A CONCISE POST WAR HISTORY OF THE RED LICHTIES

© Fraser Clyne

Part Nine: 1953-54

Lichties followers looked forward to the new season with a high degree of optimism, but their team got off to its customary poor start by taking just one point from the opening three League Cup group games against Dunfermline, Forfar and Dumbarton.  That was followed by three straight wins over the same trio of clubs, but the upsurge in form wasn’t enough to secure qualification for the knockout stages of the tournament as Dunfermline topped the table.

The winning tempo was, however, carried forward into the league campaign which started with an encouraging 4-3  victory over Queen’s Park at Hampden. Goals from Willie McCall (2), Kenny Malcolm and Bill Rennet gave the Maroons their first post-war victory over the Spiders. The following week Don MacKenzie (2) and John McBain got on the scoresheet as Arbroath brushed aside Angus rivals Forfar 3-1 in a Forfarshire Cup semi final tie  at Station Park. Seven days later Forfar were again beaten, 3-0 this time, in a league game. Malcolm (2) and McCall were the marksmen on this occasion. Everything was looking good and the fans began to believe Alec Cheyne’s side might be capable of launching a strong bid for promotion. Unfortunately, it was not to be. After this bright sequence of results, Arbroath went into a sudden spiral of decline, winning just two of their next sixteen games. Relegation to C Division, rather than promotion, began to look more likely.

During this period the town went into mourning following the loss, in October 1953, of the lifeboat ‘Robert Lindsay’ which sank on its return to Arbroath harbour in stormy conditions. Six men lost their lives and in the aftermath of the tragedy the Lichties arranged to play Highland League Fraserburgh in a benefit match.

A New Year’s Day 3-2 home defeat by Forfar, followed 24 hours later by a 5-2 thrashing from Morton, made the Lichties relegation plight even worse. The players reacted, however, by stringing together a five match unbeaten run which included victories over Dundee United (4-3), Dunfermline (5-0) and Ayr United (1-0). That eased the pressure but the team’s spurt of good form faded away just as dramatically as it had appeared and the Gayfield side slumped back into a dangerous rut. Only a dramatic 2-1 victory over fellow strugglers Cowdenbeath in the second last game of the season saved the Maroons from dropping out of the league and the ignomy of being replaced by Brechin!.

The Scottish Cup campaign also proved disappointing. After securing a 0-0 draw with A Division Stirling Albion, Arbroath lost the replay 3-1 in front of 6000 fans at Gayfield. The defeat was even harder to take as the winners were guaranteed to meet Celtic in the next round.

There was further frustration at the end of the season when Dundee United won the Forfarshire Cup by defeating the Lichties 2-1 at Tannadice in front of a “poor crowd” of just over 3000. The fans were also disappointed to lose Kenny Malcolm who signed for Ipswich Town for a reported fee of £2400.

Off the park, the Town Council finally dropped its long term plan to relocate Gayfield to a site between Keptie Woods and Lochlands cricket ground. The idea had first been proposed in the 1947 Arbroath Development Plan.

Next: Still in the doldrums

SCOTTISH LEAGUE B DIVISION 1953-54