Saturday 4th March, 2017 at 8:00am
This game should have been played on 27th February, which is the date on the programme cover, but was postponed until 2nd March.
I can imagine that when Aberdeen beat Motherwell 7-2 recently, alarm bells were ringing among older readers that I might just be toying with the idea of selecting a certain match which took place on 30th October 1971, exactly one week after out League Cup triumph. No chance – I have been trying to eradicate that particular game from my memory for the past 45 years!
In the featured game Thistle did what they have done already three times this season. They ran Aberdeen very close, but couldn’t quite obtain a positive result – so near and yet so far, I guess.
The only goal of the game came along just nine minutes from full-time, and the villain of the piece was an old adversary of ours, Mixu Paatelainen. His late winner was a real body blow because, to use proper football parlance, “we had deserved to take something from the game”. How many times have we heard that before? This wasn’t the first time, nor would it be the last, that the wily Finn would put one over on us.
Still, it had been a creditable performance from the following team: – Craig Nelson, Bobby Law, Don McVicar, Albert Craig, Willie Jamieson, Ian Cameron, Lee Palin, Ray Farningham, Gerry Britton, David Irons, Julian Broddle. When Aberdeen scored, Thistle brought on Isaac English and Colin McGlashan for Broddle and Palin respectively, but it proved to be too little, too late.
You may be struggling to remember Lee Palin. He was a pretty good football player, but woefully short of pace for the modern game. On the other hand, Don McVicar, the Perth postman, will be well remembered. How sad is it that at a young age a fit and hitherto healthy young man should fall victim to that horrible motor neurone disease.
There is an article within the body of the programme claiming that Thistle are struggling financially I quote: – Their average league gate this season (1992/93) is just 6448 – nowhere near enough to pay the wage bill. Just 6448! I say no more!
P.S. I hope you weren’t one of those people putting about conspiracy theories about the Scottish Cup draw – shame on you!
Robert R
