Back Of The Net Exhibition 5 Of 11

[thewhiteman]

Back of the Net Exhibition 5 of 11

http://www.smisa.net/

http://www.museumsgalleriesscotland.org.uk/member/paisley-museum-and-art-galleries

EUROPEAN ADVENTURES

Throughout the 1980s St Mirren often qualified for European competition. Whilst it is fair to say that the club enjoyed “limited” success it cannot be denied that the supporters enjoyed every minute (with the probable exception of Hammarby at Love Street.......)

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“St Mirren had finished an incredible 3rd the Premier League in the 1979 / 80 season after Aberdeen and Celtic. It got us entry to the UEFA Cup First Round where we were drawn against IF Elfsborg of Sweden, with the away leg first.

Four of us decided we had to be there. We arranged a package trip that entailed travelling to London by train then getting a bus to Felixstowe for a bumpy, seasick inducing ferry sail to Gothenburg along with the rest of the Saints fans who had travelled from Paisley by supporters buses. Arriving in Sweden there followed a 25 mile bus journey to the
town of Boras where our opponents were based.

On the night of the match it was bucketing down and I don’t remember getting much shelter in the ground but it didn’t matter because the St Mirren team put on a great show to win 2-1 with goals from Dougie Somner and Billy Abercromby. We were fortunate to be staying at the same hotel as the team and were able to applaud their entrance into the dining room for an after-match meal, after which we celebrated the result with them.

On the ferry back the BBC were filming the series ‘Triangle’ (about a North Sea Ferry) starring Kate O’Mara, who later commented about not getting any sleep due to noisy Scottish football
fans!” – Gordon R.

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“I remember the Elfsborg game (1980) as if it was yesterday. The return leg was a very boring nil-nil draw but enough to see us through to a 2nd round tie with St Etienne. Seem to remember the Swedish keeper breaking his leg in the game at Love Street.”

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“I worked in the hospital at the time and was backshift when they brought the Elfsborg keeper Roger Svensson into casualty with a broken leg. Blagged his jersey and a shinguard. By the time he got to the ward all he had on was a stookie!”

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“The 0-0 draw at home to St Etienne and the 1-0 home defeat to Feyenoord in the UEFA Cup are worth mentioning if only for the quality of players we were up against. The French side included Michel Platini and the Dutch had Johann Cruyff and a young Ruud Gullit in their team yet Saints put up a decent show against both of them.”

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“I remember listening to the Hammarby away-leg live on Radio Clyde. Saints went 1 up and were playing well. Got a goal disallowed and then the wheels fell off the bogey and we went 3-1 down. Then two late goals from Brian Gallagher and we salvaged a draw and Gallagher achieved a rare Scottish hat trick in Europe. Saints players then had to chip in for a bottle of champagne due to the extortionate prices in Stockholm!”

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“I think the Hammarby home game exactly defines what being a St Mirren supporter is all about - just when you think it's all going so well along comes a punch in the guts to bring you back down to earth. Being 4-3 up on aggregate and in the last three minutes Hammarby score twice....”

[whydowebother]

That could of had the makings of an interesting tale, but no, you had to ruin it at the start and the end FFS!

Is there not an unwritten `agreement` between us all NOT to mention the `H` word ?

Apart from that, good wee read.