It’s less than a fortnight after the 25th anniversary of what could be described as the forgotten Dens Park quarter-final.
Maybe not forgotten by the St Johnstone fans who were on, more often off, the old bench seats behind the Provost Road goal on September 10, 1996.
But forgotten by the men on the pitch, it would seem.
The Dundee player/manager that night, Jim Duffy, can’t remember anything about the game whatsoever.
Understandable, given it was one he would want to instantly forget.
Four down at half-time and subbing yourself at the interval is not how you would choose to draw a line under your playing career.
You would expect memories to be more vivid on the other side but Danny Griffin also struggles to recall any of the finer details of the 5-1 thrashing Saints inflicted on Dundee.
The lack of video footage, or even photographs, of the Challenge Cup clash has helped the match fade into the background of Dundee v Saints folklore and the league encounter that followed a few months later at McDiarmid Park probably also needs to be factored in.
At least, that’s Griffin’s excuse.
St Johnstone's last quarter-final visit to Dens Park. (via @SaintsOTD) pic.twitter.com/cmXhTINWQV
— St Johnstone 1884 (@stjohnstone1884) September 21, 2021
“Everybody still talks about the 7-2 at New Year that season,” said the Northern Irishman. “I know that one like the back of my hand.
“You still see the mugs and T-shirts commemorating it.
“Whatever the circumstances, beating your nearest rivals 5-1 on their own pitch was a huge result even if I don’t remember much about it!”
Strong line-ups
It wasn’t as if either manager put out shadow teams for the lower league knockout competition that was started up just a few years earlier.
Both sides had made decent starts to their First Division promotion campaigns. Duffy made four changes to his starting line-up from the previous Saturday’s league game and Paul Sturrock a mere two.
Griffin, who had turned down a move to Derby County that summer, partnered Andy Whiteford in central defence, and the latter scored his one and only Saints goal, the second of the visitors’ four in the first 45.
“That was typical of Luggy,” said Griffin, who still works with Saints as the club and community development officer.
“He came through under Jim McLean and didn’t have any fears about playing you if you were good enough. Age didn’t come into it.
“The likes of me, Fizzy (Philip Scott), Callum (Davidson), Stuart (McCluskey) and Andy were at the right place at the right time.
“Even when it came to a game against a team like Dundee, he trusted you.
“There was a season when myself and Stuart played together for the majority of it and only conceded something like 19 goals.”
Gary Farquhar didn’t fulfil his talent
Gary Farquhar surely hasn’t forgotten the occasion.
Two goals – one of them a stunning long-range strike – made the talented midfielder the man of the match.
Wasted talent might be taking it too far to describe Farquhar’s career but he had the sort of ability that should have ensured he hung about the top level of the Scottish professional game for longer than four seasons.
Griffin said: “When he came in everybody was like ‘who’s this?’
“But I remember on the Friday we were working on set-pieces and Luggy told Gary to take the corners.
“He drops the ball down and gets so much whip on it. Everything came naturally to him. He was great on the ball, would score free-kicks and had a real eye for a pass.”
With Saints 5-0 in front beyond the hour mark, it took a Ray Farningham goal to ensure it wasn’t an even more embarrassing scoreline for Dundee.
Conceding that consolation would no doubt have irked defensive perfectionist John Blackley, who was tasked with managing for one night only while Sturrock scouted a potential signing.
“I just hope I wasn’t the one who cost us the goal!” said Griffin.
“It shows you the faith Luggy had in Sloop. To leave your assistant manager in charge of a derby match.”
Derby, you say?
Griffin, who played for both clubs, is quite happy to use the D word even if Dundee’s present-day talisman isn’t.
“As much as Charlie Adam says it isn’t a derby, it is,” he pointed out. “Anyway, whatever you call it, the teams are close rivals.
“Dundee are just finding their feet in the league after coming up and their manager has made a few good signings.
“Leigh Griffiths was a young boy at Livingston when I was there. If you can keep him fit and on the straight and narrow you’ve got a lethal finisher.
“But Saints will know they’ve got a good chance of getting back to Hampden and they’ll be full of confidence after beating Aberdeen.
“I did last season’s cup game at Dens for Saints TV and, I don’t know how many fans have got tickets for this one, but it will be good to see away supporters back in there this time.
“Whatever the competition, we always made sure we were up for Dundee games in our team and I’m sure Callum’s side is the exact same.”
