You know, it could all have been so different.
When I wrote the tweet, you know, the one about how I think Scotland will score, I genuinely felt we would. Holland where not great, even the Dutch newspapers today said so. Scotland where not much better, but they where playing with the sort of passion and commitment that’s been sadly lacking in their earlier displays.
They ran after every ball, and made sure the Dutch had as little time on the ball as possible to ensure that their normally crisp passing and movement did not have a chance to take over the game. The Dutch certainly had the better of the opening exchanges, with Dirk Kuijt hitting the post from long range, but the harassing style of Scotland’s play unsettled the Group 9 winners.
Scotland had a few chances to score – Scott Brown somehow managed to get himself on the end of a Naismith cross only to see the ball go inches past the wrong side of the post. Miller hit the crossbar, but by the far the best chance of the game came when Naismith fired in a low shot that took Dutch rookie keeper Vorm by surprise: the FC Utrecht keeper, making his debut for Holland, managed to tip Naismith’s cross onto the post. The rebound fell kindly for Kenny Miller, but his shot was fired right at the keeper who had done well to recover.
After all those chances, and with the Hampden crowd getting behind Burley’s men, it seemed almost a given that Scotland would score. But the game slowly turned as the Scots, tiring of the search for that elusive goal, started making mistakes. And it was a mistake by veteran defender David Weir that resulted in Holland scoring. His clumsy attempt at a clearance following a long ball out of the Dutch defence allowed Eljero Elia, the 22 year-old SV Hamburg striker to collect the ball and work his way neatly past Marshal.
So, that’s it. Another World Cup we’ll not be attending.
The finger pointing will start soon. It’s in our human nature to find a cause for the lack of success in this campaign. Some have called for the heads of SFA President and SFA Chief Executive, George Peat and Gordon Smith. There’s certainly a case to be made.
As the men in charge of the maintenance and development of the Scottish game, there’s not been much evidence of their ability to steady the ship and steer us in the right direction. Falling attendances, clubs, sponsors and TV companies have gone bust, accusations of cash for votes and board members with dual (financial) interests in clubs (all of which against the rules of their own organisation by the way), not to mention a Chief Executive that is quite willing to lay the blame of a poor World Cup campaign at the manager and an obscure, and often injured Wolves striker, point to a Football Association that has no idea what it’s doing, other than keeping the status quo.
What about George Burley? We’ve never been a fan of his over at Inside Left. He just never seemed to radiate the sort of authority and respect that I’d like to see in a manager. I suspect that feeling is also felt amongst the squad. You just can’t imagine Boyd walking out on Stein or McGregor and Ferguson going on a bender with Walter Smith still in charge.
What about the game itself? Our football is shocking. Technically inept and lacking any imagination, our football is of the ‘lump it up and see’ variety. Our attempts at a passing game is laughable to say the least, and it’s a strange world indeed when the best thing the world can say about our team is how good our goalie is. When he plays.
Years ago, Scotland strikers where feared, while our goalies where the butt of endless jokes. Nowadays, it seems to be the other way around. It would have been easier for Miller to score from Naismith’s rebound than to miss – a painful reminder, if one where needed, of Chris Uwelumo’s miss against Norway.
The answer to our problems probably lies in all three. We can sack the SFA Board, but you’d only be replacing it with more cronies. You can sack the managers, but he can only do as much as he can with the material he’s given with – a pig in a dress, after all, is still a pig. And you can improve the quality of the football only by the way in which kids are coached and the way in which coaches are coached.
We’ve a few more years to think about how to get Scottish football back on the rails.
The great hope is that we’ll have sorted something out by then to make sure we don’t struggle against the Iceland’s, Norway’s and Macedonia’s of this world. Judging by our clubs performances in Europe however, the fear of another struggling campaign are very real.
The draw for the UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying round will take place in Poland on 7 February next year. Where we end up depends on our League coefficient, the ranking of our league based on the performances of our club sides in Europe over the past 5 years. Scotland currently lie in 13th place, and with only Celtic and Rangers able to have any influence on that ranking between now and the draw, the chances are that we’ll be lumped in with the same teams we played for this World Cup Qualifying campaign.
