-1 home win over the Swiss.

WINNERS – SOVIET UNION

GROUP 7

Belgium began with 2-0 away win in Iceland before Iceland took a shock point off East Germany with a 1-1 draw in Magdeburg. Belgium took control of the group beating France 2-1 at home before East Germany again drew this time 2-2 in France.

Belgium maintained their group lead with a 0-0 draw away to East Germany as the Germans drew their third game in a row.

Iceland drew 0-0 at home to France before beating the Germans 2-1.

Belgium virtually clinched the group beating Iceland 1-0 and could afford a 2-1 home defeat to East Germany before a final day 0-0 draw in Paris won the Group

WINNERS – BELGIUM

GROUP 8

West Germany on the back of their World Cup win surprisingly struggled despite their group rivals Bulgaria and Greece drawing 3-3 in the first match.

West Germany had to rely on equalising twice in Greece to get a 2-2 draw before winning 1-0 in Malta.

Greece having beaten Bulgaria 2-1 then lost 2-0 in Malta.

West Germany’s 1-1 draw in Bulgaria saw both teams convert from the penalty spot.

Greece 4-0 and Bulgaria 5-0 beat Malta at home.

West Germany took control of the group as they drew 1-1 at home to Greece and then beat Bulgaria 1-0, to end all doubt before hammering Malta 8-0 at home in the final match.

WINNERS – WEST GERMANY

QUARTER FINALS

Yugoslavia v Wales

Yugoslavia took the lead in the first minute through Vugotic in Zagreb and when Popivoda added a second after 55mins it gave them a 2-0 lead to take to Cardiff.

The second leg at Ninian Park Cardiff is infamous in Welsh football history as 30,346 packed the ground.

Yugoslavia took the lead through a controversial Katalinski penalty awarded by the East German referee, before Wales equalised on the day through Ian Evans. Terry Yorath missed a penalty and John Toshack had two goals controversially disallowed. the match ended with the referee pelted by bottles and coins , and a policeman speared by a corner flag. The match was dubbed the Battle of Ninian Park and resulted in Wales being banned for two years from playing within 100 miles of Cardiff. This led Wales to play their 1978 World Cup qualifier against Scotland at Anfiled , Liverpool.

YUGOSLAVIA 3 WALES 1

Czechoslovakia v Soviet Union

The first leg in Bratislava was played in wet conditions with the Czechs scoring a goal in each half to secure a 2-0 lead going to Kiev. Moder’s first half goal was added to by a Paneka free kick.

Czechs took the lead just before half time with a Moder free kick before a Soviet equaliser from Buryak early in the second half brought the game level. The Czech response was a breakaway which saw Moder effectively end the tie before Blockin’s late chipped goal levelled the second leg at 2-2.

CZECHOSLOVAKIA 4 SOVIET UNION 2

Spain v West Germany

Spain opened the scoring in Madrid through Santillana midway through the first half, but Beer’s equaliser for the Germans on the hour mark mean the game was level going into the second leg in Munich.

Uli Hoeness gave the Germans after 17 mins and when Toppmoller added second before half time , this assured the German victory.

West Germany 3 Spain 1

HOLLAND V BELGIUM

In a very one sided contest in Rotterdam an early goal Rijsbergen was added to by Rensenbrink before half-time gave the Dutch a comfortable lead. Rensenbrink would go on to complete his hat trick with Cruyff scoring a penalty as Holland won the first leg 5-0 and virtually book their passage to the finals.

The second leg in Brussels saw Van Gool open the scoring for the Belgians before Rep and Cruyff gave Holland a 2-1 win.

Holland 7 Belgium 1

THE FINALS 16-20 JUNE 1976

SEMI FINALS

CZECHOSLOVAKIA V HOLLAND – 16th June 1976 – Zagreb

The match was played in a downpour and the Czech’s took a 19th min lead through Ondrus header from a Paneka free kick. Pollak was booked for encroachment at Dutch free kicks and a foul on Neeskens saw him sent off. Ondrus then sliced into his own net to level the scores before a red card for Neeskens saw both sides down to ten men going into extra time. Nehoda put the Czechs ahead in extra time. The Dutch were reduced to nine men with Van Hanegem sent off for dissent by Welsh referee Clive Thomas. Czechoslovakia secured their place in the final when Vesely scored late on.

