Torfason eases Saints' Relegation Woes (1992)

(first published in the match programme for St. Mirren v St. Johnstone, 1^st February 2025)

When St. Mirren welcomed Airdrieonians to Love Street on 1^st February 1992, both sides were at the wrong end of the Scottish Premier League table. With fourteen games remaining, Saints trailed the Diamonds by nine points and were just four points ahead of bottom club Dunfermline Athletic.

St. Mirren had been spared relegation in the previous season when the Premier League was expanded to twelve clubs but found themselves struggling again in the expanded setup. Although they had recorded notable away victories at Ibrox and Tannadice, the Buddies' home form had let them down and, remarkably, they were still seeking their first Love Street victory of the season.

The 1991/92 season programme welcomed a new editorial team under the leadership of Bill Campbell. The issue had increased in size from the previous season to thirty-two glossy pages measuring 24cm by 18cm, however the price had now also reached the £1 threshold. Some of the articles were placed within bright yellow, red and blue panels, whilst other features were overprinted onto opaque headings.

Disappointingly, the high standard of photography from previous years' programmes dropped substantially with these issues and the middle pages, traditionally the focal point of the programme, were now occupied by a bland two-page black and white advert, presumably to provide additional revenue.

The front cover of Issue 18 for the Airdrie match displayed the Club badge in colour on a black and white striped background, with the full match details contained within a bright yellow panel. Club sponsor Kelvin Homes was featured at the bottom of the page in blue text and logo.

Inside, Manager David Hay emphasised the importance of the forthcoming match and reckoned that Saints now needed at least a point from each of their remaining fixtures in order to retain their Premier League status. He felt that his side should have won the previous week's Scottish Cup 0-0 draw with Hearts but appreciated the encouragement of the fans and the positive response of the players.

Following a page of team line-ups, officials and fixtures for the day, "Saints in Action" provided the first of two pages of photo action from the Hearts Cup tie. In "Terrace Talk", spread over two pages, Bill Campbell detailed his experience of watching the recent home match against Falkirk from a first-half place in the dugout and a second half seat alongside the Manager in the Directors' Box.

"Visitors Fact File" highlighted key details of Airdrie's history and analysed their current squad, whilst referee Brian McGinlay was the subject of "Man in the Middle" in the kind of piece which doesn't appear very often in today's programmes.

"Saints Talk" featured Alistair MacLauchlan's interview with former Referee George Cummings in his role as SFA Development Director covering Referees and Education, while John Byrne looked back at Saints' games of 25, 50, 75 and 100 years ago in "Play Back".

"They Played at Love Street" recalled St. Mirren's 2-0 victory against USA club Orlando Lions in a match from September 1988, whilst Youth Team coach Stewart McBean reported on his side's recent 3-1 Cup win over Clydebank in "Not The 1^st Team".

The latter part of the programme provided extensive facts and figures for both the First Team and Reserves along with league tables, while just under half of the issue consisted of sponsorship and advertisements. The programme is readily available nowadays for around cover price.

A crowd of 3,435 saw debuts for players from both sides. St. Mirren fielded ex Aberdeen and Celtic forward John Hewitt to operate up front with Gunni Torfason, whilst the Diamonds introduced ex Bristol City, Arsenal and QPR defender Gus Caesar, who had signed on the evening before the match.

Caesar quickly found himself in the midst of the action when he felled Paul Lambert in the box after just fifteen minutes and Torfason blasted the resultant penalty beyond 'keeper John Martin to put St. Mirren ahead.

Three minutes later, a superb pass out of defence from Roy Aitken had the visitors' rearguard in trouble and Kevin McGowne's measured pass was guided home by Torfason from inside the six-yard box for his own, and Saints', second goal.

Caesar's miserable afternoon continued when, shortly afterwards, he committed two fouls within a minute and found himself in the Referee's notebook.

Despite the 2-0 lead, the home fans' nerves were tested when Airdrie clawed a goal back from a Davie Kirkwood penalty in 57 minutes after Alan Lawrence had been fouled by Roddy Manley.

However, rejuvenated Saints came storming back four minutes later as Torfason completed his first, and only, hattrick for the Club with a 25-yard free kick via the underside of the crossbar. To top an excellent day's work, debutant John Hewitt intercepted a poor Jimmy Sandison passback three minutes from time and slipped the ball past Martin to make the final score 4-1.