And we all know how that one ended.
Here we are at last.
The opening-day defeat in the blazing heat in Macedonia and our subsequent 2-0 win in the return fixture on Saturday neatly bookends a campaign that started almost a year ago to the day, and which boils down to a single game at Hampden Park tomorrow night.
Facing the Scots are The Netherlands, a team which qualified back in June and who sit top of the table with maximum points. On paper you’d think there’s nothing much for the Dutch to play for, but the feeling amongst the Dutch camp is that a perfect score – 8 wins out of 8 – will see them enter the draw for the World Cup group stage as one of the seeded teams.
For the Dutch this would be an added incentive to go for a victory against the Scots, as being seeded essentially means avoiding the other big teams in the competition, such as Germany, Spain and Brazil until at least the second round.
That the Dutch are taking this campaign – and the game against Scotland – seriously is evidenced by the fact that they played a friendly against Japan on Saturday. The Dutch won 3-0 with goals from Robin van Persie and Klaas-Jan Huntelaar (who also scored against the Scotland in the 3-0 win in Amsterdam) with Wesley Sneijder also getting his name on the score sheet.
The game was not a vintage one however. Coach Bert van Marwijk was not happy with the performance, especially in the first half when the Dutch failed to break down a solid Japan defence. Van Marwijk later said that the game against Japan on Saturday was arguably the worst Dutch performance he’s ever seen, but it shows the strength and depth of the side when they recovered their form in the second half to secure a win.
It was certainly not the same performance that saw them go 2-0 up before half-time against a full-strength England side. Dirk Kuyt and Rafael van der Vaart pounced on defensive errors from Rio Ferdinand and Gareth Barry in the first half, but a spirited comeback from Fabio Capello’s side earned them a 2-2 draw – Jermaine Defoe getting both goals.
That Holland are capable of poor performances was shown during their game against Iceland. Following on from solid performances against Macedonia (4-0) and Scotland (3-0), a 2-1 win which saw the Dutch cruise into a 2-0 lead before half-time (with goals from Nigel de Jong and Marc Van Bommel) resulted in scathing articles in the Dutch press, critical of the lackluster display, especially in the second half when Holland failed to kill the game off, and which allowed Iceland to get on the score sheet with 2 minutes left to play. That result assured qualification, but that didn’t stop The Dutch from taking their foot of the pedal: in their next game, four days later against Norway, they recovered their form to win 2-0.
Compared to the Dutch, Scotland’s efforts to reach World Cup 2010 reads like the 12 Labours of Hercules. Slaying the Hydra, capturing the Cretan Bull or stealing the apples of the Hesperides sounds like a walk in the park compared to getting Scotland to South Africa.
A series of scandals and dressing-room bust-ups must make Burley lie awake at night wondering just what on earth he’s gotten himself in to. It’s a credit to the man that he’s lasted as long as he has, given the criticism he’s been receiving from all quarters. That criticism took a turn for the absurd last week when George Peat, president of the SFA, came out in the press with comments blaming Chris Iwelumo for the mess Scotland’s World Cup campaign is in, and that Burley’s job is on the line if Scotland do not finish second in the group.
Sheer stupidity or clever psychology? Who knows, but whichever it was, it worked. Burley and the troops got their act together to record a cracking 2-0 win over Macedonia at Hampden and which featured one of the greatest goals ever seen by a player in a Scotland shirt.
Somewhat predictably in these competitions, it’s not just the tactics board that determines qualification, but a calculator and a brain the size of Sutherland, because even if Scotland do accomplish the 13th Labour of Hercules, i.e., beat Holland, it still requires a series of results of byzantine proportions to see Scotland through to South Africa.
The win over Macedonia pushed Scotland back in 6th place in the table of ‘Best Second-placed Teams’. Should Scotland beat the Netherlands at Hampden tomorrow, it would need Northern Ireland to lose to Slovakia, and Slovenia and Poland to draw in Group 3. That series of results would basically ensure that no team from Group 3 (in which Northern Ireland are our biggest rivals) will qualify for the remaining play-off place.
