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It is the dread of every top team to be knocked out by a minor club when it comes to the Scottish Cup. A fear of cataclysmic proportions descended upon the St Mirren board room when they were paired with not-so-tiny non-league part-timers Spartans from Edinburgh in the 4th round of the Scottish Cup in February 2006.
But first, let’s go back a couple of seasons to 2003-04. In the 2nd round of the Scottish Cup Spartans made the trip to Alloa Athletic of the Scottish League 2nd Division. Alloa went 2-0 up, Spartans got one back, but Alloa regained the margin, going 3-1 up. Then the script went all wrong for Alloa. On the rain-sodden pitch, Spartans fought back and levelled the score at 3-3. Spartans besieged the Alloa goal in the last 15 minutes, forcing the home side into desperate defending and hanging on for dear life. On the final whistle, none was more relieved than the Alloa players, having survived a sustained onslaught and now given a chance to redeem themselves against the Edinburgh part-timers.
With bated breath, the Spartans team, huddled around a television set in the dressing room, watched the draw for the next round live on television. Only 4 teams remained in the hat - Hibernian, the Premier team, just 10 minutes' drive away from Spartans' home ground, mighty Glasgow Rangers, and Arbroath of the 2nd Division. It was a 2 in 3 chance of a really big Premier name! Out came Hibernian … out came Rangers. Deep sighs were expelled all round! They had just missed the really big time! Next out of the hat was Arbroath. Then last of all, Alloa or Spartans. But first, there was a replay to attend to.
The following Saturday Spartans showed their true grit once more. With only a couple of minutes remaining, they were leading 3-2 and heading for the next round. In fact, some minutes before, the Spartans' management had withdrawn a couple of forwards and replaced them with defenders to pull out all the stops and prevent Alloa from equalising. Then, in the last minute, disaster! Alloa did equalise! The home fans fell into despair! With the score standing at 3 goals apiece, Spartans were due to embark on extra time with a lack of forwards against a team from a superior division and presumably superior fitness and stamina. It looked as though the tide might turn. The Spartans' management team came onto the field, praising the players for their valiant efforts. But neither praise nor a pep-talk would encourage them. Not in the least deflated by that last-gasp equaliser, the lads had their minds focussed resolutely on a trip to the seaside town of Arbroath.
In the first period of extra time, an attack by Spartans produced a loose ball in the overcrowded Alloa penalty area. Spartans forward Kenny Hughes, never one given to exaggerate, enthused, “I was hovering just outside the penalty box just to pick up any loose ball. I couldn’t believe it! There it was, just a few yards in front of me. The ball HAD broken loose! For a split second I was well and truly mesmerised - it was just tantalising me. The temptation was too much. I just ran at it and hammered it for all its worth. And it finished up in the back of the net!” Spartans, now 4-3 up, kept up the momentum, chasing for another goal despite their lack of forwards. The home fans were enjoying every minute of it! Then, Ian Crawford scored the 5th and final goal to send Spartans through to the next round with a 5-3 victory. City Park was ecstatic, jubilant!
And so the resilience of the Spartans players saw the team bus heading for Arbroath, their third meeting in the cup. Arbroath had cuffed Spartans 3-0 in a replay at Arbroath a few seasons earlier. This time though, they knew Spartans were a stronger side. And Spartans were fully conscious that Arbroath knew from the Alloa experience that this Spartans team were not to be underestimated. And so a professional approach by the home side was the order of the day to avoid the humiliation that had come Alloa’s way. Quarter of an hour gone, and Arbroath were a goal up and well in command. By full-time Arbroath fans were drifting out of the ground. As a contest it was all over – Spartans had stuck four past them and Arbroath didn’t know what day of the week it was. In the dressing room Spartans heard on the radio that their 4-1 victory had earned them a home 4th round tie against Scottish Premier League side, Livingston. It was to be Spartans big day – and they had well earned it!
If one thing has to be said about Livingston, it is their sportsmanship. Where many a club would have looked on City Park with trepidation more than disdain, they would have used the excuse of City Park’s unsuitability to host such a grand occasion. But Livingston took no such advantage to ruin Spartans' historic day. Admittedly, they did use the dressing rooms at Easter Road Stadium and arrived by bus already in their football strips. And immediately after the match, they took the bus back to Easter Road to get showered and changed.
It was a grand occasion. The snow on the pitch that Sunday afternoon had just melted in time and the game kicked off in a bright but cold day. Spartans were playing every bit as good as the visitors from the Premier League and at half-time both teams came into the dressing rooms level at 0-0, a fair score. In the second half Spartans continued to give a good account of themselves, matching Livingston in every department, but half way through Livingston found their magic, scoring 4 quick goals. Any pretensions that Spartans had of causing a major upset were now over but they played gallantly on to the final whistle and came off the field at full time to a standing ovation by both sets of supporters. Yes, it all happened in February 2004, when a first ever Premier League side came to do business at City Park, witnessed by an all-ticket record home attendance, since broken, of 3,123 delighted fans who gathered on the grassy slopes of Spartans' unpretentious
ground. What an occasion that was! Thank you very much, Livingston FC!
Two season later, Spartans were back in Scottish Cup business. This time, they had a home 1st round clash against top-of-the-table 3rd Division side, Berwick Rangers. And out Berwick went. Round 2 saw a 5-0 win at Lossiemouth against Highland League opposition. Round 3 was against Queen’s Park – no, not at Hampden Park! Could Spartans success continue? A win just might secure another big day against a Premier side. Queen’s fell 3-2 at City Park. Spartans, who had kicked-off at 2pm, were the first to reach the 4th round. They had an extra hour to wait until the draw could be made. Fingers crossed for a Premier side! Out came St Mirren, tearaway leaders of the Scottish League 1st Division, to play on Spartans’ home turf. Another big day for City Park guaranteed!
