EUROPEAN CUP WINNERS CUP

May 10, 2024May 26, 2025 / cairterscorner1877 / Leave a comment

P4 W1 D2 L1 F1 A2

DATE	OPPOSITION	ATT	V	COMPETITION	SCORE	O	SCORERS
16/09/1987	TROMSØ	7,797	H	UEFA CWC, 1st Round, 1st Leg	1-0	W	McDowall
30/09/1987	Tromsø	5,114	A	UEFA CWC, 1st Round, 2nd Leg	0-0	D
21/10/1987	Mechelen	6,746	A	UEFA CWC, 2nd Round, 1st Leg	0-0	D
04/11/1987	MECHELEN	14,368	H	UEFA CWC, 2nd Round, 2nd Leg	0-2	L

PLAYER	APP	GLS
Billy ABERCROMBY	2	0
Ian CAMERON	4	0
Paul CHALMERS	4	0
Neil COOPER	4	0
Robert DAWSON	3	0
Ian FERGUSON	3	0
Tony FITZPATRICK	3	0
Peter GODFREY	4	0
Brian HAMILTON	2	0
Paul LAMBERT	4	0
Kenny McDOWALL	3	1
Frank McGARVEY	1	0
Norrie McWHIRTER	1	0
Campbell MONEY	4	0
George SHAW	1	0
Keith WALKER	3	0
Tommy WILSON	3	0
David WINNIE	3	0

APPEARANCES	ECWC
Ian CAMERON	4
Paul CHALMERS	4
Neil COOPER	4
Peter GODFREY	4
Paul LAMBERT	4
Campbell MONEY	4
Robert DAWSON	3
Ian FERGUSON	3
Tony FITZPATRICK	3
Kenny McDOWALL	3
Keith WALKER	3
Tommy WILSON	3
David WINNIE	3
Billy ABERCROMBY	2
Brian HAMILTON	2
Frank McGARVEY	1
Norrie McWHIRTER	1
George SHAW	1

GOALSCORERS	APP	GLS
Kenny McDOWALL	3	1

SEASONS

04/11/1987 – MECHELEN (H)

May 9, 2024May 15, 2024 / cairterscorner1877 / Leave a comment

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.

TEAM LINEUPS

ST. MIRREN	NO	MECHELEN
MONEY Campbell	1	PREUD’HOMME Michel
DAWSON Robert	2	DE MESMAEKER Paul
WILSON Tommy	3	JASPERS Raymond
FITZPATRICK Tony	4	SANDERS Koen
GODFREY Peter	5	RUTJES Graeme
COOPER Neil	6	HOFKENS Wim
LAMBERT Paul	7	OHANA Eli
WALKER Keith 63	8	THEUNIS Paul
CHALMERS Paul	9	CLUYTENS Bert
McDOWALL Kenny 63	10	KOEMAN Erwin
CAMERON Ian	11	DEN BOER Piet
HAMILTON Brian 63	12	DE WILDE Pascal
SHAW George 63	13	DE GREEF Yves (GK)
GALLAGHER Brian	14	DE NIL Alain
BUTLER John	15	EMMERS Marc
FRIDGE Les (GK)	16	DROUGUET Pierre

THE MATCH

HIGHLIGHTS

21/10/1987 – Mechelen (A)

May 8, 2024May 14, 2024 / cairterscorner1877 / Leave a comment

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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30/09/1987 – Tromsø (A)

May 8, 2024May 14, 2024 / cairterscorner1877 / Leave a comment

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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16/09/1987 – TROMSØ (H)

May 8, 2024May 14, 2024 / cairterscorner1877 / Leave a comment

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.