No match ball, but it was whisky galore for Eamonn
Goncalo Ramos’ hat-trick for Portugal against Switzerland was one of the highlights of the World Cup Finals in Qatar.
It made him popular with his team-mates and the country’s 10-million population.
Possibly not, however, as revered as Eamonn Bannon was by his Hearts colleagues after the first hat-trick of his playing career.
It was Hogmanay, 1977 and Kilmarnock – who visit Tynecastle on Saturday – were the opposition.
Eamonn had already knocked a couple of goals past Jim Stewart when the Jambos were awarded a second-half penalty, and there was only ever going to be one taker of the spot-kick.
“A sponsor had put up a case of whisky for anyone who scored a hat-trick, and my teammates seized their opportunity,” Eamonn recalls.
“I never took the penalties, but was handed the ball, and scored.
“It was the first time I’d netted three in one match in my professional career, and given the time of year, I was popular in the dressing room that day.”
But unlike Ramos, who walked off with one of the 20 match balls being used against the Swiss, there wasn’t the traditional souvenir.
“Match balls were a valuable commodity back then, and no way would they be given away just because you’d scored a hat-trick,” he says.
“I think the only other treble I hit in my career was for Dundee United against Ayr United in a League Cup tie in 1981, and there was no match ball then, either. Clubs were under orders to
use a brand-new ball for every game.
“So, Jim Mclean being Jim Mclean, he would arrange for match-day balls to be cleaned after their first use, used again then passed on down to the reserves.”
Eamonn’s time with the Tangerines was the most-successful spell of his career, and saw him win the Premier Division title in 1983, two League Cups and play in four Scottish Cup Finals and the UEFA Cup Final in 1987.
His prowess at a young age had tempted Chelsea to offer Hearts £220,000 for his services in February, 1979, and Eamonn returned north to Tayside eight months later for a Scottish record fee of £165,000.
During his career, he hit the net over 150 times from midfield, and he bemoans the passing of the goalscoring midfielder.
“Back in my day, if you didn’t get at least 10 goals a season from midfield, it was a disaster,”
Eamonn continues. “At Dundee United, Jim Mclean encouraged me and the likes of Billy Kirkwood to take a chance, make a run into the box, have a shot, and that paid dividends.
“Now players don’t seem interested, or it’s not part of the manager’s tactics.”
Fifteen goals for United in the season leading up to the 1986 World Cup in Mexico saw Eamonn selected to travel to the Finals by Alex Ferguson. It was to be a trip of contrasting emotions. “Playing against Denmark and West Germany in Mexico was the peak of my career,” admits Eamonn.
“I watched our final group game from the bench where Uruguay got a man sent off after about a minute for an assault on Gordon Strachan, and got up to every trick in the book to get the result they required, which knocked us out.
“It was a great experience, but also a bit of a slog. We must have been away for about sixand-a-half weeks, with not a lot to occupy us outwith training.
“We weren’t allowed to play golf, swim or even sunbathe as it was felt that would sap too much energy, and the match-day conditions were brutal. We were kicking-off around noon, with
the temperature in the 90s, there were the altitude issues and they also left the grass very long. “I think they were scared it would burn! “It’s so different in Qatar, with the players doing their stuff in air-conditioned stadiums.”
Eamonn turns 65 next April, and has had to temporarily close his Edinburgh guest-house while he recovers from a knee operation.
“I just can’t get up and down stairs right now,” he reports.
“But I’m not looking to run a marathon – just getting back on the golf course!”