Dundee Football Club Season 1961-1962
Championship season
Game Fourteen.
Saturday 2nd December 1961
BOTTOM DOGS HOLD DUNDEE
Dundee 2, Stirling Albion 2.
Dundee and Stirling Albion are unchanged for the battle of top and bottom. The white coated Dens Park pitch looks bone hard, and the bright sun fails to take the edge of the biting wind.
The freezing conditions are, no doubt, responsible for the poor turn out at kick off time. Dundee’s internationalist’s Hamilton, Ure and Robertson, will find the playing conditions a bit different from Brussels on Wednesday.
Dundee --- Liney, Hamilton, Cox, Seith, Ure, Wishart, Smith, Penman, Cousin,
Gilzean, Robertson.
Stirling Albion --- Brown, McGuiness, Pettigrew, Rowan, Weir, Johnstone,
Kilgannon, Sinclair, Gilmour, Spence, Lawlor.
Referee --- J. Allan, Inverness.
Both keepers take the precaution of wearing long slacks. Dundee attack the Provost Road goal. Pettigrew ends their first attack with a cool pass back to Brown. From a throw-in, Gilmour heads down the middle to warm Liney’s hands from 30 yards.
Two goals within a minute liven up the game.
Rowan gives away a safety corner. The flag kick goes to Wishart. His shot is blocked but ROBERTSON is there to collect and place it well out of Brown’s reach. Just three minutes have gone.
Fifty seconds later, Robertson’s opposite number, LAWLOR, returns the compliment. He collects at the corner of the box, takes a few waltzing steps towards goal and let’s fly a low drive. It whistles past Liney into the far corner of the net and rebounds from the stanchion.
Offside Goal
Players are finding it difficult to keep their feet. Lawlor has the ball in the net again --- a lovely header from a long Gilmour lob. Referee Allan, however, rules he was offside and there is no protest from Stirling. At the moment there is not 19 points of difference between the teams and Albion are readier to have a go.
They were lucky when a defender gets in the way of a snap try by Smith from a Robertson-made opening. Brown could never have got to it.
Dundee are building up some masterly moves, but are not getting much change from the Albion rearguard. Both keepers in fact are having to do their own exercise to keep the heat up. Cousin and Smith are the inspiration of the Dundee attack.
Robertson rampages up the wing looking for quick revenge. He cuts in on goal and his shot has Brown beating hands down. Pettigrew, for the second time saves Albion’s bacon by clearing on the line. Spence keeps up the interest by hooking an 18 yarder inches past Liney’s post.
Great Save
It’s Robertson again. He puts in a lovely ball which is headed down to Penman’s feet by McGuiness. The inside-man cracks it hard for goal. Brown brings off a save in a hundred. Somehow he gets his hands to the ball just under the bar and it spins back into play for Cousin to hit the woodwork.
Dundee In Arrears
But, just when it looks like the Dark Blues are getting a grip of the game, Stirling race upfield and bang home a second goal. This time it’s SINCLAIR. In 27 minutes he takes the ball on the drop just inside the box and to the left of the goal. His left-footer follows the same path as Lawlor’s first goal. Dundee’s covering is at fault. The pace has heated up with Dundee in pursuit of the equaliser. The passes won’t go right when it comes to the vital stage.
Half time --- Dundee 1, Stirling Albion 2.
Reflections ---- Dundee are unlucky to be behind after the dazzling stuff they served up in the last 15 minutes. They have come right out on top after a not-so-hot opening spell. Stirling, skating along with less regard for the treacherous footing, deserved their two goals. They are a better side than the league table suggests.
Second Half
Stirling make straight for Liney from the restart and Gilmour whips the ball inches over the bar. Lawlor comes in from the left and does the same thing. No marks for the home defence there.
Cox robs a 25 yard "free" into the goalmouth. Smith and Gilzean fail to get their heads to it and it sails past. A Penman header is palmed over the bar from Brown. Ure is not his commanding self. He muffs a clearance following an Albion corner. Gilmour gathers and smacks it narrowly past.
A roar signals the equaliser in 52 minutes. McGuiness miskicks badly just at the corner of the box. The ball slices of his toe and COUSIN is on it like a flash. He holds off two defenders as he bores goalwards and hits a rising shot past Brown. Cousin makes a great opening for Robertson. The winger’s shot is all the way when Weir’s body gets in the way to deflect it past.
Three corners come in quick succession add up to plenty excitement in the Stirling goal. Twice the ball in halted on the line. Cousin has hard luck when he gets his head to a Hamilton free. The Dundee pressure is intense now and Albion are kicking and scrambling clear with heroic spirit.
Hamilton, up in the attack, bets two men and has a 30 yarder saved by Brown.
Not Ure’s Day
This is not Ure’s day. He tries to stop a ball on the 18 yard line. It rolls under his boot with two Stirling forwards racing down on it. Liney is lucky to gather in time. Brown needs attention for a hand injury after a fall. He is on the ground when a Smith effort lands on the crossbar.
Albion still look dangerous when they get going. A Smith cross is headed home in great style by Gilzean, but offside is the decision. Seconds later the ball is scrambled into Liney’s net, but it is chopped off for a foul on the keeper. Ten minutes to go and the fans are shouting anxiously. A Seith 12 yarder is blocked by Rowan as Albion pack their goal. A hair-raising moment at the other end – a Sinclair pass gets right through to Gilmour. He is falling as he hooks the ball, and Liney clutches desperately.
Gilzean and Brown both need attention after a collision as they go up together for a Hamilton lob.
Final --- Dundee 2, Stirling Albion 2.
Summing up --- Dundee have faltered at last. They played well enough and were a class above Albion. But they just couldn’t turn their advantage into goals. The chances were there, but finishing was their weak point. Albion did well to hang on against a terrific second half onslaught and they were kind enough to scorn gift openings by a sometimes too casual defence.
Attendance --- 11,500