Wednesday 13th December, 2017 at 10:49am
There’s a historic element about this feature match, because it was Thistle’s first ever victory and first goals at that level. The new league had begun the previous season but Thistle just missed out on inclusion because in the penultimate match of season 1974/75 we could only manage a 0-0 draw at home to a stubborn, ultra-defensive St Johnstone side(sound familiar, even then?). There was still a game to go, but the match against the Perth Saints was really the one which did the damage. Our elevation to the elite was not sabotaged, merely postponed. The up-side was that we were all to enjoy winning the First Division championship in grand style, losing only twice in 26 matches.
Turning our attention back to the chosen match, we got there in the end, but victory was a long time coming as agonizingly, in spite of our territorial superiority, we couldn’t put the ball in the net, that is until the 81st minute when ace marksman Dougie Somner finally struck. As can frequently happen, once a defence has been breached, a second goal will soon follow and that is precisely what happened with Jim Melrose supplying the clinching goal in 86 minutes. Thus Thistle’s inaugural Premier Division season was up and running and we went on to finish in a very creditable 5th position, so it turned out that our highest finish in the top division came in our very first season in much exalted company.
The full team which sent the Steelmen home pointless was as follows:- Alan Rough, George Mackie, Brian Whittaker, Jackie Campbell, Alan Hansen, John Marr, Jim Melrose, John Hansen, Dougie Somner, Harry Johnston, John Craig.
We have had a few players by the name of Johnstone, some spelt with an “e” on the end. The one who played in this match signed from Montrose and played just 17 matches. Others included(this is not a completely exhaustive list) Sammy, Maurice, Billy, Tony and Derek. It would be invidious of me not to rank them in order of merit or success. That’s a matter of personal opinion, so I’ll leave that to you.
I commented earlier that the Motherwell victory was our first in the Premier League. The league table of the time(after just 2 games played!) showed Thistle at the bottom on goal difference, but with the same points total(one) as two other teams – wait for it – Celtic and Hibernian, illustrious company, one would have to say. The former rose to be Champions, while Hibs climbed to 6th.
Robert R