One down, two to go…
Our other rivals for a coveted place in the play-offs in November are Bosnia/Herzegovina (who need four points from their remaining games against Spain, Turkey and Estonia to qualify), Sweden (who also need four points from their games against Denmark and Albania), and Hungary, who have games against Denmark and Portugal to come.
All of this speculation is moot of course unless Scotland does the hardest thing: beat Holland. Even if history has not always been on Scotland’s side in this fixture, we’ve done it before, so why not again? Now, more than ever, Scotland needs to show the world that they can compete against the best in the world. The game will not be easy, and the Dutch will not roll-over just because they’ve qualified; as we’ve seen, they have something to play for too.
In the cold light of day, with the exception of the goalkeeper, we’re outclassed in every department, but what we lack in skill, we make up for in determination and passion, especially on these big occasions. Scotland, as underdog, at Hampden, should make for a dangerous opponent.
Holland, beware.
We left off in Part I with Scotland in the middle of their Euro ‘80 qualification campaign in June 1979, with only a series of games to play against Austria, Belgium and Portugal – would Scotland go some way towards healing the disappointment of Argentina and qualify?
By the time Scotland played their next international game, the domestic competition was nearing its completion. Celtic led the table by one point from Rangers, Partick Thistle had slumped from second top to third bottom while United and Aberdeen where third and fourth respectively. There was only one more game for Celtic in that season and it would be against Rangers at Ibrox. Simply put, Celtic had to win as Rangers still had two games in hand – a home game against struggling Partick Thistle and, one week later, an away game against Hibernian in Edinburgh.
Before the title was decided however, Scotland would take part in the British Championship.
Between the 19th and the 26th May, Scotland played three games against the home nations, England, Northern Ireland and Wales, the opponents on the first day of the competition. Manager Jock Stein had begun to make some changes in the Scotland line-up since the defeat to Portugal in November of the previous year. Alan Rough and Paul Hegarty where still the only members of the squad who played their football in Scotland while John Wark (Ipswich) and Alan Hansen (Liverpool) where given their first caps.
Also making his debut in the dark blue of Scotland was one George Elder Burley, an Ipswich player like John Wark. Balancing this relatively new squad with experience, Stein called up veterans of the campaign in Argentina, Kenny Dalglish and Asa Hartford. No Archie Gemmill; instead Liverpool’s Graeme Souness and Leeds’ Arthur Graham where preferred up front. Unusually in today’s terms, the team featured no players from either Celtic or Rangers.
Scotland did not play well. A hat-trick by future Wales manager John Toshack sank the Scots in front of 20,000 at Ninian Park in Cardiff. On the same day England beat Northern Ireland 2-0 in Belfast. The result left Scotland firmly at the bottom of the group after the first round of matches having conceded one more goal than Northern Ireland.
Back in Scotland, Celtic won the league when on 21 May when they beat Rangers 4-2 in an exciting game at Parkhead. Rangers still had two games in hand, but even if they won both, they’d still finish one point behind The Bhoys.
The following day the Home Championships continued when Northern Ireland came to Hampden. Everton’s George Wood took over in goal from Alan Rough, who had been recalled to the Partick squad in preparation for their clash with Rangers the following day. Ian Wallace and Allan Hansen had been dropped, in favour of McQueen and Joe Jordan. Arthur Graham got the goal for Scotland in the seventy-sixth minute to seal the win, but what was probably more noticeable was the crowd: only 28,000 turned up for the game, low by any standard for Scotland home games.
The win over the Northern Irish meant that going into the final day of the competition, Scotland had an outside change of winning, as long as Wales lost to Northern Ireland and Scotland could overcome England at Wembley.
A seemingly tall order, but football is a funny game, and if the luck of the Irish could rub off on the Scottish players, then a victory over the English to be crowned British Home Champions would go some way to easing the hurt still felt by many.
