30th Oct 1976 Partick Thistle 2 Rangers 1 (SFL Premier Division - game 8)

matches:1976-77: ← 19game 2021 →

Match Information

38y, 7m, 7d			Bertie Auld		Jock Wallace
John Hansen
Bobby Houston
Dougie Somner (1-1, 75 mins); Brian Whittaker (2-1, 89 mins)					Kenny Watson (0-1, 53 mins)
John Marr (Jim Melrose, 82 mins)
24y, 11m, 5d			Alan Rough		Stewart Kennedy
26y, 8m, 27d			John Hansen		Sandy Jardine
20y, 1m, 7d			Brian Whittaker		Alex Miller
30y, 8m, 3d			Jackie Campbell		John Greig
21y, 4m, 17d			Alan Hansen		Colin Jackson future Jag
23y, 2m, 23d			Andy Anderson		Jim Denny
21y, 11m, 15d			Sandy Frame		Tommy McLean
25y, 3m, 26d			Dougie Somner		Martin Henderson
20y, 4m, 27d			John Marr		Derek Parlane
23y, 6m, 20d			John Craig		Kenny Watson future Jag
26y, 10m, 6d			Harry Johnston		Alex MacDonald
24y, 1m, 7d
18y, 0m, 23d			Jim Melrose		Chris Robertson
21y, 5m, 21d			Ally Love		Bobby McKean

Match Report

TTA report

Rough was in action as early as the 2nd min as Thistle offered little. The game was poor. They were denied a stonewall pen (36) then Somner shot wide from 10 yards. Rangers took the lead (53) but still Thistle sat in. Finally a Somner header from a Hansen cross (75) made it 1-1 before Whittaker got the winner (89).

Scrapbook

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Match Programme, 30th October, 1976

Get a flick through the fully scanned programme; click on the external link to read and enjoy… flickr

Sunday Post, 31st October, 1976

Daily Record, 1st November, 1976

Daily Record, 1st November, 1976

The Scotsman, 1st November, 1976

Evening Times, 1st November, 1976

West End News, 5th November, 1976

Video Highlights

(credit: BBC Scotland )

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Who put the ball in the Rangers net?

Brian featured at #11 in our Top 25 countdown here on The Thistle Archive →

BRIAN WHITTAKER

30.10.1976 Rangers [h] W2-1 (SFL Premier Division - game 8)
Dougie Somner (1-1, 75 mins); Brian Whittaker (2-1, 90+1 mins)

Brian Whittaker was a guy who practically invented Aaron Taylor-Sinclair and Callum Booth, and gave great service to Thistle from 1974 onwards, clocking up over 350 appearances, before a skint Firhill board finally gave in to the cheap lure of Davie Hay's Parkhead cheque book in 1983. To be fair, John Buckley moved in the other direction as part of the deal, so perhaps we didn't do too badly out of it. For certain, we can be thankful for a lot of great times, none more so than a battle-of-the-champions top-flight encounter in October '76 when Brian had just turned 20…

When Kenny Watson put the Scottish champions ahead in the 53rd minute of this one, Thistle fans would have been ruing a series of missed opportunities and a denied penalty claim (Ian Foote was in charge, say no more). There would have been very few inside the packed Firhill who would have given the newly promoted side a chance from thereon, but Bertie Auld’s Jags – with only 1 defeat in the last 8 games – were accustomed to not losing; they were a spirited bunch with potential match winners all over the park.

With a little over a quarter of an hour to play, a John Hansen cross was flashed into the net via the head of Dougie Somner, who was fast establishing himself as a real force in the Scottish game. By all accounts this was a deserved equaliser, and it made for an open and exciting finale, with both sides looking for a winner. It came in injury time, right in front of the Rangers fans in the North terracing… for the Premier Division's new boys!

A John Craig throw-in was flicked on by big Dougie Somner, and our marauding left-back, Brian Whittaker, had read the play brilliantly, timing his run to perfection as the ball fell right into his path. He connected powerfully with his trusty left-foot, and Stewart Kennedy was beaten. Tommy McLean was on his backside, and John Greig and Colin Jackson could only look on with disbelief.

Last-minute winners leave an amazing glow at the best of times, but bagging them against either of the Old Firm is something else altogether and, for a great character like Brian Whittaker, it’d have been ingrained into his banter for years to come; if post-match video interviews had existed back in those days he’d have left you with a smile as wide as the Clyde.

Brian left us far too early, but his memory lives on, especially in the minds of Thistle and Hearts fans, where he is remembered fondly for his classy displays on the park, and his joie de vivre off it.

Stats Watch

ongoing sequences:

● 25 consecutive competitive appearances for Alan Rough, 27th Mar 1976 to date. (Longest run since: Bobby Houston - 28 games, 3rd Jan 1976 to 28th Aug 1976. Club-record: Johnny Jackson - 313 games, 28th Aug 1926 to 25th Mar 1933.)

Stats Watch adheres to our stated definitions of League, League Max, Major Competitive, Competitive or All Games. Where there is no written qualification, you should presume that the Stat in question is compiled from the All Games criteria.

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