There was a lovely moment at half-time at Tannadice when the Dundee United substitutes stopped to pay tribute to a couple of club legends.
Led by club captain Sean Dillon – ever the gentleman – it was nice to see Simon Murray, Cammy Smith, Blair Spittal, Luis Zwick, Coll Donaldson and Jamie Robson all halt their interval workouts to stand and applaud two men who helped humble Barcelona. They then chatted, player to player.
The two heroes of yesteryear were Billy Hainey and Lennart Wing, proud members of the United team that went to the Nou Camp 50 years ago and beat the Spanish giants 2-1 in the Tangerines’ first-ever tie in continental competition.
The Inter-Cities Fairs Cup win was the first in the long line of United’s illustrious and – at times – extraordinary European achievements.
The respect shown by the team of 2016 was great to witness and while they will never scale the heights of the Jerry Kerr and Jim McLean teams, the current crop can write their own, albeit more modest, chapter of club history.
For a result like this gutsy 1-0 victory against a Falkirk side who will be Championship challengers this season proves that the Tangerines have attributes required to win promotion – hard work, patience, self-belief, togetherness and quality.
Whether they manage it or not is another question altogether but it is within their capabilities.
Getting back up to the Premiership may not rank alongside the feats of the likes of Hainey and Wing, or Dave Narey and Paul Sturrock in the glory days.
However, it would certainly be worth celebrating and, who knows, it might just be this set of players who are taking the applause on the pitch at the end of the season.
