Through the Years

1980/81 UEFA CUP

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UEFA CUP 1980/81 1st Round

17th September 1980
UEFA CUP 1st Round, 1st Leg
Elfsborg 1-2 St. Mirren

Match Details

1st October 1980
UEFA CUP 1st Round, 2nd Leg
St. Mirren 0-0 Elfsborg

Match Details

Saints win 2-1 on aggregate

UEFA CUP 1980/81 2nd Round

22nd October 1980
UEFA CUP 2nd Round, 1st Leg
St. Mirren 0-0 St-Etienne

Match Details

5th Noveber 1980
UEFA CUP 2nd Round, 2ne Leg
 St-Etienne 2-0 St. Mirren

Match Details

Saints lose 2-0 on aggregate

04/11/1987 – MECHELEN (H)

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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. MIRRENNOMECHELEN
MONEY Campbell1PREUD’HOMME Michel
DAWSON Robert2DE MESMAEKER Paul
WILSON Tommy3JASPERS Raymond
FITZPATRICK Tony4SANDERS Koen
GODFREY Peter5RUTJES Graeme
COOPER Neil6HOFKENS Wim
LAMBERT Paul7OHANA Eli
WALKER Keith 638THEUNIS Paul
CHALMERS Paul 9CLUYTENS Bert
McDOWALL Kenny 6310KOEMAN Erwin
CAMERON Ian11DEN BOER Piet
HAMILTON Brian 6312DE WILDE Pascal
SHAW George 6313DE GREEF Yves (GK)
GALLAGHER Brian14DE NIL Alain
BUTLER John15EMMERS Marc
FRIDGE Les (GK)16DROUGUET Pierre

THE MATCH

HIGHLIGHTS

21/10/1987 – Mechelen (A)

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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

MECHELENNOST. MIRREN
PREUD’HOMME Michel1MONEY Campbell
DE MESMAEKER Paul2WILSON Tommy
SANDERS Koen3WINNIE David
RUTJES Graeme4FITZPATRICK Tony 63
CLIJSTERS Lei 5GODFREY Peter 77
THEUNIS Paul 466COOPER Neil
CLUYTENS Bert7LAMBERT Paul
HOFKENS Wim8FERGUSON Ian
OHANA Eli9CHALMERS Paul
KOEMAN Erwin10WALKER Keith
DEN BOER Piet11CAMERON Ian
DE WILDE Pascal 4612HAMILTON Brian 63
JASPERS Raymond13DAWSON Robert 77
DE NIL Alain14McDOWALL Kenny
EMMERS Marc15SHAW George
DROUGUET Pierre16FRIDGE 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)

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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

TROMSØNoST. MIRREN
FLEM Bjarte1MONEY Campbell
PEDERSEN Tor2WILSON Tommy
SOLSTAD Nils3WINNIE David
ALBERTSEN Trond4ABERCROMBY Billy 16
NILSEN Tore5GODFREY Peter
ESPEJORD Lars6COOPER Neil
RISMO Tore 687LAMBERT Paul
JOHANSEN Bjorn8McDOWALL Kenny 76
FORFANG Sigmund 779FERGUSON Ian
JOHANSEN Trond10WALKER Keith
HOGMO Per-Mathias11CAMERON Ian
ANDREASSEN Elvind 6812FITZPATRICK Tony 16
OLSEN Kjetil 7713CHALMERS Paul 76
KRAEMER Morten14DAWSON Robert
BENDIKSEN15GALLACHER Brian
HANSEN Per (GK)16FRIDGE 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)

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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.

TEAM LINEUPS

ST. MIRRENNO TROMSØ
MONEY Campbell1FLEM Bjarte
DAWSON Robert2KRAEMER Morten 85
WINNIE David3SOLSTAD Nils
ABERCROMBY Billy4PEDERSEN Tor
GODFREY Peter5ALBERTSEN Trond
COOPER Neil6NILSEN Tore
McGARVEY Frank 657JENSSEN Truls
FERGUSON Ian8RISMO Tore
LAMBERT Paul 659JOHANSEN Bjorn
McDOWALL Kenny 10HOGMO Per-Mathias 89
CAMERON Ian11JOHANSEN Trond
McWHIRTER Norrie 6512OVESEN Tom 85
CHALMERS Paul 6513OLSEN Kjetil 89
WALKER Keith14HANSEN Per
GALLAGHER Brian15 –
FRIDGE Les16 –

