You Couldn't Make It Up!

by Jack Little

On 29/1/1887 Thistle's final attempt to lift the FA Cup ended in defeat at the Oval against Old Westminsters who won 1-0. "Sporting Life" reported that Thistle played "a good, honest and withal an exceedingly fair game. The match was indeed a most pleasant one throughout and the Thistle left a most favourable impression on metropolitan footballers". So Thistle left with some credit. It was less so for the home crowd. "Their own impression of the London crowd can hardly have been gratifying, as the spectators were most undemonstrative except in the case of any piece of good play by one of the Old Westminster team". Perhaps the shock of seeing a bunch of players made up of shipyard workers and the like was too much for the fans of the club linked to one of England's oldest public schools and who (ironically) had been an influential voice in the development of football and the laws of the game in England 20 years earlier. For their troubles, Thistle received £21.15s.6d. gate money. "The Sportsman" reported that the Thistle party would be arriving in the capital at 4am on the day of the match. They, too, deplored the "unwarrantable amount of partisanship" on the part of the spectators.

Publishing date An original Thistle Archive publication, 07-Sep-2020.
Latest edit date Latest edit version 02-Jun-2020.

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