Broomfield Bulletin

Issue 10 - Partick Thistle @ Home

Welcome

Hello, and welcome to issue 10 of the Broomfield Bulletin, our last of 2024. While this season has been a major disappointment thus far, the festive season is a time for reflection and looking back at happy memories and key moments from the year gone by. While it is immaterial at the moment and perhaps make this season’s struggles all the more frustrating, 2024 is a year that diamonds can look back on with pride and fondness. At least up until that Friday night at Ayr! Highlights? For me - finishing 4th and challenging for promotion to the top flight, something we haven’t done in over 20 years; winning a cup (which is more than Ayr United did this year or indeed any year), winning at Tannadice, the St Johnstone cup win and those Tuesday nights. My wishes for 2025? More luck in the injury department, a new striker or two, a new centre-half or two (where’s Aidan Wilson? Who’s Aidan Wilson?), the Scottish Cup, goals, a bit of help for Adam Frizzell in the midfield, a win at Firhill, Liam McStravick to be back fit and on the field and a points deduction or four.

Recent Head-to-Head

12th August 2023

Scottish Championship

Airdrieonians 2-1 Partick Thistle

2nd December 2023

Scottish Championship

Partick Thistle 2-1 Airdrieonians

27th January 2024

Scottish Championship

Airdrieonians 1-1 Partick Thistle

20th April 2024

Scottish Championship

Partick Thistle 4-0 Airdrieonians

7th May 2024

Scottish Premiership play-off quarter-final first-leg

Airdrieonians 2-2 Partick Thistle

10th May 2024

Scottish Premiership play-off quarter-final second-leg

Partick Thistle 2-1 Airdrieonians

19th October 2024

Scottish Championship

Partick Thistle 2-1 Airdrieonians

Played for Both

Drew Busby

Drew Busby’s name will forever be etched in Scottish football history as both the last Third Lanark signing and goalscorer. His short stint at the Hi-His was productive as he scored 5 goals in 11 games, the last goal for Thirds coming in a 5-1 defeat at Boghead on 28th April 1967. The Hi-His being no more, Busby initially crossed the water to join Derry City. But protracted contract negotiations meant a deal was never signed and he had to wait until September that year before an opportunity arrived at Firhill. However, his time at Thistle was also short, making one brief appearance before signing for his local junior side Vale of Leven. It was from the Vale that Busby would return to league football with Airdrieonians 3 years later. In a diamond is where Busby would again make his mark in Scottish football. He formed a potent and formidable partnership with his fellow Drew (Jarvie) and scored 43 goals in 93 league games. Busby impressed in the diamond to such an extent that Hearts paid £35,000 for his services. He had further success in the capital, scoring 84 goals in all competitions and playing in the 1976 Scottish Cup final when future Airdrieonians manager Alex MacDonald scored in a 3-1 victory for Rangers over Hearts. Perhaps most impressively, Busby would score in the European Cup Winners’ Cup against Lokomotive Leipzig and Hamburg SV. Busby left Hearts at the end of season 1978/79 and spent two seasons in the NASL with Toronto Blizzard before returning to Scotland to play for Morton and play-manage Queen of the South before retiring. In retirement, Busy was well-known as the landlord of the Waverley Bar in Dumbarton. Drew was inducted into the Airdrieonians Hall of Fame in May 2014.

Aaron Taylor-Sinclair

Current Airdrie player-assistant manager Aaron Taylor-Sinclair (ATS) began his career at Montrose before signing for Partick Thistle for an undisclosed fee in the summer of 2011. ATS was an instrumental part of the Thistle side who won the First Division (Championship) in 2012/13 and in the Premiership the following season. His performances for Thistle attracted interest from Celtic, Southampton, Cardiff City and Middlesborough. But it was Lancashire where ATS would move next, joining English Championship side Wigan Athletic from Firhill. ATS would also play for Doncaster Rovers, Plymouth Argyle and Crewe Alexandra (on loan from Motherwell) before returning permanently to Scotland. It was September 2022 when Rhys McCabe signed ATS for Airdrie from Falkirk. At this point now primarily a centre-half, ATS played a pivotal role in our League 1 promotion winning side, scoring in the 6-2 semi-final home-leg win against his old team Falkirk. ATS remains at Airdrieonians and was promoted from first-team coach to assistant manager in the close season. As well as playing for Motherwell, ATS has also been capped for Antigua & Barbuda, earning several caps in his time at the diamonds.

