Queen’s Park Kilmarnock ANDY MURPHY GAVIN MITCHELL SCOTT GIBSON ANTHONY QUINN CONOR MCVEY PAUL WOODS SEAN BURNS JOHN CARTER BRYAN WHARTON CRAIG MCLEISH DAVID GALT JAMIE MCKERNON JOE BRADLEY BILLY MORTIMER GREGOR FOTHERINGHAM ANTON BRADY AIDEN MALONE DARREN MILLER ROSS MILLEN LIAM BROWN JOSH WATT MARK WILLIAMS EWAN MACPHERSON OWEN STOTT ADAM CUMMINS LIAM COOGANS SAM LIDINGTON LEWSI CLARK TAYLOR QUEEN AIDAN WILSON DEAN HAWKSHAW JACK WHITTAKER IAIN WILSON THOMAS DEMPSIE SCOTT MCLEAN LEWIS MORRISON WILLIAM GRAHAM Referee: Greg Aitken Assistant 1: Paul O’Neill Assistant 2: Euan Birch QUEEN’S PARK V KILMARNOCK U20S Tuesday 2nd August 2016 IRN BRU CUP– ROUND 1 Hampden Park 7.45pm
You might just have heard that 2017 is the 150th anniversary of the foundation of the jolly Old Queens.The clubs centenary had was celebrated in 1967(Obviously), a momentous year for Scottish football. Celtic won the European Cup,Ramngers reached the final of the European Cup winners Cup,Kilmarnock reached the Semi Finals of the European Fairs Cities cup and Scotland had one of their most famous victories over England at Wembley. On the down side dear old Third Lanark went out of business that year.
This season I’d like to do a series of articles in a “Diary Of a Season” style about that memorable campaign 1966-67.Starting in the next programme.
Pre season Notes
In the previous season Queen’s Park finished in 13th position(From 19 clubs) in the Second Division,with 33 points from 36 games.One point ahead of Third Lanark,who had a point less. They would be hoping for an improvement in 66-67. The new season would start with the Scottish League Cup group games ( Which of course are back with us this season !). Queens were drawn in a section with Airdrieonians,Queen of the South and Dumbarton.
In the summer of 1966 Celtic had gone on a tour of Bermuda, USA and Canada. They were undefeated in 11 games against Tottenham Hotspur,Bologna,Bayern Munich,Atlas of Mexico and various local select sides.During the tour manager Jock Stein tried out a new 4-2 -4 system.With winger Bertie Auld dropping back into Midfield alongside Bobby Murdoch.This formation would reap great rewards both domestically and in Europe.
Catch you next time.
Yours in the Beautiful game.
Dave Mac Puzzle
Keith McAllister
Sometimes I
wonder if football
is sleep-walking
into oblivion.
Well, oblivion in
terms of that
dreadful phrase
“sporting integrity” as opposed to
financial oblivion. The big clubs
currently have money skooshing
out their ears…but it’s just not
enough. Yes, there is a reasonable
distribution of wealth amongst the
teams in English top division, but
Spain sees a huge proportion of the
football cash there going to Real
and Barca. And the others can’t do
a thing about it.
We’ve just had the Euros and the
American equivalent and there is
the Olympic tournament just over
the horizon. The better players
have had a busy summer, and the
younger ones could be off to Rio.
So, do we need another
tournament for the better teams
and players to compete for? Well,
apparently we do. Step forward
the International Champions Cup;
this is the one that has seen Celtic
play Leicester and Barca (in
Dublin) and will have them tackle
Inter Milan…in Limerick.
The tournament is run by an
American sports marketing
company; not, as you might have
thought, UEFA or FIFA. In this
year’s competition, there are 18
teams taking part; 6 of them are
actually champions whereas the
remaining 12 are not. The usual
suspects are there, the big names,
irrespective of where they finished
in their country’s league. There
are three separate tournaments,
being held in China, Australia and
one being run jointly in Europe
and the USA. Matches are being
held almost everywhere except at
the home grounds of the teams
involved. Celtic’s match with
Leicester is the only exception to
this rule. I wonder if Signor Messi
fancies shuttling around Europe
after his exploits in the Copa
America? I reckon he won’t. Nae
luck, then.
