GLF 62: Geoff has a look at our record against the Old Firm compared to the others.
It's often mentioned,with a fair degree of pride,just how good our record is against the Old Firm teams since the formation of the Premier League.We all remember some outstanding victories against both sides of the divide but how well does our record stand up against the other Premier League teams ?
First we shall deal with Celtic.Who can forget some of these great wins…...
3-0 with Andy Lynch's two own goals
2-1 thanks to the shimmy king
2-0 with Dwowcz…...that Polish guy sent off and O'Neill's elbow
2-1 with Jamie Dolan in goals
Skippy Sunday
We have had more than our share of wins against Celtic with 21 in our favour and another 26 as draws.
Only Aberdeen ( 31 wins ) and Dundee United ( 25 ) have more victories and we must take into account just how successful both these teams were in the 1970's and 80's.I must admit some surprise to find our record is better than both Edinburgh teams and we five are the only ones to have achieved double figures in wins against Celtic.We could also add another four wins in Cup games so we can definitely be considered a bogey team.
Rangers have proved trickier but we still have memories…...
Beating them 2-0 when Ally McLeod picked a team of kids
Brian McClair's hat trick
Junior Burns' winner at Ibrox, our first win there in 23 years
Farningham Day
Spoiling the title party
Yet again we fall behind the New Firm ( Aberdeen 37,United 23 ) when it comes to results against Rangers.Hibs' victory this season pulls them level with us on 19 wins,one ahead of Hearts.The disappointing aspect for us is the few drawn games we have achieved.The only other teams with double figures of wins are Dundee and St Mirren.In the current League Dunfermline have only managed one Premier League win against Rangers...…sorry about the delay there,I was just taking a phone-call from a Mr Chris Sutton.
Taking both teams together it will come as no surprise that in terms of wins Aberdeen are way out in front with Dundee United in second placed.Our forty wins put us third ahead of the Edinburgh teams but both would climb above us taking draws into account. All things considered( our lack of finances,the years when we've struggled at the wrong end of the table,relegation and years out of the Premier League ) our record is certainly a good one.It's just a pity that we cannot achieve the same level of results against the teams at the bottom end of the table or who knows what we could achieve.
However, recent results for other teams against Rangers have shown just how poor our recent record has been.Alex McLeish was their manager for heavens sakes and now we still fail to beat Paul Le Gone's team even though, with the greatest respect, Inverness,Dundee United and even St Johnstone have been victorious.
Looking back,our victories against the Old Firm have tended to come in phases,for a period we have been a thorn in the side to either one or the other but seldom to the two at the same time.For the record our best return is three league wins against Celtic in a season ( 1977 / 78 ) and two against Rangers ( 1993 / 4 and 1994 / 5)with four wins over both our best ( 1993 / 4 and 1990 / 91 if you add the Cup Semi final).
Geoff Baby
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