PLAYERS who made up the Scottish League XI assembled at Glasgow’s Anderston Quay in September 1955, bound for the short trip to Dublin, little suspecting that what lay in wait for them was “an unpleasant an evening here as they are ever likely to achieve.”
The assessment was provided by this newspaper’s football correspondent after he had witnessed a 4-2 win for the League of Ireland X1.
The Scottish players photographed on the right are Archie Glen (Aberdeen), Alex Parker (Falkirk), Harry Haddock (Clyde), Johnny Hubbard (Rangers), Andy Kerr (Partick Thistle), George Young (Rangers), Bobby Wishart (Aberdeen), Bobby Collins (Celtic) and Bobby Evans (Celtic).
“Disappointing display by Scottish League XI,” ran the headline in this paper two days later.
The Scots’ bad night came about, wrote our man in the press box, “thanks to the expected will to fight - if not to win - of the Irish, and some inexplicable failings on the part of Scots who not long ago were the country’s heroes.”
Read more: Herald Diary
He said he never saw the Scots in danger of losing, “for within 11 minutes of the start they were two goals up, but the Irish at Dalymount never give up, and as the Scots, especially [Lawrie] Reilly, Wishart and [Gordon] Smith, took a foolishly optimistic view of their lead, the contest was far from over at half-time.”
The only international-like Scottish players he saw in action that night were goalkeeper Tommy Younger, Parker, Young, Evans and Collins.
“Once again Dalymount has been the scene of a victory but the source of great disillusionment for Scottish players,” the correspondent added.
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