Of course, clubs don’t really seem
to mind packing their stars off to
places to “boost the brand”. It
seems absurd to me that the bigger
clubs subject their players to
punishing pre-season tours,
particularly in years when there
are international tournaments. But
the almighty dollar holds sway.
Our own governing body, of
course, helps this nonsense along
by allowing the postponement of a
league fixture.
What is seriously worrying about
this tournament are the aspirations
of the organisation running the
tournament, the wonderfully-
named Relevant Sports. They held
talks in March with the 5 big clubs
in England about the English
league system and the Champions
League. Of the 5, only one has
denied that they advocate a
breakaway super league for
Europe’s top clubs. This starts to
get frightening. Further to that,
with Leicester still leading the
pack, Relevant Sports’ heid
bummer made it clear that winning
your domestic league wouldn’t get
you a place in what he sees as the
way forward. Leicester isn’t one of
the “big” sides; places in the New
Dawning of football would go to
the teams that carry a worldwide
following. According to him, “…
there are good arguments for a
closed system.” So, we’d have a
Groundhog Day of Barca v Bayern
matches, year after year after year.
A Nirvana for the armchair fan and
his bottle of weak-as-dishwater
pseudo-American beer and the
crisps in a cardboard tube that are
absolutely necessary for you to be
cool.
We’re heading for this American
system of franchises and the big
teams that will benefit from it are
rubbing their hands with glee. I
wonder if the likes of Messi will be
rubbing his hands at the prospect.
Maybe not. Was his decision to
retire from the Argentine national
side at the age of 29 helped along
by his punishing schedule? I
reckon that it is. He’s at his peak
and his country (and us) won’t
have him at the World Cup in two
years, but Barca will have him at
Beijing, Chicago or wherever
Relevant Sports sends him and his
chums.
This is just not right.
Frank McCrossan Their First Competitive Match
Saturday 25 December 1886 -Kilmarnock 0 Queen’s Park 5
In more recent times, matches between Queen’s Park and Kilmarnock have been few and far between. However, in the early days of Scottish football, the country’s two oldest clubs were fairly regular opponents. Their first encounter was a challenge match in 1873 but the first truly competitive game between the sides took place on Christmas Day in 1886. The occasion was a sixth round (quarter-final) tie in the Scottish Cup.
The weather was terrible on that Christmas afternoon. The rugby programme was pretty well wiped out but the four Scottish Cup quarter-finals went ahead. The pitch at Rugby Park was in a dreadful state. The poor weather and the counter-attraction of another quarter-final at nearby Hurlford had an adverse effect of the size of the crowd.
Queen’s Park kicked off in a deluge of rain with a strong wind at their backs. The Spiders pressed from the start and took the lead in seven minutes when Jimmy Allan blasted the ball high past Richmond in the home goal. ‘Keeper Richmond was performing heroics but suffered a stroke of misfortune in 20 minutes when his punched clearance rebounded off one of his own defenders and through the goal to double the Queen’s Park lead. The visitors were well in command and went three up in 30 minutes when Walter Arnott set up William Watt for a fine goal. The same player made it four shortly before half-time with a hard low shot.
Kilmarnock were much improved after the interval and the second half was keenly, but fairly, contested. There was only one goal in the 45 minutes and it was Queen’s Park who got it, with William Watt completing his hat trick near the end.
The teams on that winter afternoon were: -
Kilmarnock – Richmond; Porteous and Watson; Mitchell, Sawyers and Dunn; Higgins, Smith, Walker, McGuiness and MacPherson.
Queen’s Park – A P McCallum; W Arnott and R Smellie; C Campbell, H Jones and A Stewart; A Berry, J A Lambie, W W Watt, D S Allan and J Allan.
Queen’s Park lost to Dumbarton in the semi-final of the competition. The Sons then lost to Hibernian in the final. This was the Edinburgh side’s first Scottish Cup and was greatly celebrated by Glasgow’s Irish community.
