Ref recalls a great game

The referee who took charge of Rutherglen Glencairn’s Scottish Junior Cup final 50 years ago has revealed he was a Kilsyth Rangers fan.

John Bannerman was the man in the middle as The Glens were narrowly beaten by his beloved team in the 1967 showdown at Hampden Park.

The 82-year-old, who is a devoted supporter of The Wee Gers and junior football, remembers two great games were played.

Glencairn fought out a 1-1 draw in the final on March 20 before Kilsyth edged the replay 3-1 the following Wednesday.

The match on the Saturday was also to be remembered for being the first Junior Cup final to be televised and it was the first time a substitute was allowed to be used.

John, who resides in Kilmaurs, East Ayrshire, said: “It was one of the proudest moments of my life. The first game was a great game of football but it ended up being a draw.

“The following Wednesday Kilsyth won 3-1. That was the night before Celtic won the European Cup so we were proud to be Scottish at that time. The Glencairn team were so gentlemanly but everyone was back in those days. The ball was played on the carpet most of the time, not like nowadays.

“I’m a great believer in playing to the advantage rule. I tried to let the game go without blowing my whistle but it’s impossible to do that.

“There was around 30,000 people on the Saturday and 20,000 on the Wednesday but that’s because they didn’t have tellies in those days. There was only one camera at the final.”