Beware Elgin… our cup exit lived with us for years
Dougie Mitchell warns Ayr to tread warily when they head to Elgin on Saturday – in case they come a cropper like he did.
A 2- 0 defeat by the then Highland League side sent Ally MacLeod’s men crashing from the Scottish Cup in 1967.
The shock first round exit gave Ayr back page headlines they didn’t want and for decades remained their biggest cup embarrassment – until Auchinleck Talbot beat them two years ago.
Mitchell, now 72, says the pain of that defeat stung the players but reckons the tie wouldn’t have been played under today’s guidelines.
He recalled: “It was a midweek game and I remember we travelled up from Ayr by train in the morning. Overnight stays were unheard of in these days,
“The rain and snow kept tumbling down and the park was a mud heap. We were up to our ankles in mud and you couldn’t pass the ball.
“It was one of the worst parks I ever played on and I include my boys’ club days in that assessment.
“It was a disgrace – I just hope they’ve got it sorted now.”
Striker Willie Grant fired a double to send Ayr reeling and their agony was heightened when Dick Malone, who went on to win the FA Cup with Sunderland, was sent off.
Dougie said: “I don’t think it was a case of Ayr underestimating them.
“If we had played Elgin on a decent day, it would have been a different story.
“They adapted to the conditions far better than us.
“When you stepped on to the park, your boot disappeared in the mud.
“It was a quagmire and all you could do was try and keep running with the ball.
“Passing was impossible so you had to try and clip the ball across the surface.
“You couldn’t play football and I have no doubt that in this day and age the game would not have been given the go- ahead.
“In these days you could tackle from m all angles, not like it is now. w.
“Ally was upset at going out the cup, especially to a Highland League eague team. It was a bad one and nd kept getting thrown own back us at us for years.
“I suppose ose losing to Auchinleck nleck two seasons ago was equally as bad and maybe takes kes the heat off the team of 1967 7 a little bit.”
Ayr were a top tier First Division outfit after being crowned Second Division champions the previous season when they headed to Borough Briggs.
The atmosphere was hostile with a 9,579 crowd crammed into the ground although some estimates gave it a as 13,500. Ally had stepp stepped up to become manager manage but stayed loyal to many of the title tit winners whic which was to prov prove costly. Releg Relegation was imme immediate and a 1- 0 home win over St S Johnstone was t their only leagu league success.
M i t c h e l l had j joined his hom hometown team fro from Leeds U United after b being signed by Don Revie but not settling.
Revie, who went on to manage England, visited Dougie’s parents in Craigie Way to take the 15- year- old to Elland Road in 1964 after watching him star for Scotland Schoolboys.
Dougie recalls: “Revie was good with young players but I couldn’t settle so returned home and rejoined Crosshill Thistle.
“I trained with Ayr and wore my best suit and tie for a meeting with manager Tom McCreath but he didn’t like my attire or long hair. He pulled out a team photo from his drawer showing the players with short back and sides.
“I said that wasn’t for me so he banned me from Somerset Park. The story reached the national press and there were headlines of ‘ Beatle Boy Banned.’
“However, Ally told me things would be changing at the end of the season.”
As expected, Ally took over and immediately signed the young Dougie who was desperate to make his mark.
Mitchell became a mainstay of the team as Ally’s Ayr Force took off and he played more than 250 games as an Honest Man, scoring 23 goals from midfield along the way.
Dougie remembers as a boy dodging school with mates and climbing the wall at Walkers’ yard to watch midweek games in the days before Somerset had floodlights.
He was thrilled to get the chance for Ayr and quickly became a fans’ favourite.
Ally would pick his best team and stick by it – you had to be injured or really off form not to be selected.
Nowadays Douge is an armchair fan but admits he doesn’t like what he sees. He joked: “I watched Ayr’s live TV game against Raith but ended up switching over to watch Eastenders or something.
“I get bored quite easily and was disappointed not to see players prepared to take on their opponent, go past them.
“There is now too much emphasis on passing the ball. They say footballers are fitter now but it would be great to play nowadays when no one is allowed to tackle you.”
The teams on February 1, 1967 were: Elgin: Connell, Gerard, Laing, Sanderson, D Grant, Smith, Fraser, Graham, W Grant, Gilbert, Middleton.
Ayr : Millar, Malone, Murphy, Oliphant, Quinn, McAnespie, Black, Mitchell, Ingram, Hawkshaw, Paterson.