The night Saints were 1-0 up at Real Madrid
Former Saints’great looks back at Spanish adventure
Somewhere once upon a time a scoreboard read Real Madrid 0 St Johnstone 1.
And while the Saints of 1971 did not manage to hold on for a famous victory, the performance went to prove how talented a squad had been developed in Perth.
The friendly fixture took place on May 12 at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium as the Spanish giants prepared to take on Chelsea in the European Cup Winners’ Cup final.
Saints were selected to provide the warm-up opposition and many of the players thought it was a wind-up when they were told.
But when confirmed, they swiftly dusted down their passports and headed for the heat of Madrid.
The Scottish season was not long over and the team had stopped training, although that certainly didn’t show in the early stages of the game.
And, in fact, Gordon Whitelaw opened the scoring with a sweet strike from 30 yards which, according to the history books, received applause from the home support.
Saints went on to lose the game 3-1 but former outside left John Connolly still looks back on the occasion with fond memories.
“We were out of training for at least a week,” he told the PA. “We got phone calls saying that we needed to get ourselves back in because a friendly had been arranged.
“I wondered what we were doing with a friendly when the season had just finished. I asked who it was against – and when told it was Real Madrid I was in shock.
“Real Madrid were going to be playing Chelsea in the European Cup Winners’ Cup final and they wanted to play a British side.
“I may be wrong here but maybe their thinking was to take a little team like St Johnstone over and give their first team a right boost.
“But they didn’t stuff us, that’s for sure. If we had been in our full training I’m sure it would have been even closer.
“Gordon Whitelaw scored the opener from outside of the box, a top corner shot.
“For us, it was just fantastic playing Real Madrid – everything about the game. In many ways, it was a bit of fun.
“We knew the longer the game went on that the legs were going to give away a wee bit.
“But 3-1 against one of the best teams in the world was a tremendous performance. I think there was about 35,000 at the ground.
“It showed the quality we had as a side that we could go there, out of training, and only get beaten 3-1 on their home patch.”
Connolly managed to get a Madrid player’s jersey at full-time but remembered John Lambie was not so fortunate.
“At the end John tried to get Gento’s shirt and he wouldn’t give him it,” Connolly smiled. “He said in broken English he had been kicked up and down the park all game.”
Saints would be dipping their toes on the continent later in the year, this time for a UEFA Cup first round tie against Hamburg. For what was a first experience in the competition, the Perth side did themselves proud and knocked the Germans out 4-2 on aggregate following a stunning 3-0 second leg victory at Muirton Park.
Vasas Budapest provided the opposition for round two and the Saints went marching on, winning 2-0 at home before only losing 1-0 in the fixture in Hungary.
“I think the Madrid game gave the players a belief that we could really do something against some of these teams,” Connolly said.
“The Hamburg one was fantastic because they were a big strong side in the Bundesliga at that time. To come back to Muirton Park and win convincingly, I still regard that as a brilliant result.
“There was a lot of stuff that went on in the Vasas game. They were physical in their approach, the way they went about things. They probably weren’t as good a footballing side as Hamburg but they were up to a few tricks.”
The Euro adventure came to an end after losing 6-2 on aggregate against Željeznicar Sarajevo – who were then one of the best teams in Yugoslavia – in round three. But what grabbed the headlines was the flight home.
It was very nearly a tale of tragedy when the old, twin-propeller plane carrying the Perth squad struggled to sustain the necessary height to clear surrounding hills.
“Everyone remembers the flight back from Sarajevo,” said Connolly.
“It’s not going through your mind at the time, but when you get back on the ground you have a think about it.
“The plane tried to take off and ice had frozen on top of the wings. There was about six inches of snow that had fallen.
“We couldn’t get any higher and everyone was saying: ‘We’re a bit close to these trees.’ We weren’t far away at all.
“But before we knew it we were back down again on the runway. If you read the reports at the time – I didn’t know this – the engines conked out and came on again.
“It wasn’t the most modern of planes, that’s for sure. I remember John Lambie and Willie Coburn were saying: ‘I’m not going back on there’.
“They didn’t care how long it took – but eventually we did all get back on.”
Connolly loved his four-year stint at Saints before earning himself a move to Everton.
“Every era looks at their own team and thinks they are the best,” he said. “The quality of players we had at that time would be hard to beat.
“We have a reunion every year and try to keep it going. It looks as if it might not happen this year but we still try and keep in touch.”