Czechoslovakia 3 Holland 1 – after extra time

WEST GERMANY V YUGOSLAVIA – 17th June 1976 – Belgrade

The hosts Yugoslavia opened strongly against the World Champions and took a deserved lead through Popivoda after 19mins, before Dzajic doubled their lead before half time when Maier failed to hold a cross.

Flohe’s shot was deflected into the Yugoslav net by Wimmer halfway through the second half before in 79th min , West Germany equalised through Dieter Muller on his debut. He came on as substitute and scored with his first touch, heading home Bonhof’s cross. Muller would go on to score a hat trick on the night with two goals in extra time.

West Germany 4 Yugoslavia 2 – after extra time

EURO 1976 FINAL – 20th June 1976 – Belgrade

CZECHOSLOVAKIA V WEST GERMANY

Svehik opened the scoring after 8mins for the Czech’s after Hehoda’s cross was missed by Ondrus. Masny’s free kick was cleared by Beckenbauer to Dobias who half volleyed past Maier to give the Czech’s a 2-0 lead after 25 mins.

Dieter Muller pulled a goal back a few minutes later to reduce the lead to 2-1.

Czechoslovakia held on during the second half but suffered heartbreak when Holzenbein headed a equaliser in 89th minute.

The match ended in a penalty shoot out for the first time to settle a major football tournament and after both teams scored each kick up to 4-3 , the German Uli Hoeness would miss setting up Paneka to chip the ball into the net as Sepp Maier dived and create his own piece of football history.

West Germany 2 Czechoslovakia 2 – after extra time

Czechoslovakia won 5-3 on penalties

The team of the Tournament was –

GK: Ivo Viktor (Czechoslovakia)
DF: Anton Ondruš (Czechoslovakia)
DF: Ján Pivarník (Czechoslovakia)
DF: Ruud Krol (Netherlands)
DF: Franz Beckenbauer (West Germany)
MF: Antonín Panenka (Czechoslovakia)
MF: Jaroslav Pollák (Czechoslovakia)
MF: Rainer Bonhof (West Germany)
MF: Dragan Džajić (Yugoslavia)
FW: Zdeněk Nehoda (Czechoslovakia)
FW: Dieter Müller (West Germany)

English Cup Marathons

In the days before TV schedules dictated football and penalty shoot outs became common place in English cup ties, games were replayed until a team won.

I remember three of these cup marathons which I loved – listening to radio commentaries on BBC between 1977 and 1980.

English League Cup

The English League Cup began in 1961 with Aston Villa the first winners beating Rotherham over two legs. In 1967 the format of the final was changed to a one final at Wembley.

Ron Saunders had led Norwich City to the final in 1973 losing 1-0 to Tottenham , before leading Manchester City to the final in 1974 losing 2-1 to Wolves.

Saunders led out a team for the third consecutive season, this time lifting the trophy in 1975 as manager of Aston Villa s they beat Norwich 1-0 with a Ray Graydon penalty. This is the only time a major final has been contested by teams outside the top flight with both clubs in the Second Division at the time. Aston Villa would gain promotion at the end of the season as runner up to Manchester United.

The 1976 final Newcastle managed by Gordon Lee lost 2-1 to Manchester City where Dennis Tueart scored one of Wembley’s most famous goals with a spectacular overhead kick from a Peter Barnes cross.

Aston Villa v Everton 1977 League Cup Final

Everton had sacked manager Billy Bingham in December 1976 replacing him with Gordon Lee. Aston Villa remained under the leadership of Ron Saunders.

There had not been a drawn League Cup Final although a replay date and venue had been set in advance.

The final took place on a hot sunny day at Wembley Stadium in front of a capacity 96,223 crowd on 12th March 1977 and failed to produce a goal in a very tame match. Many fans missed the kick off due to the congestion as both sets of fans travelled to London on the M6 motorway. It was a poor game with the Football League’s decision not to play extra time frustrating many fans.

