As a young Scotland fan in the 1970s, the Home Internationals were a highlight. The culmination was always the match against England but I would get equally excited about the other matches. And so it was that I sat listening to the radio commentary of the home match against Wales in 1978, the year we all expected to go on to lift the World Cup.
I would always put on my Scotland shirt to listen to or watch Scotland, and my jersey had a number 3 transferred on the back. It was a gift and not my choice of number but it meant I identified with our left back at the time, Willie Donachie.
With minutes remaining, Scotland were a goal up and Wales had missed a penalty. Easy street. Then raised voices from the commentators and I establish that there's been another goal and...yes... Donachie's scored it! Then the slow dawning of realisation that he's actually put it in his own net, a misplaced back pass to our stranded keeper, Jim Blyth. I was distraught, we'd only drawn 1-1.
Thank goodness we had easier games against Iran and Peru to look forward to in a few months time...
Memory added on April 19, 2012
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