The 100,000 fans packed into Wembley on the final day of the competition, 26th May, knew that it was possible for three teams to win the title. Should Scotland beat England, and Wales beat Northern Ireland, Wales would win. If Wales drew, and Scotland won, then Scotland would win. Simply stated, England had to win. Stein made no changes from the team that had beaten Northern Ireland three days previously: Wood, Burley, Gray, Wark, McQueen, Souness, Dalglish, Hartford, Jordan, Hegarty and Graham, with Narey and McGarvey as subs.
Scotland got off to a good start on twenty-one minutes when John Wark scored for Scotland. The Scots dominated the first half and should have got a second goal, but they where unable to extend their lead. Just on half-time, psychologically the worst time for a team to concede a goal, Peter Barnes equalised for the English and Steve Coppell and Kevin Keegan completed the scoring as England ran out 3-1 winners – and Champions. Northern Ireland and Wales only managed to draw, meaning that England had won the competition.
It made the defeat even harder to take.
Being beaten by England was bad enough, but to be beaten on English soil as the English players and fans celebrated was a lot to ask of the supporters. Scotland finished the competition third, with just two points.
With the season over, and the Home Championships done and dusted, Scotlands just had two more games before the long summer break: the second game against Norway in the European Championship Qualifying group, where Scotland would be looking to do the double over the Norwegians in the competition, having beaten them 3-2 back in November of 1978; and the small matter of a friendly against World Champions Argentina.
Diego Maradona was 19 when he took the field against Scotland on the 2nd June. The Argentinos Juniors player was already becoming an established international for Argentina. The 61,000 people who filled Hampden that Saturday saw a World Cup winning team filled with stars and stars to be. Stein again stuck with a similar line-up to the one which faced England. Rough replaced Wood in goal for the start, Sounness made way for Alan Hansen and Frank McGarvey came in for McQueen; both players where given their second starts.
Argentina scored first on thirty minutes when Luque put the ball past Rough. On sixty minutes Luque again scored, this time past Wood who had replaced Rough at half time. Diego Maradona added a third on seventy minutes. Arthur Graham got the consolation goal five minutes before the end. No one, not even Ally McLeod and his eternal optimism expected a Scotland win here, but although the score line suggests an easy game for the Argentinians, Scotland acquitted themselves quite well.
Taking heart from the performance against Argentina, Scotland continued their Euro ‘80 campaign when they travelled to Oslo at the start of June for their next game with Norway. Goals from Jordan, Dalglish, McQueen and Nottingham Forests John Robertson sealed a comfortable win for Jock Stein’s and allowed the team to go into the summer break with a good morale-boosting victory under their belt.
As referee Nielsen blew the final whistle in the Ullevaal Stadion in Oslo, Scotland where in third place in the qualifying group behind Austria and Portugal and level on points with Belgium, who had so far managed to draw all their games in the group. As we’ll see later, when the competition resumed after the summer recess, our results against the Belgians would prove to be crucial to both teams qualifying chances. But those games where a long way off yet. The international side took a long break from the rigours of qualifying for Euro ‘80; the next game would not be until September.
P W D L F A PTS Austria 5 2 2 1 7 5 6 Portugal 4 3 1 0 5 2 7 Scotland 4 2 0 2 9 6 4 Belgium 4 0 4 0 3 3 4 Norway 5 0 1 4 3 11 1
Back home in Scotland, the 1978/79 season in Scotland had come to a finish with Celtic as champions. Rangers finished second, with Dundee United and Aberdeen in third and fourth spot. Hearts and Motherwell had been relegated. Rangers completed a cup double when they won the League Cup and the Scottish Cup.
In the UK, as 1979 rumbled on, Margaret Thatchers Conservative government had fought its way into power as voters, angry at Labour’s mismanagement of the economy. The winter of discontent, which saw rubbish pile up on the streets and bodies go unburied as the country was struck by a series of national strikes, together with an inflation rate of 13% proved to be the undoing of Jim Callaghan’s government.