Special thanks to Thistle Archive

By Sean Smith

Shared History

Today's match is the first home fixture against Partick Thistle since the play-off thriller last spring. We lost narrowly over the two legs but that was the closest we'd been to the top division for twenty seven years.

Season 1992/93 was our last in the top flight but, by coincidence, it also featured Thistle's last-ever trip to Broomfield Park. The then 'Premier Division' was similar to today's 'Premiership' in that it had twelve members, but there was no 'split' back then so this meant a gruelling 44 match schedule.

Thistle came calling on Tuesday, March 9th for what was the clubs' fourth and final league meeting of the season, Thistle slightly the better in the head-to-head stakes with one win alongside two draws. The Diamonds started that day on the 20 point mark (from 33 games), sharing joint-bottom spot with Falkirk, while Thistle were tenth but five points better off. In those days of two-points-for-a-win, Motherwell on 26 points and Dundee on 27 were relatively well-placed, but still in sight. With Dundee due at Brockville the following evening and trips to Dens Park and Falkirk to come, the Diamonds knew this part of the season would be vital to their hopes of survival.

A crowd of 3500 turned up to see what was therefore a relegation four-pointer (remember them?). Thistle drew first blood when Ian Cameron struck from the penalty spot after Walter Kidd had fouled Gerry Britton but the Diamonds levelled five minutes into the second half when Chris Honor nodded home after the late Justin Fashanu had headed Kenny Black's free-kick back across goal. Fash' would turn provider again and when Owen Coyle converted from his pass with ten minutes left it looked as if the Diamonds had secured a precious two points. Instead, a dramatic final instalment saw us implode with Kenny Black and Alan Lawrence sent-off either side of Davie Irons' last-minute equaliser.

We would draw again the following Saturday at Dens but, while we won at Brockville a week later, our inability to secure any more than five points from the subsequent eight games would seal our fate. The one-point return from the Thistle game had, in fact, been all too typical, our end-of-season statistics showing a total of 17 draws against only 6 wins. We would finish on 29 points, as would Falkirk, 5 behind tenth-placed Dundee, but the Bairns' superior goal difference was academic as two clubs went down.

Thistle finished in eighth place on 36 points and would remain in the highest division for a further three seasons. By 1995/96 the top league had been reduced to 10 teams and Thistle's ninth-placed finish meant they had to take part in the newly inaugurated play-off series against the runners-up in the second tier. A Firhill crowd of well over 10,000 saw them battle to a 1-1 draw with Dundee United but, heart-rendingly, they would lose out in the second-leg thanks to a last-gasp strike by a certain Owen Coyle. The record books show it took the club years to recover from this relatively devastating blow. They fell hard and fast, and only avoided relegation to the basement by a single point at the end of 1998/99. They did, of course, recover and were back in the top division for 2002/03.

Apart from last season, the closest the Diamonds have been was at the end of 1996/97. Like Dundee United the season before, we qualified as second tier runners-up. It looked for a while as if Motherwell may provide the opposition but they narrowly escaped, finishing eighth in the top division but only six goals better off than Hibernian who'd finished on the same points total. Steve Cooper's own goal was the only counter at Easter Road in the first leg but Paddy Connolly had us level within a minute of the Broadwood return.

I've mentioned various 'what if' moments in previous programmes this season, but the Hibernian match provided yet another. With the green-and-whites on the rack we were awarded a penalty. Steve Copper grabbed the ball, determined to make amends for his earlier error. Had he scored instead of blazing his effort over the bar there is every possibility we'd have gone on to win. As it was, his miss provided the turning point and we lost 4-2 on the night.

For the record, our last match in the top flight was the derby against Motherwell at Broomfield on 15th May 1993. We haven't played a league game against them since.

By Peter Smith

Airdrie’s 1925 Scandinavian Tour - Part 3

The last we heard from the Diamonds, they were heading back to Oslo ahead of their second match. Details on the following days are scarce, but Norwegian newspapers, translated by Joe Gorman from Malvik, provide some insight.

