An independent fan view of everything St Mirren Football Club. From, blogs, articles, stats and research dating back to 1877 right up to and including the current season; including a full history of the St Mirren shirt and kit, our greatest team, top goalscorers, penalty takers, transfer fees, and managers. we have it all covered. Additionally, we look at the other football clubs of Paisley, such as Abercorn and Dykebar FC as well as the historical ranking of every club in Scottish football.
UEFA CUP WINNERS CUP 2nd Round, 2nd Leg 4th November 1987 St. Mirren Park, Paisley
St. Mirren 0-2 Mechelen
Ohana 33 Ohana 49
ATT: 14,368
Referee: E Halle (Norway)
With just a home win separating St Mirren from the Quarter Finals of the European Cup Winners Cup, a record crowd for a European tie of just under 15,000 turns out to try and roar the Paisley men to success, but their heroes were second best all match to an underrated and fine Belgian side, who would win 2-0.
The ‘favourites tag’ afforded to Saints beforehand was perhaps naivety on behalf of the media, and once injuries and unavailable players for the home side were considered, even before a ball was kicked the Paisley men were up against it.
With both natural left sided defenders Derek Hamilton and David Winnie out injured, Tommy Wilson had to fill in at left back as Robert Dawson came in on the right side. Dawson’s former Stirling Albion teammate Keith Walker deputised for the suspended Ian Ferguson, with both players only turning professional a few months beforehand. Paul Chalmers started in attack with Frank McGarvey still unavailable due to personal reasons.
Mechelen on the other hand were missing suspended captain and Belgian international Lei Clijsters, however they still started the match with seven capped players, and the gulf in class was evident for much of the match, particularly with Israeli winger Eli Ohana giving Dawson a torrid time throughout the game.
Ohana would in fact net twice, 12 minutes before half time and a few minutes after, with the first strike a fine solo goal and the second a tap in after the ball hit the post. These were the only goals Saints would lose in the entire tournament at the end of their 4 matches played, but they were more than enough to sink the dream of Saints playing in the last 8.
The Belgians would go onto win the tournament at the end of the season, and eventually 12 of their squad that played against Saints would be international players, with a total of 254 caps gained over the next decade. It was no disgrace losing to the Belgians, but the disappointment was still high, especially during a period when smaller Scottish clubs reaching the latter stages of European tournaments was far from being a fantasy.
UEFA CUP WINNERS CUP 2nd Round, 1st Leg 21st October 1987 Achter de Kazerne, Mechelen
Mechelen 0-0 St. Mirren
ATT: 6,746 (250 Saints fans)
Referee: L Hartman (Hungary)
After becoming the first team from the UK to visit Belgium since the Heysel Disaster in 1985, Saints presence in the Low countries means the the match is given a category A security listing by the Belgian government, with a restriction on traveling supporters and the allocation of armed police.
The Belgians are in fine form and top their league, however Saints are labelled favourites to make the quarter finals and manager Alex Smith believes the Paisley side have a stronger squad than their continental counterparts.
The 0-0 draw may seem to back this up as it is a fine result for St Mirren, however Saints withstand heavy pressure, particularly near the end and rely on Campbell Money and the woodwork to keep the Belgians out.
Crucially for Saints, Ian Ferguson is booked and will miss the return leg in Paisley. With Frank McGarvey still refusing to train with the club, this severely limits the attacking options for Alex Smith who is also without midfielder Abercromby through injury.
The Belgian Government praise St Mirren supporters following the match for their behaviour as a clear distinction continues to be drawn between the behaviour of Scottish and English fans abroad.
