Sandy Finnie

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Sandy Finnie

When I heard that Arbroath had been drawn against Rangers in the Scottish Cup it immediately brought back memories of a previous Gayfield encounter against the Glasgow giants on 2nd November, 1968. I was a member of the Arbroath team who took on the might of the Old Firm at Gayfield on two successive Saturdays during November of that year. The 1st Division league game against Rangers finished in a 5-1 victory for the Ibrox side but my recollections are of a far tighter game than the score would suggest. Big Jimmy Jack had netted to make the score 2-1 and the visitors had to survive a few anxious moments before eventually running out convincing winners. Colin Stein made his debut for Rangers that day after his transfer from Hibs and although lan Stirling handled him really well, the centre-forward got his Ibrox career off to a flyer with a “lucky” hat trick.

The other thing I clearly remember is the massive crowd which I believe was around 13,000 and the atmosphere they generated. My involvement with Glasgow Rangers did not finish when I left Arbroath and in February, 1977. I captained Elgin City, who at that time were in the Highland League, against Jock Wallace’s team at Ibrox in a 4th Round Scottish Cup Tie. Nowadays I work part-time at Aberdeen Football Club in the Community Department which, with four full-time coaches, boasts the biggest set up of its kind in Scotland. This keeps me involved in football on a day to day basis and I also enjoy the odd trip down the coast to see the Red Lichties in action.

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