Third-tier Forfar Athletic were 11/1 outsiders on Grand National Day 40 years ago when they came close to inflicting one of Rangers’ worst-ever defeats.
Rangers were the Scottish Cup holders and expected to canter to victory against the modestly-paid part-timers some 28 places and two leagues below them.
Photos which have lain in DC Thomson’s archives but were never developed from negatives have been published for the first time to mark the anniversary.
This is previously unseen material.
So let’s go back four decades to this remarkable near-Cinderella story.
Forfar as a town gained national attention in the build-up.
Local baker Sandy Saddler baked a special cake in advance – cheekily showing Forfar’s first goal already in the net!
So much of that talk, though, was about bridies and not enough about Forfar’s football.
Road to Hampden
The Loons had reached the semi-final by hard graft and defeated East Fife, Hamilton, Hearts and Queen’s Park after being drawn away from home in every round.
Hampden wouldn’t scare them, either. They had played there often enough, notably, in a memorable League Cup semi-final against the same Rangers in 1978.
Forfar were at one stage only seven minutes away from victory that day against a Rangers side that was hammering towards a double-treble under Jock Wallace.
Could Alex Rae’s team put such pressure on Rangers again?
“If we are to have even the slightest chance against Rangers we must hope for a 100% performance because nothing else will do,” he said.
“The main thing for us is to emerge with honour. For most of the players this will be the highlight of their careers and I want them to enjoy it to the limit.
“We will be having a celebration in a Fife hotel after the match, no matter the result, for it is a great day for the club.”
Rangers manager John Greig said anything less than victory was unthinkable despite being hampered by the suspensions of Derek Johnstone and Davie Cooper.
It was heart-breaking, the way it turned out, because although we had a replay to contest, that was our big chance and it was snatched away from us.”
Former Forfar Athletic captain Ian McPhee
“They will be expecting us to go into all-out attack against them right from the start and we will grant their wish,” he said.
“We have one thing in mind at the moment: to get to the Scottish Cup final.”
The Station Parkers included goalkeeper Stewart Kennedy, who signed from Rangers, and former Dundee United players Kenny Brown and Ray Farningham.
Thousands of Forfar fans paid £2 to travel on supporters’ club buses to Hampden while Rangers supporters appeared to regard the semi-final appearance as routine.
That was reflected in the poor attendance with just 15,878 people dotted around Hampden’s vast terracing for the Saturday afternoon showpiece.
The Grand National being shown on TV was blamed in some quarters for the poor turnout, although Rangers fans were disillusioned with events on the park.
Rangers’ fortunes had nose-dived after winning the 1981 League Cup and they were already out of the title race by the time the semi-final came around on April 3 1982.
Rangers: Stewart, Dawson, Black, Jardine, McClelland, Bett, Dalziel, Russell, McAdam, Redford, MacDonald. Subs: Davies, Robertson.
Forfar: Kennedy, Bennett, McPhee, Brown, Brash, Allan, Gallacher, Farningham, Hancock, Leitch, Clark. Subs: Porter, Watt.
Forfar goalie Stewart Kennedy had been out for a fortnight with back trouble and was still being given treatment as he went down the tunnel before kick-off.
The 7/1 favourite Grittar eventually won the Grand National by 15 lengths, while Rangers struggled to find form against the underdogs from Angus at Hampden.
Forfar played with a style and flair that totally belied their position in the country’s bottom senior league and almost won the game in the final stages.
Greig’s side were devoid of ideas from the off and played route-one football, looking for Colin McAdam, but Kenny Brown and Alex Brash were unbeatable in the air.
Forfar were giving Rangers a tough time in the opening exchanges and Gordon Leitch shot past the post on 14 minutes following a good run by Billy Gallacher.
Rangers were struggling to string a pass together.
But the Ibrox side came close to scoring a few minutes later when Gordon Dalziel hit the bar with a free header following a cross from Ian Redford.
Rangers trooped off at half-time to chants of “what a load of rubbish” from their fans and things didn’t get much better for Greig’s charges after the break.
McAdam shot wildly past on 54 minutes and Kennedy made two saves from MacDonald and Redford but the rest was just routine work for the goalkeeper.
A Forfar fairytale almost came to life as the clock at the national stadium ticked on to its 83rd minute and Stuart Porter went down in the Rangers box.
The vast majority of the crowd held its breath as they contemplated a Rangers defeat that would come close to matching the famous cup shock at Berwick in 1967.
The referee looked long and hard but decided against awarding a spot-kick and the game finished 0-0 with few chances made in the dying embers.
Forfar’s bench rushed on to the field at full-time to celebrate with the players while Rangers could not get down the tunnel quickly enough.
Bill McFarlane, of The Sunday Post, wrote: “Hang your heads in shame Rangers. This really was the worst-ever!
“You really had to be at Hampden to appreciate just how bad the Scottish Cup holders were.
“No matter how severely I criticise them – and I am just about to – it definitely had to be seen to be believed.
“Sure, Rangers had the bulk of play, but not once did they create a single opening. To Forfar’s eternal credit, they looked to go forward all the time.”
Forfar manager Alex Rae said he was disappointed not to win the game while John Greig admitted his side played “exceptionally badly” at Hampden.
Former captain Ian McPhee still wonders what might have been some 40 years on.
He said: “My main memory of the game in 1982 is just how close we were to getting a victory.
“Going into the last seven minutes we had a massive shout for a penalty when Bobby Russell brought down Stuart Porter inside the box and we all thought it would be given. Kenny Hope was the referee that day and he turned it down.
“Our boys all couldn’t believe it because we had them on the ropes and that would have allowed us to put them out.
“It was heart-breaking, the way it turned out, because, although we had a replay to contest, that was our big chance and it was snatched away from us.”
McPhee said legendary commentator Archie Macpherson must also take some of the credit for Forfar putting in such a good performance in the first game!
“We had a good team back then and I remember being in Glasgow, having our pre-match meal, when Football Focus came on the TV,” he said.
“Archie Macpherson was doing his pre-match stuff about the game and signed off by saying: ‘I hope the Forfar lads enjoy their day out and their cheque’.
“That made our lads get really pumped up for the game because we felt everyone was being dismissive of our chances so that was all the motivation we needed.
“So I suppose you could say Archie helped us a bit that day because he certainly got the boys’ backs up!”
Greig was so stung by the criticism which followed that he went to ground and refused to announce his team plans for the Tuesday replay at Hampden.
In the event, Colin Jackson, Davie Cooper and Derek Johnstone returned and Greig’s side won 3-1 in front of 4,000 fewer fans than had watched the first game.
Just 10 minutes into the replay, Greig’s selection was vindicated as Cooper’s free-kick was headed home by Johnstone.
Amazingly, Forfar were denied another penalty when Redford tripped John Clark inside the box, before Jim Bett added a second goal for the Light Blues.
A minute before the break, though, the Loons got back into the tie when Ally Dawson fouled Billy Gallacher. It was third time lucky as Alex Brash slotted home from the spot.
However, it took Rangers just seven minutes of the second period to edge clear, with Johnstone nodding on to Cooper, who fired home to make it 3-1.
The unforgettable Scottish Cup run was over for the Loons but April 3 1982 will always mark the day that a Forfar fairytale almost came to life.
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