Wednesday 27th December, 2017 at 10:39am
This was a very good result for Thistle because just three days earlier we had gone to Parkhead to face Celtic in a Scottish Cup relay and lost (whisper it) by 8 goals to 1. In view of that humiliation, it was very commendable of those fans who undertook the journey to Aberdeen and it was good that they received their just rewards. It seems to me that the further you travel in support of your team, the more important it is to bring back a good result. Otherwise, it can be a seemingly endless journey back from places like Pittodrie. I have done it – often!
The Jags fell behind after 14 minutes and we thought – oh no, here we go again. The feeling of misery was compounded by the fact that we were subjected to rain and sleet throughout the 90 minutes. However, on the 30-minute mark the sun came out, metaphorically at least, when the flying Arthur Duncan struck a well-deserved equaliser. There was no further scoring in an evenly-contested final hour.
The Thistle team makes interesting reading, and will bring back memories for older supporters: – Billy Ritchie (ex Rangers – George Niven would follow the same route later), Jackie Campbell, Bobby Gray (the dark-haired taller of the two players of the same name), John Hansen, Donnie McKinnon, George O’Neill, Dan McLindon, David McParland, John Flanagan, Jimmy Bone, Arthur Duncan.
After being very strong in the early 60’s, cracks were beginning to show in the second half of the decade. At the end of the 1968/69 season we finished 14th, ironically one place above our opponents in the featured match, but 1969/70 saw us take the dreaded drop. However, we stayed down there for the shortest possible time and bounced back with a fresh, invigorated team led by an aspiring young manager and we all know what was achieved in 1971. Keep shouting it from the rooftops – why not?
For younger fans the cover price of the programme was one shilling – or 5 pence in decimalisation time.
Robert R