The First Replay took place at Hillsborough Stadium Sheffield on 16th March as 54.840 spectators, this time on a quagmire of a pitch

Everton’s Roger Kenyon score an own goal after 79mins and the cup seemed destined for Villa Park. Everton though had their striker Bob Latchford to thank for sending the match into extra time when he equalised in the 88th minute. This led to extra time which produced no further scoring and set up a second replay.

The Football League had not planned for a second replay and with both clubs involved in the FA cup and a league fixture backlog, it was four weeks before the Second Replay was played with a penalty shoot out to decide the winner if the teams were still level at the end of extra time.

The Second Replay took place at Old Trafford , Manchester on 13th April 1977, with the crowd recorded as 54,749.

Villa were without the injured Andy Gray and Frank Carrodus through injury.

Bob Latchford gave Everton the half time lead before Aston Villa came storming back in the second half with a goal from Chris Nicholl to equalise on 80 minutes, Brian Little scored a minute later for Aston Villa but their fans joy was short lived as Mick Lyons soon levelled for Everton and again the match went into extra time.

Brian Little scored his second goal of the evening with two minutes left in extra time and Villa held on to lift the League Cup 3-2 after extra time.

FA CUP 1978 /1979

Sheffield Wednesday v Arsenal

Third Round – 6th January 1979

Arsenal had lost the 1978 FA Cup Final 1-0 to Ipswich and were drawn in the Third Round of the 1979 FA Cup away to Third Division Sheffield Wednesday managed by Jack Charlton.

Arsenal were unhappy about the snowbound Hillsborough pitch as they arrived on 6th January 1979.

Sheffield Wednesday were captained by Ian Porterfield who had famously scored the winner in Sunderland’s shock 1973 FA Cup 1-0 win over Leeds Utd. There were 33,635 in attendance to see Alan Sunderland open the scoring for Arsenal, heading home Pat Rice’s right wing free kick after 9 minute.

Jeff Johnson headed home a cross from the left in the first minute of the second half to equalise for Wednesday, and send the game to a replay at Highbury.

Third Round Replay – 9th January 1979

The replay at Highbury three days later. It was Sheffield Wednesday who took a shock lead when Roger Wylde fastened on to a long ball from Jimmy Mullen to net just before half time and it took an 88th goal Liam Brady to take the game to extra time. David Price hit the post for the home side as the match ended again in a 1-1 draw after extra time in front of 37,987.

Third Round Second Replay – 15th January 1979

Jack Charlton the Sheffield Wednesday manager refused a coin toss to decide the venue of the second replay so a neutral venue of Filbert Street, Leicester was chosen to host the second replay, the following Monday. A crowd of 25.011 saw a 2-2 draw which went to extra time , and still no winner was found. Liam Brady and Alan Sunderland scored for Arsenal with Brian Hornsby scoring both Wednesday goals.

Third Round Third Replay – 17th January 1979

The teams reconvened two nights later again at Filbert Street and produced an even more astonishing game which ended 3-3 after extra time, The crowd was 17.008. Sheffield Wednesday took the lead on 59 minutes through David Rushbury. Liam Brady missed a penalty for Arsenal before Frank Stapleton levelled and Willie Young gave the Gunners the lead on 76 minutes. John Lowey equalised for the Third Division team after 86 minutes and send the game to extra time. Frank Stapleton put Arsenal ahead early in extra time but Graham Rix conceded a penalty to allow Sheffield Wednesday’s Brian Hornsby to force yet another replay.

Third Round Fourth Replay – 22nd January 1979

The teams met for the fifth time in 16 days and eventually Arsenal prevailed with a 2-0. Steve Gatting scored after 5 minutes and Wednesday’s resistance was broken when Frank Stapleton doubled the Arsenal lead after 34 minutes in front of 30.275 fans.

