‘A lot of fans will put that day alongside Scottish Cup win’

Sportscene host Dougie Donnelly’s words are the ones that endure with Saints fans.

Introducing the highlights on the BBC that night, he said: “To the First Division and a match that had everyone reaching for the superlatives. It’s quite simply one of the best games we’ve covered for a very long time.”

Alastair Alexander was the “lucky commentator”, as Donnelly put it, whose description of the action will have survived the cross-over from VHS and Betamax to DVD for some, and lives on through YouTube for others.

The live BBC radio commentary hasn’t made it into the digital age but Beverley Mayer has managed to claim a unique piece of St Johnstone v Airdrie memorabilia from a broadcast she and the other supporters attending the game will never have heard. “I remember listening to David Begg on a podcast interview and he had said that it was the best game he had commentated on,” she explained.

“He said his dad was in a nursing home in Crieff and after the game he’d gone to see him and his dad was in tears. He was overwhelmed with the whole thing.

“David put a message on Twitter saying if anybody wanted any of his commentary notes from his radio career, let him know and ‘they’re yours’ for a donation to a charity he had chosen.

“I contacted him and said: ‘You don’t happen to have the Airdrie game, do you?’ He replied: ‘Yes, the best game I ever commentated on.’ And sure enough, they were sent to me. They’re brilliant.

“There are a couple of pages with the team lines and all his wee notes about the players around it.

“It’s a fantastic thing to have. I’m so proud I’ve got them. The whole game means a lot to me. I keep meaning to look out the ticket and the programme and get the whole thing put together.”

Counting the number of St Johnstone games Beverley has attended would be impossible. Choosing the best home one is easy.

She said: “I remember the half-time music, the songs the Airdrie fans were singing. So much about that day is clear in my mind. Everything about it.

“Since then we’ve won the league in ’97 and ’09 but, fantastic as they were, ’89-’90 was special. It really was.

“That afternoon we were put through the mill but it was worth it.

“It was a moment in time – the new stadium, an exciting team and Alex Totten. There were no prima donnas and they just used to go for it. There was a fantastic togetherness.

“A lot of fans will put that day alongside the Scottish Cup win. It was that special. Hands down, it’s the best game at McDiarmid.”

BBC presenter Dougie Donnelly.