In May of 1979, Scotland had another chance to vote for devolution. The vote, effectively to sanction the 1978 Scotland Act would have seen Scotland get its own deliberative assembly. Despite a high turn-out of more than 63% and a vote in 51% vote in favour of our own assembly, the referendum proved unsuccessful due to a condition which was added to the Bill by George Cunningham, a Scot who represented an English seat which stated that at least 40% of the registered Scottish electorate had to vote in favour. In the end, only 32% of the registered electorate voted, and the bill was repealed the following year.
The preparations for the next round of qualifying games consisted of one friendly against Peru. When these two teams met in Cordoba in 1978’s World Cup tournament, the score had been 3-1 to the South Americans, with Joe Jordan getting Scotland’s only goal. The game was mired in controversy as Willie Johnston tested positive following a random post-match doping control. Despite protestations that the cause of the positive result was hay fever medication, Johnston was ordered home in disgrace – he would never play for Scotland again.
Fortunately for Scotland, there was to be no repeat of the chaos that surrounded the game a year previously. Likewise, the result was a bit more respectable. The game ended in a 1-1 draw, with Peruvian players scoring both goals. Olaechea put through his own net shortly after the kick-off. The score remained in Scotland’s favour until five minutes before time when German Leguia equalized for the South Americans. It was not a bad result in what was not a great game, but nevertheless, it would have to do as Scotland’s only warm-up game before the European qualifiers got under way again in October against table-topping Austria.
The 67,000 people packed into Hampden Park saw Johann Krankl put Austria into the lead just before the break, but a spirited fight back from Scotland saw captain Archie Gemmill, in his 34th appearance equalize with just twenty minutes to go. Just a month later, Scotland travelled to Belgium in the first of their back-to-back fixtures against Guy Thys’ side.
The Belgians, who had drawn all their group games so far had turned things around against around with convincing wins against Norway and Portugal. Scotland needed wins against Belgium to keep their challenge alive. In the first game on the 21st November at the Heysel Stadium, goals by François Van Der Elst and Eddy Voordeckers sank a Scotland side that had little to offer in terms of attacking options.
By the time the return fixture against Belgium came around in December, results had conspired elsewhere to make qualification for the Euro’s impossible. This fact was reflected in the low crowd that turned out to see Belgium complete back-to-back wins over Scotland when two goals by François Van Der Elst and one by Erwin Vandenbergh, all in the first half, proved enough to guarantee Belgium qualification.
The last game in the qualifiers, again at Hampden against Portugal in March 1980, was an opportunity for Jock Stein to try out some new players. George Burley was brought back into the team for his sixth cap, as where David Narey. The game would also be the first games in a Scotland jersey for Aberdeen’s Alex McLeish and Steven Archibald. The game, between two sides that had nothing but pride to play for was played out in front of one of the lowest gates for a friendly at Hampden. The game though was exciting stuff and ended in a 4-1 win for Scotland. Kenny Dalglish, Frank Gray and Archie Gemmill got on the score sheet, as did Steve Archibald who was brought on for Dalglish in the second half. Fernando Gomes scored Portugal’s consolation goal.
Scotland had failed to qualify for Euro’s. The final table put Scotland second from bottom, six points ahead of Norway, but four points from the qualifying games. The team, however, was showing promise as we headed towards the British Championships in May of 1980.
Packed with players from teams that either had, or would go on to win European silverware (John Wark would help Ipswich win the Uefa Cup, Alan Hansen, Kenny Dalglish and Graeme Souness would go on to win the European Cup with Liverpool in 1981, while John Robertson had won the European Cup with Nottingham Forest in 1979 and 1980) as well as a crop of promising new players about to come through from the leagues in Scotland, players such Jim Leighton, Willie Miller, Paul Sturrock, David Narey, Steve Archibald, Gordon Strachan and Alex McLeish, the future looked bright as Scotland looked forward to the start of the World Cup qualifiers in 1982.
We’ll conclude the story of Scotland’s Spain ’82 campaign next week.