ARSENAL FA CUP WINNNERS 1979

The result was in the end the prelude to a long and successful cup run for Arsenal as they won the FA Cup at Wembley in May 1979. Arsenal led 2-0 late in the game before Manchester United scored two late goals and just as extra time beckoned Alan Sunderland popped up with a now famous late winner as the Gunners won 3-2 to list the FA cup. This was either side of losing to Ipswich in 1978 and West Ham in 1980 both 1-0 as they made the FA Cup Final in three successive seasons.

FA CUP 1979 /1980

Arsenal v Liverpool

The 1979/80 season began with Liverpool beating Arsenal 3-1 in the Charity Shield at Wembley in August 1979.

Arsenal had begun April losing 2-1 at Norwich on Wednesday 2nd before drawing 1-1 at home to Southampton on Saturday 5th. On Easter Monday they travelled to local rivals Tottenham and won 2-1 before drawing 1-1 with Juventus at Highbury on Wednesday 9th in the semi final first leg of the European Cup Winners Cup. As they arrived at Hillsborough for the FA Cup semi final against Liverpool it was their 5th game in 11 days.

Semi Final – 12th April 1980 – Hillsborough

The first game was a bit of a non event on a warm sunny day, with both teams playing out a scrappy 0-0 draw on a heavy pitch. The teams couldn’t produce a goal even after extra time in front of 50.174 fans.

Semi Final Replay – 16th April 1980 – Villa Park

Liverpool went into the game with Kenny Dalglish dropping back to midfield in place of Jimmy Case injured in the first game , with David Fairclough partnering David Johnson in attack. Liverpool in red shirts with Arsenal in yellow,

Liverpool’s David Fairclough headed on a Ray Clemence goal kick to David Johnson whose shot was saved by Pat Jennings. David Fairclough however followed up to score the rebound to put Liverpool ahead. Frank Stapleton had the ball in the net shortly afterwards for Arsenal but the gaol was ruled out for offside against David Price. Liverpool’s reprieve was short lived as David Price’s headed the ball through their defence and Alan Sunderland lofted over Ray Clemence from outside the area to make the game 1-1. Another half hour of extra time failed to produce a winning goal, in front of 40.679.

League Game 19th April 1980 – Anfield

The following Saturday the teams met in a league game in Liverpool where an early Kenny Dalglish goal was cancelled out by Brain Talbot as the sides drew 1-1 again.

Arsenal then won 1-0 in Turin against Juventus on 23rd April to reach the European Cup Winners Cup Final and drew 1-1 at home to West Brom on 26th April.

Semi Final Second Replay – 28th April 1980 – Villa Park

The teams played again at Villa Park with Alan Sunderland scoring a goal in the opening seconds which looked to have won the tie. Liverpool had one frantic last attack in injury time and it was Kenny Dalglish who popped up with the equaliser, knocking in from close range after a Ray Kennedy header, to take the match to extra time and ultimately a third replay. The crowd was 42.975.

Semi Final Third Replay – 28th April 1980 – Highfield Road

The Third replay was played at Highfield Road , Coventry in front of 35.335 fans as Arsenal finally booked a place in the FA Cup final with a 1-0 win courtesy of Brian Talbot who had joined Arsenal the previous summer having played in the Ipswich team who beat Arsenal 1-0 in the 1978 FA Cup Final

Season 1979/80 Summary

Arsenal would end the season trophyless losing the FA Cup Final 1-0 to West Ham with Trevor Brooking scoring and the European Cup Winners Cup Final on penalties to Valencia after a 0-0 draw.

Liverpool despite failures in the cup competitions won the league in 1979/80

Hamilton Accies 1985-86 Part 2

Accies won the First Division Championship in 1985-86 , this is a look back at an amazing season

PART TWO – JANUARY TO MAY 1986

January 1986

The bad weather at the start of 1986 saw Accies first two matches at Airdrie and Brechin postponed before a return to action on 11th January at home to Falkirk. A tough afternoon saw second half goals from Tommy O’Neill and a first in Accies colours by Adrian Sprott.

Accies run of 6 consecutive wins was brought to a halt at Somerset Park where again Adrian Sprott scored in a 1-1 draw , the fifth consecutive match between the teams in Ayr with the same 1-1 result.