TEAM LINEUPS
MECHELEN
NO
ST. MIRREN
PREUD’HOMME Michel
1
MONEY Campbell
DE MESMAEKER Paul
2
WILSON Tommy
SANDERS Koen
3
WINNIE David
RUTJES Graeme
4
FITZPATRICK Tony 63
CLIJSTERS Lei
5
GODFREY Peter 77
THEUNIS Paul 46
6
COOPER Neil
CLUYTENS Bert
7
LAMBERT Paul
HOFKENS Wim
8
FERGUSON Ian
OHANA Eli
9
CHALMERS Paul
KOEMAN Erwin
10
WALKER Keith
DEN BOER Piet
11
CAMERON Ian
DE WILDE Pascal 46
12
HAMILTON Brian 63
JASPERS Raymond
13
DAWSON Robert 77
DE NIL Alain
14
McDOWALL Kenny
EMMERS Marc
15
SHAW George
DROUGUET Pierre
16
FRIDGE Les (GK)
THE MATCH
THE TRIP
Stadium: Achter de Kazerne, Mechelen, Belgium 1987 Capacity: 16,000 Record Attendance: 18,477 (1989) 1987 City Population: 75,622 Distance From Paisley (air): 494 miles – 1.5 hour flight Distance From Paisley (road): 648 miles – 14 hours drive Times Played at Stadium: 1 (1 draw)
THE STADIUM
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UEFA CUP WINNERS CUP 1st Round, 2nd Leg 30th September 1987 Alfheim Stadion, Tromsø
Tromsø 0-0 St. Mirren
ATT: 5,114
Referee: Kurt Horsted (Denmark)
Saints travel well over 1,000 miles to the Arctic Circle to face the Norwegians in what was the most northerly football ground ever to be used in European football at the time.
The crowd of 5,114 was a record attendance at the stadium for several years, which had only opened in the summer of 1987.
Alex Smith decides to tactically contain the part time side, protecting the slender lead gained a fortnight earlier, primarily by using Billy Abercromby and Ian Ferguson as midfield enforcers, a complete change for Ferguson who had been used predominantly as an attacking player by Smith up until now.
If the main aim of Smith was progression though, the tactics worked perfectly as the Norwegians had no threat whatsoever during the match, and Saints comfortably although narrowly made the next round.
Unfortunately for Abercromby, the Scottish Cup winning captain was stretchered off after only 16 minutes to be replaced by club captain Tony Fitzpatrick, who had handed in a transfer request at the start of the month after not featuring much this campaign, but the Saints legend left any resentment behind to put in a man of the match performance.
Abercromby on the other hand would be out for over a year, and sadly never played for St Mirren again.
Saints drew Mechelen of Belgium in the last 16, and an opportunity to reach the Quarter Finals of European competition awaited.
TEAM LINEUPS
TROMSØ
No
ST. MIRREN
FLEM Bjarte
1
MONEY Campbell
PEDERSEN Tor
2
WILSON Tommy
SOLSTAD Nils
3
WINNIE David
ALBERTSEN Trond
4
ABERCROMBY Billy 16
NILSEN Tore
5
GODFREY Peter
ESPEJORD Lars
6
COOPER Neil
RISMO Tore 68
7
LAMBERT Paul
JOHANSEN Bjorn
8
McDOWALL Kenny 76
FORFANG Sigmund 77
9
FERGUSON Ian
JOHANSEN Trond
10
WALKER Keith
HOGMO Per-Mathias
11
CAMERON Ian
ANDREASSEN Elvind 68
12
FITZPATRICK Tony 16
OLSEN Kjetil 77
13
CHALMERS Paul 76
KRAEMER Morten
14
DAWSON Robert
BENDIKSEN
15
GALLACHER Brian
HANSEN Per (GK)
16
FRIDGE Les (GK)
THE MATCH
THE TRIP
Stadium: Alfheim Stadion, Tromsø, Norway 1987 Capacity: 6,859 Record Attendance: 10,225 (1990) 1987 City Population: 48,838 Distance From Paisley (air): 1,192 miles – 3 hour flight Distance From Paisley (road): 2,541 miles – 49.5 hours drive Times Played at Stadium: 1 (1 draw)
THE STADIUM
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UEFA CUP WINNERS CUP 1st Round, 1st Leg 16th September 1987 St. Mirren Park, Paisley
St. Mirren 1-0 Tromsø
MCDOWALL 2
ATT: 7,797
Referee: I Gorris (Belgium)
Saints enter new European territory with their first match in the European Cup Winners Cup, a home tie against Norwegain part timers Tromsø, where the expectation is the Scottish Cup holders will run up the proverbial “cricket score” against their supposed inferior opposition.
