5th Nov 1977 Rangers 3 Partick Thistle 3 (SFL Premier Division - game 12)

matches:1977-78: ← 21game 2223 →

Match Information

			Jock Wallace		Bertie Auld			39y, 7m, 13d
					Jackie Campbell
					Bobby Houston
Derek Parlane (2-1, 21 mins); Derek Parlane (2-2, 48 mins); Alex MacDonald (3-3, 80 mins)					Dougie Somner (1-0, 14 mins); Jim Melrose (2-0, 16 mins); Ian Gibson (3-2, 50 mins)
Colin Jackson (Chris Robertson)					Jim Melrose (Bobby Houston, 67 mins); Dougie Somner (Ally Love, 2nd half)
			Stewart Kennedy		Alan Rough			25y, 11m, 11d
			Sandy Jardine		George Mackie			23y, 5m, 18d
			John Greig		Brian Whittaker			21y, 1m, 13d
			Tom Forsyth		John Marr			21y, 5m, 2d
			future Jag Colin Jackson		Andy Anderson			24y, 2m, 29d
			Alex MacDonald		Jackie Campbell			31y, 8m, 9d
			Tommy McLean		Jim Melrose			19y, 0m, 29d
			Bobby Russell		Dougie Somner			26y, 4m, 1d
			Derek Parlane		Alex O'Hara			21y, 0m, 15d
			Gordon Smith		Ian Gibson			21y, 3m, 12d
			Davie Cooper		John Craig			24y, 6m, 26d
								23y, 7m, 27d
			Chris Robertson		Bobby Houston			25y, 9m, 15d
			Alex Miller		Ally Love			22y, 5m, 27d

Match Report

TTA report

Thistle rocked Rangers with goals from Somner (deflected in a Mackie shot, 14) and Melrose (a low shot, 16) but headers (21 and 48) pulled it back level. Gibson poked in an O'Hara cross (50) and a 1st win at Ibrox in 27 attempts looked on until Rangers equalised from close range (80) but it was a fine effort.

Scrapbook

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Daily Record, 5th November, 1977

Match Programme, 5th November, 1977

Sunday Post, 6th November, 1977

Daily Record, 5th November, 1977

Video Highlights

(credit: Scottish Television )

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Who put the ball in the Rangers net?

Dougie featured at #21 in our Top 25 countdown here on The Thistle Archive →

DOUGIE SOMNER

05.11.1977 Rangers [a] D3-3 (SFL Premier Division - game 12)
Dougie Somner (1-0, 14 mins); Jim Melrose (2-0, 16 mins); Ian Gibson (3-2, 50 mins)

♪ We've got Dougie Somner, number nine, we've got the best team in the land ♫ < Who remembers that one then?

Bertie’s Jags were on a great run in the autumn of '77, and were 4 League wins on the trot going into this one. Commentators were talking seriously about the Maryhill Magyars once again being contenders for a continental jaunt in 1978-79, and after 16 minutes of this Premier Division encounter, that talk was underlined in action, as Thistle rocked Ibrox with two goals in two minutes by Dougie Somner and Jim Melrose. Just one month earlier, Dougie had done the Celtic over, securing a 1-0 win at Firhill, and, for a long while, it really was game on for a mighty Old Firm double.

Much of Thistle’s success at this time was down to our strong and deadly number nine; eventually the big guy ensured his Thistle legend status by reaching the 100 goals milestone, 5 of which came against Rangers.

Of his opener, the Evening Times wrote: “Whittaker went on the overlap in 14 minutes and won a corner. Craig’s kick came over and was punched out to the feet of Mackie. The full-back crashed in a vicious shot and DOUG SOMNER deflected it high into the net.”

This set the tone for an unforgettable and pulsating encounter; the proverbial six goal thriller. Post-match, Jock Wallace was full of praise for Thistle: “They put up a tremendous show, it was skill and organisation against organisation and skill.”

Such was the excitement amongst the faithful on the terraces that Dad lost his car keys, and we all had to sit around shivering until deep into the evening when it was finally sorted by the breakdown bloke. We’d do it all again though, hell yeah!

Those tuning in to Sunday Scotsport at 4.15pm were in for a treat. We can only live in hope that, one of these days, a tape might just surface…

Stats Watch

ongoing sequences:

● 61 consecutive competitive appearances for Brian Whittaker, 1st Sep 1976 to date, a new personal best. (Longest run since: Alan Rough - 61 games, 27th Mar 1976 to 27th Aug 1977. 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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