Accies Scottish Cup tie with Forfar Athletic at Douglas Park was postponed as the weather continued to bite.

February 1986

Accies played Clyde on 1st February at Douglas Park and really clicked into gear scoring two tremendous volleys by John McNaught and John Brogan in a 3-0 win.

Two days later Forfar Athletic visited Douglas Park in the Scottish Cup tie previously postponed with two John Brogan goals securing a 2-1 win.

The freezing conditions meant Accies didn’t play another game in February. Home games against Alloa and then the Fourth Round Scottish Cup tie at home to Premier Division leaders Hearts were postponed. The cup tie was postponed on multiple occasions as well as league games at East Fife and Forfar.

March 1986

A capacity crowd packed Douglas Park on the evening of Monday 3rd March 1986 and witnessed the most extraordinary start , as John McNaught galloped down the right wing and crossed for John Brogan to put Accies 1-0 ahead after 21 seconds.

The lead was sadly short lived as Hearts John Robertson soon equalised.

Hearts goalkeeper Henry Smith produced numerous saves to keep Accies at bay and won the match of the match on the night , but it was Hearts Gary Mackay who scored the only goal of the second half to win the game 2-1 for the Edinburgh side.

Henry Smith superb save to deny John Brogan

Accies retuned to Douglas Park the following Saturday on a blustery day against Kilmarnock. Three Accies first half goals threatened to sweep the Ayrshire side away, but the change of ends with the wind advantage saw a Kilmarnock comeback , however Accies held out to win 3-2. Accies were four points ahead at the top of the league with two games in hand.

This was followed by two games in seven days against Brechin City , the re-arranged midweek visit to Angus where Accies won 3-1 was followed by the teams meeting at Douglas Park. Joe Reid scored after 35 seconds and despite John Pelosi missing a penalty shortly afterwards , the goal was enough to secure a 1-0 win.

A tough week with three away fixtures began with a 1-0 win at Ayr and then a trip on the Monday evening to Airdrie saw Accies race into a 3-0 lead before a late Joe Reid goal won the game 4-0.

Firhill was the next stop for the Accies bandwagon. A John McNaught first half goal gave Accies a platform to build a 2-0 victory where captain Graeme Mitchell netted in the second half.

Accies despite the cup defeat to Hearts followed this up with six consecutive wins in March which opened a substantial gap at the top of the league with Dumbarton who had played two games more were 8 points behind with 7 games left.

Accies ended March having won 13 leagues games from 14 since the end of November victory at Cappielow.

Accies announced the arrival of Brazilian trialist Jorge Fernandez but his time in Lanarkshire was short lived with TV pictures showing him missing the whole goal as they tried to stage him scoring for the cameras.

April – May 1986

On 2nd April 1986 Accies drew 1-1 at home to Alloa , a game in which goalkeeper Rikki Ferguson made his 500th appearance for the club , a true Accies legend.

Accies were on the verge of promotion and Champions elect however the second promotion spot was wide open going into the final month of the season. although Dumbarton looked favourites.

Hamilton 31 +38 48
Dumbarton 32 +14 39
Falkirk 33 +13 36
Kilmarnock 33 +8 36
Forfar 31 +5 34
East Fife 32 +1 33

A John Brogan goal at home to Montrose coupled with their penalty miss meant Accies won 1-0 and secure promotion to the Premier League.

The following midweek there were some shock results with Dumbarton losing at home to Forfar 2-0 in an early kick off , which put Accies on the verge of the title.

Accies with promotion secured played a Falkirk team with the motivation of chasing promotion and the Bairns ran out surprise 3-0 winners.

Hamilton 33 +36 50
Dumbarton 34 +12 40
Falkirk 35 +17 40
Kilmarnock 35 +12 40
Forfar 33 +6 36
East Fife 34 -1 34

The Hamilton fans travelled in numbers to Shawfield as Accies faced Clyde in the hope of the securing the league title. It was something of an anti-climax with Clyde winning 4-2. Alex Hamill’s late red card was Accies only sending off of the season. Robin Rae was given his debut in goal, as was young Gerry McGuigan.