Those confident enough of such an outcome would have been nodding approvingly when Kenny McDowall scored after just 2 minutes, the forward pouncing to scoop home after Ian Ferguson had a long shot parried by Flem.
However, Saints toiled badly after this to break down the Scandinavians, much to the frustration of the Saints support who let the players know of their disapproval the longer the match went on.
Probably aware of the grumbling on the terraces, Alex Smith decides to freshen the team up after 65 minutes by replacing Frank McGarvey and Paul Lambert with Paul Chalmers and Norrie McWhirter, which should have been a routine set of substitutions in normal circumstances.
However, this triggered a set of events that would almost lead to the club being relegated and would lose Alex Smith his job, as McGarvey and assistant manager Jimmy Bone had a verbal and physical disagreement going down the tunnel and into the dressing room.
The repercussions of this clash prompted McGarvey to go on ‘strike’ and be out of the first team for months, during which time Ian Ferguson also requested a transfer and the dressing room appeared a troubled place for the rest of the season.
Completely oblivious to this fact at the time, the Saints fans had also lost patience with seemingly everything and unceremoniously booed the team off the park at full time despite the victory.
Saints leave Sweden with a credible 3-3 draw, but have massive questions regarding the Czech referee who disallows 2 perfectly good Saints goals and gives the Swedes a highly debatable and controversial penalty.
The away side are dominant throughout the first half, but go in at halftime baffled to be 2-1 down after goals from Speirs and McGarvey are inexplicably disallowed before Lundin opens the scoring for the Swedes with their first attack on the half hour.
Brian Gallacher finally equalises for the strongly fancied visitors 5 minutes before the break, but the Swedes regain the lead from the penalty spot after the linesman had flagged an attacker offside but the referee ignored it, and then gave a penalty after the play continued and Clarke was penalised.
Despite continuing to dominate in the second half, Saints find themselves 3-1 down after 65 minutes, when the incredible defending of the previous round was nowhere to be seen as Tommy Wilson gifts Andersson a third.
However, Brian Gallacher came to Saints rescue with 2 goals in the last 10 minutes, completing the first ever hat-trick from a St. Mirren player in Europe in the process, and put Saints in an extremely strong position in the overall tie.
Saints now needed any win or a draw under 3-3 to progress to the third round of the UEFA Cup (Last 16) for the first time.
TEAM LINEUPS
HAMMARBY
NO
ST. MIRREN
SKALLEBENG Roger
1
MONEY Campbell
GRANQVIST Kjell
2
WILSON Tommy
VAATTOVAARA Sulo
3
HAMILTON Derek
DENNERBY Thomas 56
4
ROONEY Jim
JOHANSSON Klas
5
COOPER Neil
TURESSON Tomas
6
CLARKE Steve
RAMBERG Sten-Ove
7
FITZPATRICK Tony
ANDERSSON Michael
8
McDOWALL Kenny 74
WAHLBERG Mats 15
9
McGARVEY Frank
LUNDIN Thomas
10
GALLAGHER Brian
ERIKKSON Ulf
11
SPEIRS Gardner
HOLMBERG Per 15
12
MACKIE Peter 74
UHLBOCK Peter 56
13
ABERCROMBY Billy
ERIKKSON Lasse
14
CAMERON Ian
VONDERBURG Jean-Paul
15
JARVIE Drew
–
16
STEWART Jim (GOALKPR)
THE MATCH
THE TRIP
Stadium: Söderstadion, Stockholm, Sweden 1985 Capacity: 20,000 Record Attendance: 22,000 (1982) 1983 Metropolitan City Population: 1,012,000 Distance From Paisley (air): 864 miles – 2.5 hour flight Distance From Paisley (road): 1,554 miles – 28 hours drive Times Played at Stadium: 1 (1 draw)
THE STADIUM
HIGHLIGHTS
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UEFA CUP 1st Round, 2nd Leg 2nd October 1985 St. Mirren Park, Paisley
St. Mirren 3-0 Slavia Prague (AET)
GALLACHER 41 MCGARVEY 100 MCGARVEY 108
ATT: 11,768
Referee: Rolf Haugen (Norway)
Saints produce (to date) their greatest European performance and victory as the Czech giants are eventually blown away by the guile and class of Frank McGarvey, who nets a brilliant Extra Time double to stun the Prague side.