There are some things in this life that are set in stone: Newton’s Third Law, death, taxes, the Old Firm winning the SPL every year, and so on. Likewise, every Scottish football fan knows that Scotland have never gotten beyond the first round of a World Cup. On three occasions, Scotland came very close to qualifying, but on all three occasions, goal difference would prove to be the cause for an early return home, and the shattering of an entire nations dreams.
There are some that say that the fortunes of a town – and even a country – is closely linked to the fortunes of it’s football team. This was never highlighted more effectively in 1978, when, on the back of a disappointing World Cup in Argentina, Scotland as a nation needed to regain a pride in its team, and hence the country, that many claim had been lost in eight short days in June of that year.
In the first of a three-part “If You Know Your History”, we look back at the years between the two World Cups in Argentina and Spain to see if Scotland was able to live up to the broken promises of ‘78 and make Scotland the greatest football team and help to restore some of that pride that had been lost. To tell that story however, we have to go back four years to a game that is still regarded as the best game of football Scotland has ever played.
It’s Sunday 11th June 1978. Scotland are playing what could be their final game in that years World Cup finals. Scotland had so far failed to win a game in the competition; an opening day loss to Peru and a draw against Iran saw them second bottom of the group, two points behind today’s opposition, Holland. Scotland needed to win, and not only that, needed to win by three clear goals in order to go through with group winners Peru on goal difference. The game had been tough. Holland, without Cruijff, had gone ahead on the half-hour mark from the penalty spot, before Dalglish equalized, and Gemmill put the Scots ahead, again from the penalty spot shortly afterward. In the stands, the Scots supporters in the Estadio San Martin stadium, on the march with Ally’s army where praying for a miracle, another goal to bring them closed to the next round and achieve something no Scotland team had ever done before.
The Scots pressed hard, but the Dutch defence held tight. On sixty-eight minutes, Robert Kennedy finds Kenny Dalglish on the edge of the Dutch area. Surrounded by future Celtic manager Wim Jansen and Jan Poortvliet, Dalglish stumbles and the move seemed to break down, but the ball somehow found it’s way to Archie Gemmill, lurking a few yards away. He took the ball, skipped past the challenge of Wim Jansen, then took it past a lunging Ruud Krol and suddenly the Nottingham Forest player found himself clear on goal. Gemmill set himself and cooly fired the ball over the on-rushing Jan Jongbloed as Rene van de Kerkhof arrived too late to stop the ball from going into the net.
The Tartan Army goes wild as the promise that manager Ally McLeod made before the team left for Argentina looked like it might still come true. One more goal lads, and Scotland would surely win the World Cup The game kicked off again with Scotland looking for the third goal that would put them through. The game still had another 20 minutes to play however, and the Dutch, losing World Cup finalists in the ‘74 knew the Scots would through everything at them. They had to make sure that Scotland didn’t get that third goal – one way was to defend, the other, the one they chose was to score themselves. In the seventieth minute, disaster struck as Johnny Rep thundered the ball past Alan Rough – a killer goal, and the Tartan Army knew that it was all over. No one, not even Ally McCleod, ever the optimist, could see Scotland getting two more goals in the time left. When the final whistle blew, Scotland where out, Holland went through. For the fourth time in their history, Scotland had fallen at the first hurdle. Surely it couldn’t happen again?
The expectation that Ally McLeod had set (the promise of returning with a medal and then defending their win) had been built up by the press to near hysterical levels, levels Gordon McQueen likened to Beatlemania. The discovery of North Sea oil in the late 60’s and the unfulfilled promise of the wealth it would bring to Scotland, lead to the rise of Scottish nationalism in the guise of the Scottish National Party (SNP). Their successful “It’s Scotland’s Oil’ in the early 70’s had seen the SNP return 11 candidates to parliament in 1974, starting a process that would force the Labour government to prepare for a referendum on devolution.