Alas! No sooner had the draw been made than things started to turn sour. St Mirren had contacted Livingston FC to have the match played there. Livingston had agreed, subject to Spartans’ approval. Then St Mirren contacted the SFA to say that Livingston had kindly offered to make their ground available rather than have St Mirren play in a backyard. The Paisley side lacked some saintly etiquette – they saw no need to tell a non-league side like Spartans of the malevolence they were up to behind their backs. Under cross examination, St Mirren had to admit that the initial approach had come not from Livvy, but from St Mirren themselves. And again under cross examination, they had to concede they had never seen Spartans' ground and had to withdraw their remark that it resembled a backyard. Apparently, the Saints chanced their luck by assuming that "small fry" were entitled to be pushed around by the big boys. But no one had told Spartans that St Mirren were one of the big boys and so the terrified opposition froze as their efforts to have the matched switched were duly thwarted. In contrast, Spartans quietly and undisturbed set about with all the necessary planning and arrangements for another grand occasion, having adopted the motto “Nemo me impune lacessit”, which, liberally translated from the Latin, means “No one messes the Spartans boys around and gets away with it, so they don't!”
Further shortcomings in St Mirren’s sportsmanship were to become apparent. They haggled over the ticket allocation – they wanted more for their fans. And to back up their case, they stated that their travelling support was more than their average home support. Spartans flashed a few figures in their face with regard to attendances at St Mirren games. That disproved their argument but, nevertheless, Spartans increased the ticket allocation. Next, Saints haggled over the admission prices, pointing out their fans should pay less than Spartans fans.
Anything to avoid coming to a burial ground where other League clubs had met their demise. Berwick Rangers had accepted their fate, so had Queen’s Park, so why should St Mirren be exempt from a similar fate?
The Love Street boardroom in the town of Paisley was now gripped with ever-increasing fear and trepidation. So much so that the Chairman and one of his fellow Directors were instantly dispatched to City Park on a mission to sneak in by clambering over the wall! A red-faced Chairman was caught red-handed, measuring rod in hand, gingerly staking out the length and width of the City Park pitch. A pen and sketch book were spotted in the hands of his accomplice, noting down the precise measurements. Such were the pre-match antics Spartans had to endure from an opposition cringing at the mere thought of playing at humble City Park.
To save the Chairman any further embarrassment, the kind-hearted and good-natured Spartans' Secretary, seeing the funny side of the incident, when dispatching the Chairman a complimentary ticket, included a rather humorous note that it would permit him to enter the ground on match day through the main door, so saving him the trouble of jumping over the wall. It is reported that the quivering Chairman lacked the same sense of humour and, according to local gossip down Paisley way, passed the note on to his lawyer who, doubtless, had a real good chuckle to himself.
Ever heard it said a non-League ground with all its warts can be a great leveller in the Cup? Well, for a start, Spartans pitch was anything but level. It had a ghastly slope and a surface more bumpy and uneven than a natterjack toad. It was a bit on the narrow side for St Mirren’s liking, lacking the expertise of a full-time professional groundsman to give it a weekly manicure. Indeed, the pitch was a world away from the bowling green surface St Mirren were accustomed to. The dressing rooms were so tiny that the Saints had trouble squeezing in their enormous amount of kit. And queueing up for an after-match shower was the order of the day. These were the harsh realities. Little wonder that such spartan conditions pierced the St Mirren Chairman with dread - having to turn up at such a notorious graveyard for League clubs going there on Scottish Cup business! A defeat for the big-timers can be downright humiliating, if not catastrophic.
And so came the big day, a glorious Sunday afternoon, on 5th February 2006. It was already known that the winners would be heading to the border town of Gretna in the next round. The two grandstands were bedecked in flags and bunting. A large banner welcomed the fans from Paisley. The house was packed - 3346 spectators entered the ground via the gates - vaulting over the walls was simply not allowed!
Spartans took the game to St Mirren. The visitors, despite their far superior league position, were unable to break down Spartans and realised that Spartans meant business and that they were earnestly pursuing a place in the 5th round by dumping them ignominiously out of the Cup.
Only a couple of minutes were left on the referee’s watch. Spartans launched an all-out attack on the St Mirren goal. The penalty box was jam-packed full. On the edge of the box the ball broke loose to Jonathon Sealy (yes! - a centre half on the attack!). This could well be Spartans' last chance. The big centre-half hadn't come up the park for nothing! He had only a split second to react! There was no time to line up the ball. He hit it goalward, in the hope that somehow or other it might just sneak into the net. The instantaneous action demanded by that split second chance resulted in a slight mis-kick, which saw the ball whiz just by the post. Jonathon later despaired, "Oh, would that I had had the shooting boots of Kenny Hughes!" St Mirren had survived a shock defeat ... and managed to hold on for another minute to earn a replay.
The replay at Love Street on St Valentine’s night in 2006 was a one-sided affair. St Mirren felt comfortable on their home turf and, although losing 3-0, Spartans were not disgraced. And so, yet another historic Scottish Cup campaign had come to an memorable end.
Although Spartans had played in front of their biggest crowd, no one seems to know for certain what the actual attendance was that night. The figure produced by St Mirren was queried by the authorities and St Mirren had to get their pocket calculators back out. Somehow, they discovered that 800 spectators had not been accounted for - perhaps they had sneaked over the wall! - which meant Spartans earned a little bit extra cash in gate receipts for their new Sports Academy.
... Oh, would that Kenny Hughes had loaned his shooting boots to Jonathon Sealy that glorious Sunday afternoon!