However news filtered through from Broomfield that a late goal by former Accies player Jamie Fairlie had given Airdrie a 2-1 win over Dumbarton which meant Accies were Champions.

Shawfield saw the Accies fans invade the pitch in celebration.

A day of shocks also saw Falkirk lose 3-2 at home to Morton while Forfar beat Kilmarnock 1-0 at Station Park.

Hamilton 34 +34 50
Falkirk 36 +16 40
Dumbarton 35 +12 40
Kilmarnock 36 +11 40
Forfar 34 +7 38
East Fife 35 0 36

Accies travelled to Methil for a midweek 6.30pm kick off and Robin Rae again played and conceded another four goals in a 4-0 defeat.

Dumbarton once again seized second place winning 3-1 at Alloa

Hamilton 35 +30 50
Dumbarton 36 +14 42
Falkirk 36 +16 40
Kilmarnock 36 +11 40
Forfar 35 +7 39
East Fife 36 +4 38

With captain Graham Mitchell in hospital , vice captain Willie Jamieson was presented with the First Division Championship trophy, the players took the trophy on a lap of honour prior to the 2-1 win over Morton at Douglas Park.

Kilmarnock’s 3-0 home win over Dumbarton put them firmly in the promotion hunt as Falkirk beat Brechin 2-1 at Brockville

Hamilton 36 +31 52
Falkirk 37 +17 42
Dumbarton 37 +11 42
Kilmarnock 37 +14 42
Forfar 36 +8 41
East Fife 37 +6 40

Accies ended the season with three away games , a midweek 2-0 defeat at Forfar, moved the Angus side into second place with two games remaining.

Hamilton 37 +29 52
Forfar 37 +10 43
Falkirk 37 +17 42
Dumbarton 37 +11 42
Kilmarnock 37 +14 42
East Fife 37 +6 40

Accies then followed up with a 4-1 win at Dumbarton where Gerry Phillips was given a rare start and scored twice as John McNaught played his final game for Accies before his £92,000 transfer to Chelsea. This was a game Dumbarton had to win , and Accies ended their promotion hopes.

Forfar lost 2-0 at Morton and Kilmarnock lost 2-0 at Partick , so it was Falkirk with a 2-1 win at Ayr who moved into pole position for the second automatic promotion place going into the final day.

A Falkirk defeat at home to East Fife on the final day could open the door to Forfar or even Dumbarton , Kilmarnock or East Fife.

Hamilton 38 +32 54
Falkirk 38 +18 44
Forfar 38 +13 43
Dumbarton 38 +8 42
Kilmarnock 38 +12 42
East Fife 38 +7 42

The final day of the season saw John McNaught join the fans on the terracing at Broomfield as Accies beat Airdrie 2-1.

Falkirk secured promotion behind Accies with as 2-2 draw against East Fife at Brockville . while Forfar also drew 2-2 . at Alloa

FINAL TABLE 1986/86

Team                Pld  W    D   L   GF  GA  GD  Pts

1 Hamilton Academical 39 24 8 7 77 44 +33 56
2 Falkirk 39 17 11 11 57 39 +18 45
3 Kilmarnock 39 18 8 13 62 49 +13 44
4 Forfar Athletic 39 17 10 12 51 43 +8 44
5 East Fife 39 14 15 10 54 46 +8 43
6 Dumbarton 39 16 11 12 59 52 +7 43
7 Morton 39 14 11 14 57 63 −6 39
8 Partick Thistle 39 10 16 13 53 64 −11 36
9 Airdrieonians 39 12 11 16 51 50 +1 35
10 Brechin City 39 13 9 17 58 64 −6 35
11 Clyde 39 9 17 13 49 59 −10 35
12 Montrose 39 10 14 15 43 54 −11 34
13 Ayr United 39 10 11 18 41 60 −19 31
14 Alloa Athletic 39 6 14 19 49 74 −25 26

Accies were First Division Champions and top scorer John Brogan won the First Division Player of Year