THE MATCH

06/11/1985 – HAMMARBY (H)

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UEFA CUP 2nd Round, 2nd Leg
6th November 1985
St. Mirren Park, Paisley

St. Mirren 1-2 St. Mirren

MCGARVEY 20
Ivarsson 87
Lundin 89

ATT: 11,278

Referee: I B Neilsen (Denmark)

  • Saints crash out of Europe in extraordinary circumstances at Love Street, despite requiring to lose 2 goals in the last 180 seconds to do so, yet somehow managed to capitulate and do exactly that, leaving the large crowd to disperse in complete silence into the damp Paisley night at full time.
  • Perhaps even more incredible is the fact Saints actually lost three goals during this late period, with a goal disallowed between the two valid strikes, both notched by substitutes as Hammarby desperately tried anything to claw their way back into unlikely contention.
  • Matters had looked fairly straight forward for Saints up until then, with Frank McGarvey giving Saints an early lead and this along with 3 away goals presented the home side with what was and should have been a comfortable and unassailable lead over the part time Swedes.
  • However, some calamitous game management in the last 3 minutes by Saints gifts the Swedes a route back into match, with players opting to attack instead of running the clock down, leaving the home defence overloaded as Hammarby go for broke and succeed with ruthless finishing on two occasions.
  • Frank McGarvey, who was subbed with 8 minutes to go and is the team bath alone, doesn’t believe his teammates when they enter the dressing room at full time and tell him what has happened on the pitch after the Saints man left the field. Only the entrance of a furious Alex Miller persuades McGarvey the team are knocked out. This is familiar story for fans that left early and were found in local pubs, so ridiculous did defeat seem with only a few minutes remaining.
  • The defeat enters Scottish football folklore and the scars carried for decades by the thousands of Saints fans in attendance.
  • The Swedes meet FC Koln in the last 16 and are narrowly knocked out, with the Germans reaching the final before losing to Real Madrid 5-3 over 2 legs.

TEAM LINEUPS

ST. MIRRENNOHAMMARBY
MONEY Campbell1SKALLEBENG Roger
WILSON Tommy2VONDERBURG Jean-Paul 75
HAMILTON Derek3HOLMBERG Per 70
ROONEY Jim4VAATTOVAARA Sulo
GODFREY Peter5JOHANSSON Klas
CLARKE Steve6UHLBACK Peter
FITZPATRICK Tony7RAMBERG Sten-Ove
MACKIE Peter 808ANDERSSON Michael
McGARVEY Frank 82 9TURESSON Tomas
GALLAGHER Brian10OLHSSON Billy
SPEIRS Gardner11ERIKKSON Ulf
ABERCROMBY Billy 8012LUNDIN Thomas 70
McDOWALL Kenny 8213IVARSSON Hakan 75
COOPER Neil14ERIKKSON Lasse
CAMERON Ian15–
STEWART Jim16–

THE MATCH

23/10/1985 – Hammarby (A)

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UEFA CUP 2nd Round, 1st Leg
23rd October 1985
Söderstadion, Stockholm

Hammarby 3-3 St. Mirren

Lundin 32
GALLACHER 42
Andersson 45 (pen)
Andersson 65
GALLACHER 80
GALLACHER 84

ATT: 4,349

Referee: Dusan Krchnak (Czechoslovakia)

  • 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

HAMMARBYNOST. MIRREN
SKALLEBENG Roger1MONEY Campbell
GRANQVIST Kjell2WILSON Tommy
VAATTOVAARA Sulo3HAMILTON Derek
DENNERBY Thomas 564ROONEY Jim
JOHANSSON Klas5COOPER Neil
TURESSON Tomas6CLARKE Steve
RAMBERG Sten-Ove7FITZPATRICK Tony
ANDERSSON Michael 8McDOWALL Kenny 74
WAHLBERG Mats 159McGARVEY Frank
LUNDIN Thomas 10 GALLAGHER Brian
ERIKKSON Ulf11SPEIRS Gardner
HOLMBERG Per 1512MACKIE Peter 74
UHLBOCK Peter 5613ABERCROMBY Billy
ERIKKSON Lasse14CAMERON Ian
VONDERBURG Jean-Paul15JARVIE Drew
–16STEWART 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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02/10/1985 – SLAVIA PRAGUE (H)

