1951 FROZEN IN TIME
The preamble to Wednesday’s World Cup qualifier in Copenhagen will be pretty much as we’ve come to expect.
Live TV interviews with both managers. A booming PA system. Previous games on a loop on the big screens. There might even be pyrotechnics.
Times were very different 70 years ago when Scotland met Denmark for the first time.
All the 75,000 crowd had to entertain them were the pipes and drums, and a collection of Highland dancers on the Hampden pitch.
Once the action started, if you’d backed Hansen to be first scorer, you were on a winner – unless your bookie spotted there were actually four Hansens in the Danish team.
Jorgen Hansen, it was, who put the visitors ahead, but Billy Steel equalised before half-time, and goals from Lawrie Reilly and Bobby Mitchell gave the hosts victory – and sent the dancers home happy.