Events Elsewhere on 25 December 1886
In the other three Scottish Cup quarter-finals, Hurlford and Dumbarton drew 0-0, Vale of Leven won 3-1 at Port Glasgow Athletic, and Hibernian beat Third Lanark 2-1 at Cathkin Park. The spectators arriving at Cathkin were treated to the sight of a groundsman shovelling away a large quantity of ice from a pond in the centre of the pitch. Queen’s Park’s near-neighbours Battlefield were in Birmingham for a challenge match with Aston Villa. Unfortunately, the Scots suffered a 5-1 defeat.
Work was being finalised in replacing the paraffin lamps at Glasgow Cathedral with gas lighting. The minister, Reverend D Burns, and his kirk session were planning a special evening service by gaslight early in the New Year.
The demon drink was a serious problem in Victorian times. On this day, three people died in Glasgow after heavy drinking sessions. A labourer died of “exhaustion from excessive drinking” in a spirit shop (public house) in Clyde Terrace (now Carlton Place); a 50-year-old man died in Hyde Park Street Model Lodging House; and a 63-year-old woman was found dead in a close in High Street.
In an Ayrshire Cup tie in Maybole, where Kilbirnie beat the local side 4-3, the referee had to intervene to protect the visitors’ umpire from the abusive language of the Maybole spectators. Perish the thought that such behaviour should creep into today’s football.
At Edinburgh Summary Court, an engine driver and a fireman of the North British Railway Company pled guilty to stealing a case containing 12 quart bottles of whisky, valued at 36 shillings, from a goods yard in the city on the previous day. By the time they were apprehended, the accused and several workmates in the goods yard had succeeded in consuming most of the whisky. The two men were ordered to pay £5 each or suffer 14 days’ imprisonment.
Climatic condition in 1886 were quite difference to those of today. Outdoor curling was a popular winter sport and, on this day, matches took place on ponds at Annan, Bothwell, Dunblane, Inverary, Langholm, Largs, Linlithgow and Lockerbie.
Christmas had been viewed as an English festival but there were now clear signs that greater attention was being paid in Scotland to the Christmas season. Almost everywhere, the Post Office had experienced a large increase in the number of cards and parcels being handled. In Glasgow, the banks, most of the principal warehouses, and many large employers closed for the day. Between 1,700 and 1,800 underprivileged people were given dinner at the City Hall. The dinner was funded by the city’s business community. Care was taken to ensure that only ”deserving poor” were invited.
Supporters’ Notes
Away Travel
Due to the rail strike a week on Saturday, we’ll be taking a bus to Stenhousemuir. Details of the next two buses are:
STENHOUSEMUIR - Saturday 13th August
Clarkston - 1.15, Mount Florida - 1.30 and High Street - 1.45. Prices: £8 for those in employment; £6 for concessions and £5 for the under 16s.
BRECHIN - Saturday 20th August
Clarkston 10.30 Mount Florida 10-45 and High Street 11am. Prices: £14, £11.
Again, we’d ask you to help us by booking for every match. Contact Graeme Shields at [email protected] or 07730 587526 to book. Tickets will also be available at the souvenir shop or myself.
Souvenir Shop
We’re not sure when the new kit will be available to buy; we’ve heard that the team will be donning the new home top this Saturday for the first League match. We’re tinkering with the online shop, so it’s been down for a wee while. We’ll have it back up and running as quickly as possible.
We’ll be introducing a range of high-quality souvenirs celebrating the Club’s 150th anniversary.
Membership and 60 Club
The 60 Club will gain be £40 for the whole season. As well as having the chance to win a right good few bob, you’ll be helping to keep the Association’s away buses on the road. Applications for both clubs are available from Norrie Walker, Graeme Shields or the Souvenir Shop. We should have cards available for uplift at the Shop at the next home match against Killie under 20s on Tuesday.
Quiz Nights
The quiz nights we organised last year were a huge success and we’ll continue running them this season, with perhaps a race night to vary things a bit. Details of the first event will be posted here and on the Club’s website very soon.
YOUNG FANS!
The Black and White Club for younger fans will run again this year. New members must be twelve years of age or under, but existing fans can remain in the Club until they’re 16. Membership forms can be obtained from the club shop on match days, from Frank McCrossan, John Richmond or by emailing [email protected]
Membership is free and we’re hoping that we can attract a record number of members this year.