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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. MIRRENNOSLAVIA PRAGUE
MONEY Campbell1HRUSKA Zdenek
WILSON Tommy2SOKOL Roman
HAMILTON Derek3KUBIK Lubos
ROONEY Jim4TAKAC Mirian 70
GODFREY Peter5JESLINEK Jiri
CLARKE Steve 746JAROLIM Karel
FITZPATRICK Tony7NEMEC Jaroslav
COOPER Neil8DOLEZAL Jiri
McGARVEY Frank9FRYDA Milan
GALLAGHER Brian10JANU Miroslav
SPEIRS Gardner11VIGER Bohas 56
SCANLON Ian 74 8212REHAK Pavel 56
McDOWALL Kenny 8213KOURIL Miroslav 70
MACKIE Peter14ZAMAZAL Jiri
ABERCROMBY Billy15BERANEK Miroslav
STEWART Jim16VESELY 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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17/09/1985 – Slavia Prague (A)

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UEFA CUP 1st Round, 1st Leg
17th September 1985
Stadion Dr. Václava Vacka, Prague, Czechoslovkia

Slavia Prague 1-0 St. Mirren

Kouril 76

ATT: 7,000

Referee: Gerard Geurds (Netherlands)

  • Although defeated, Saints return to European football after a one season break yields a very useful result behind the “iron curtain” in communist Czechoslovakia, with goalkeeper Campbell Money in inspired form on his European debut.
  • The Czechs may not have had the same quality as previous European foes St. Etienne or Feyenoord, but are one of the biggest clubs in Eastern Europe and have seven Czech internationalists in their match squad, including six in the starting XI.
  • However, their star forward, and Czechoslovakia regular, Ivo Knoflíček is injured and missed the match, in fact he would be absent in both legs, which is perhaps a deciding factor in the overall tie as the Czechs found breaching the Saints defence an almighty task.
  • Saints meanwhile have former Scotland striker and club legend, Frank McGarvey, back at Love Street, and future Scotland cap is Steve Clarke partnering Peter Godfrey in a very strong looking central defence.
  • However, the hundred or so St Mirren fans that ventured into the relative unknown of communist Europe would have been in for a big shock when Tony Fitzpatrick led the side out, as they were in all BLUE with white pinstripes.
  • The referee requested a late kit change due to the clash between the Slavia Prague home kit of half red/white shirts and both of Saints kits, and the blue kit was the only Adidas one available locally. This is the first time Saints had worn blue since the 26th of April 1904.
  • Once the teams kicked off, Saints were pushed back for long periods and only a goalkeeper masterclass from Campbell Money and the woodwork kept the Czechs at bay, although McGarvey has the best chance of the match on the half hour, but his low shot smashes off the shins of Zdenek Hruska.
  • The home side finally break through with just 14 minutes remaining when Kouril bundles in a cross.

TEAM LINEUPS

SLAVIA PRAGUENOST. MIRREN
HRUSKA Zdenek1MONEY Campbell
SOKOL Roman2WILSON Tommy
KUBIK Lubos3HAMILTON Derek
TAKAC Mirian4ROONEY Jim 88
JESLINEK Jiri 5GODFREY Peter
JAROLIM Karel6CLARKE Steve
NEMEC Jaroslav 697FITZPATRICK Tony
DOLEZAL Jiri8COOPER Neil
FRYDA Milan9McGARVEY Frank 89
JANU Miroslav10GALLAGHER Brian
KOURIL Miroslav11ABERCROMBY Billy
REHAK Pavel 6912McDOWALL Kenny 88
VIGER Bohas14MACKIE Peter 89
BERANEK Miroslav15SPEIRS Gardner
COMISSO Alexander16STEWART Jim (GK)

THE MATCH

THE TRIP

Stadium: Stadion Eden or Stadion Dr. Václava Vacka, Prague, Czechoslovkia
1985 Capacity: 38,000
Record Attendance: 41,000 (1965)
1985 Metropolitan City Population: 1,197,000
Distance From Paisley (air): 871 miles – 2.5 hour flight
Distance From Paisley (road): 1,193 miles – 20 hours drive
Times Played at Stadium: 1 (1 loss)

THE STADIUM

Match Poster – Click on Image to purchase

All donations and purchases are used towards the research or cost of running the website.