Airdrieonians faced a combined team of local players in front of a crowd estimated at nearly 10,000. They won the game 5-1 with the Norwegian King and Queen in attendance. The Scots opened the scoring within 5 minutes, setting a dominant tone for the game. Criticism of the local team was notable: “The Norwegian team were very disappointing, with the half-back play particularly weak.” Despite some good moves, the match was more of an exhibition game rather than a competition, with the crowd craving more of a contest. The Norwegian team did manage some notable attacks. Halvorsen scored for Norway, prompting great celebrations. Another near miss occurred when the Scottish keeper wandered far from his post.

A journalist said - “We were reminded of the Scottish games in 1911 and 1912. Just like back then, we saw the same excellent ball handling, the same phenomenal dribbling, and the same flattering triangle play (between the two inside forwards and the centre half, and between the inner and outer forwards and the backwards operating half back). Everything seemed so easy, yet – for us – so unbelievable.”

“What we perhaps did not see so much of, but which we did see from Mr. Chapman in 1912, were the shots: the long, rapid, unexpected shots. Gallacher was the ball expert and dribbler, but first and foremost the dribbler. He prided himself in running round and round the backs with the aim of playing himself free. At one point in the second half he managed to trick seven men (four of them at least twice) and had in the meantime two chances to score. But he did not take these chances, and just liked to think that he was the one in control of everything.”

Despite this criticism, Gallacher is praised later in the article:

“It was also fun to observe another aspect of Gallacher’s technique. When dribbling he seemed to move the ball forward in small bounds, and constantly changed tempo. Because of this, the Scots call him “the chameleon” – a description he certainly deserves”.

The best player, in the opinion of this journalist, was the team’s captain, Bennie:

“He could get hold of the ball in a tackle, dribble one man, then another (all at great speed), then run 40 metres forwards, then pass at a point in the attack where you could see a Scottish scoring opportunity in the next kick.”

Russell was also considered a particularly good player. The whole team were also considered very fair:

“Play without contact or breaking of rule 9 was typical of this team, who were gentlemanly and fair all the way through.”

This is a rather more informal, humorous view of the game:

"I have always thought of football as a fair game, but after today's match I have to revise my opinion. When a Scottish player can run precisely twice as fast as a Norwegian one, then – in the name of justice - either the Norwegian team should be allowed 22 players, or the Scots should be allowed only 5 and a half. In this case, you could pick any 5 Scottish players at random, then split Mr. Sommerville in two. The Sommer half could stay out (and perhaps bring some warmth to the terraces), or if he didn't want to then maybe Ville would."

This last part is a play on words. Sommerville was clearly one of the best Airdrie players, from other parts of the report. "Sommer" is Norwegian for "Summer" and "Ville" is Norwegian for "would". There is also some fun made of the role of the Airdrie goalie:

“At the end of the first half, great difficulty was experienced in awakening the Scottish goalkeeper, Mr. Ewart, who had quietly dosed off, due to unemployment.”

A set of six photos, labelled (from left to right, back row first):

• The Queen in conversation with Airdrie’s manager.

• A snapshot from the terraces.

• The King in conversation with one of Mercatile’s veterans – Makken Aas. [Mercantile is the name of the Olso team who arranged the visit].

• Gallacher, the Scottish centre forward, dribbles past Lulle Christisansen.

• The toss: The referee, the Scottish captain Benny and the Norwegian captain J. Berrier.

• (There is no caption for the 6th picture).

  

The Trondheim football public can expect a big day on Sunday, as the famous Scots play their third and final match on Norwegian grass. Political changes in the football association suggest it might be a long time before another Scottish team plays in Trondheim.

Massive thanks to Joe Gorman for translations and photographs

On This Day

1912

Scottish Division One (old)

Airdrieonians 3-0 Rangers

1929

Scottish Division One (old)

Airdrieonians 3-0 Hibernian

Goals from Skinner, Somerville and Wood see Airdrie 3-0 winners against Hibs at Broomfield.

1963

Scottish Division One (old)

Airdrieonians 2-0 Partick Thistle

With goals from Murray and Newlands, Airdrie win 2-0 against Thistle on matchday 17 of the 1963 season.