Brian Gallacher opens the scoring late in the first half, with a fortuitous effort that seems to develop from a clearance that rebounds off him and into the net. This is Saints first ever European goal scored in Paisley at the fourth attempt, and additionally the first in any Euro tie for 6 matches.
The driving rain on a gloomy Paisley night does little to quieten the European record crowd inside Love Street however, but a tense second half elapses before McGarvey lights up extra time, firstly 10 minutes into the added period with a speculative shot that deflects home to give Saints the outright lead for the first time in 190 minutes over the 2 legs.
Knowing a goal from the Prague side would knock Saints out on the away goal rule, the second period of Extra Time threatened to be much more nervy, however the home side play it out comfortably after McGarvey adds to his own tally almost immediately after the restart with a goal of outrageous quality, as he flicks a Kenny McDowall cross home with his heel to complete a remarkable result.
Due to a UK wide TV blackout, no TV cameras are permitted at the ground to record this match, however some months later, grainy amateur footage was discovered capturing the occasion.
The only negative from a magnificent night was an injury to fans favourite Ian Scanlon, and this would in fact end the wingers career.
Saints would draw part-time Swedish outfit Hammarby in the next round.
TEAM LINEUPS
ST. MIRREN
NO
SLAVIA PRAGUE
MONEY Campbell
1
HRUSKA Zdenek
WILSON Tommy
2
SOKOL Roman
HAMILTON Derek
3
KUBIK Lubos
ROONEY Jim
4
TAKAC Mirian 70
GODFREY Peter
5
JESLINEK Jiri
CLARKE Steve 74
6
JAROLIM Karel
FITZPATRICK Tony
7
NEMEC Jaroslav
COOPER Neil
8
DOLEZAL Jiri
McGARVEY Frank
9
FRYDA Milan
GALLAGHER Brian
10
JANU Miroslav
SPEIRS Gardner
11
VIGER Bohas 56
SCANLON Ian 74 82
12
REHAK Pavel 56
McDOWALL Kenny 82
13
KOURIL Miroslav 70
MACKIE Peter
14
ZAMAZAL Jiri
ABERCROMBY Billy
15
BERANEK Miroslav
STEWART Jim
16
VESELY Milan
THE MATCH
“You never know”, might be the motto of provincial Scottish Football. The pub wisdom of the supporters of the less successful teams has always been; “The opposition only have 11 men on the park, the same as we have”.
Unexpected things can happen, and they often do. When St. Mirren started to score against Slavia Prague, they were breaching more than a defence, they were puncturing an assumption; one of the most famous European capitals wasn’t necessarily superior to a grey west of Scotland town.
As the realisation grew of what was happening, Paisley became for a night, one of the footballing capitals of Europe. St. Mirren were not only scoring a victory, they were fulfilling for their fans the dream of every smaller clubs supporters; if it can come true for them, why not for us?
That dream of an identity expressed on the football park, is the first key to the importance club football has had in Scotland.
William McIlvaney, 1986.
HIGHLIGHTS
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