It was against this backdrop of a resurgent Scottish nationalism that the plane carrying the Scotland team back from Argentina touched down at Prestwick a few days after the defeat against Holland. Scotland had been let down by the performance of the national side but the upcoming European Championship, to be held in Italy in 1980, would provide the chance for the team to restore some of the pride lost.
Scotland had been drawn in a group with Austria, Belgium, Portugal and Norway. Austria where the only team in the group to also have played in Argentina ‘78. They’d done rather well, coping top of a group that contained Brazil and Spain. Belgium had not qualified for the World Cup ‘78 and, should they qualify for Italy ‘80, it would only be their second appearance in a European Championship. Managed by Guy Thys, Jean-Marie Pfaff, Eric Gerets, Jan Ceulemans and playmaker Enzo Scifo where the core of a strong team.
The European Qualification campaign started on the 25th October 1978 when Ally McLeod took his team to the Praterstadion in Vienna for the game against Austria. The team that night featured only two players who played their club football in Scotland. Alan Rough, of Partick Thistle and Aberdeen’s Robert Kennedy had played in the game against Holland. The rest of the team was comprised of players based in England. Joe Jordan, Martin Buchan and Gordon McQueen represented the red side of Manchester, while Billy Donachie and Asa Hartford played for the blue side. Archie Gemmill, made captain for the game, played for Nottingham Forest, Kenny Dalglish and Graeme Souness both played for Liverpool; Aston Villa striker Andy Gray and Leeds’ Arthur Graham completed the side.
The Austrians went into half-time with a single goal lead provided by Bruno Pezzey. The lead was extended just after the break by Schancer and the game seemed over in the 62nd minute when Kruez gave the Austrians a seemingly unassailable 3-0 lead. Gordon McQueen and Andy Gray scored for Scotland, but Austria held on to the lead. The game proved to be the end for Ally McLeod; shortly after the game, McLeod was sacked. Jock Stein was asked to return to manage the national side, and took charge of his first game against Norway at Hampden on the 25th October, 1978.
Fate smiled on Scotland as they recorded their first victory since they beat Holland in June. Things got off to a bad start when Einar Aas scored past James Stewart within the first five minutes. Parity was restored when Kenny Dalglish scored on the half-hour mark but Norway again took the lead through Okland on sixty minutes. With eight minutes to go, Dalglish equalised and Gemmill added a third from the penalty spot. Norway where beaten 3-2.
The last European fixture of 1978 came in November. Scotland travelled to Lisbon for the third game in the the qualifiers against Portugal. An Alberto Fonseca goal on twenty-nine minutes proved to be the only goal of the game as Scotland slumped to a second defeat.
Jock Stein had again picked a side comprised mainly of players based in England; the core of the team was based around Manchester United (McQueen, Buchan, Jordan), Manchester City (Hartford, Donachie) and Nottingham Forest (Gemmill and Robertson). Back in Scotland, by the end of 1978, Dundee United lead the Scottish Premier League with Partick Thistle and Aberdeen in second and third place respectively. Perhaps this is why the only Scottish based players in the squad that faced Portugal – David Narey, Alan Rough and Stuart Kennedy – had come from these teams. So as 1978 came to a close, Scotland where in second place in the European Qualifiers with three points, just one behind Austria and two behind group leaders Portugal. Things where going well, but there was a long way to go yet.
In Part 2, we follow Scotland through 1979 and 1980 as they continue their European qualification campaign, take part in the Home International Championship, play Argentina and begin the road to España ‘82.
Two games aside, in todays 5th Round Scottish Cup games, the results pretty much went with our expectations. Ross County nearly reach double figures against Stirling Albion to reach the quarter finals. They´ll be joined there by Dundee, Dundee United, Hibernian and Kilmarnock.
Who needs an official winter break when the weather has pretty much taken care of that. More games are cancelled in Scotland as the snow melts, turning football pitches into swimming pools.
The Highland League attempts to sue David Smith, a 16-year old student who has been videoing matches at Highland League club Buckie Thistle and posting them onto YouTube. Sign the petition here!
There’s a good history of our national stadium, Hampden Park to be found over at Soccer Source.
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