1974

Scottish Division One (old)

Airdrieonians 4-3 Rangers

In a thrilling game at Broomfield that consisted of seven goals, four bookings and two penalties, Airdrie came out on top gaining the 2pts. Airdrie scorers: Lapsley, Walker, Jonquin and Wilson. Rangers scorers: Johnstone and Jardine x2.

By Airdrieonians in History @RapidBenano

Collectors’ Corner

Match Programme Revisited– Airdrie v Celtic Scottish Cup Final 3rd May 1975.

With an eye on our pending Scottish Cup tie against Dumbarton, I thought it might raise our spirits, to look back at what can be achieved. Quite rightly this year, we recognised the 100 years anniversary since our great team of the 1920’s, won the Scottish Cup in 1924, beating Hibs 2-0 at Ibrox Park. That is a match programme I would love to have! - however we should not forget we were also Scottish Cup Finalists in 1975, 1992 and 1995. Today I want to review the 1975 Scottish Cup Final Match Programme.

The Diamonds, led by Manager Ian McMillan, travelled to Hampden Park on the 3rd May 1975 to face the mighty Celtic, whose team included famous names such as Billy McNeil, Bobby Lennox and Jimmy Johnstone. We had our own stars however, including Derek Whiteford, Kevin McCann and Willie McCulloch. Before this match, we had never beaten Celtic in the Scottish Cup in nine occasions since 1908-09, however we did take them to a replay on two out of three occasions we reached the Semi Final stage. We might have been the underdogs going into this match; however, the players were familiar with Hampden Park. We had already faced Celtic the same season, losing 1-0 in the Scottish League Cup Semi Final on 9 October 1974.

Getting to the Final this time was not straight forward for the Diamonds. (Is it ever!). Joining the Competition in the 3rd Round, it took seven matches including 3 replays to reach the Final. The most notable, being the defeat of Motherwell 1-0 in the Semi Final Replay held at Hampden on 9 April after a 1-1 draw on the previous Saturday 5 April. John Lapsley scoring the decisive goal.

The Match Programme, a colourful affair costing 10p, consisted of 12 pages with coverage of both teams, with the section on Airdrie focusing on our cup winning team 51 years earlier. “That was on April 19, 1924, the attendance was 60,000, and the gate drawings a meagre £2,046. Since whisky was then 12/6d a bottle and cigarettes 11 1/2for 20, Airdrieonians share of the gate at least paid for the celebrations.”

The programme included an interesting photograph, of Airdrie Diamond Mark Cowan standing on his head in what looked like his home living room. The programme went on to explain Mark was a keen Yoga fan!

The programme also contained an interesting article headed “When the English Cup was played at Hampden.” This referred to an FA Cup tie between Queen’s Park and Partick Thistle in 1885. Scottish teams had been taking part in the English Competition for some years, but this was the first occasion and only occasion, when two Scottish teams had actually been paired together. Good quiz question me thinks!

The Diamonds were up against it, in this final. Celtic had just lost the league, and were desperate to get the Scottish Cup to go with the League Cup they had won earlier in the season. They wanted entry to the European Cup Winners’ Cup next season, not the UEFA Cup. The Diamonds had failed to get in the Premier League this season, however were considered no push overs, as they were widely recognised as best suited for Cup competitions “due to our natural strong running, all action game.”

AS it turned out, Celtic won out 3-1, in front of a 75,000 Hampden crowd. Paul Wilson scored in 14 minutes, for our Kevin McCann to equalise in 42 minutes, however delight was short lived as Paul Wilson scored a second, one minute later and Pat McCluskey finished the job for Celtic with a second half penalty. Rumour had it, that the Celtic supporting McCann family were less than happy with their Kevin for his goal against their team!

Billy McNeill Celtic captain announced his retirement shortly after the final whistle.

The Diamonds would return to Hampden on Scottish Cup Final duty again in 1992 and again in 1995.

By Andy Locke

Trivia

Last issue we asked you - In 2016, Airdrie fans in their thousands took part in a series of polls to find the club's greatest ever XI. Who was voted our “GOAT” GK?

The Answer - John Martin

This issue - Who scored the winner in a 1-0 over hearts in the 1995 Scottish cup semi-final?