Ferguson Strikes Late in Lanarkshire (1986)

(first published in the match programme for St. Mirren v Kilmarnock, 27^th December 2025)

St. Mirren experienced a roller coaster of results during the first half of season 1986/87; from the high of three successive League victories in September to the low of only one win in nine matches by the end of November.

Alex Miller left his post as Manager on 5^th December to join Hibernian and, after a fortnight that included a 6-3 trouncing at Dundee, Alex Smith took over the Manager's position at Love Street with former Saints player Jimmy Bone becoming his assistant. Their first match in charge was a 3-1 home fixture against Clydebank which was achieved without the services of Campbell Money, Ian Ferguson and Tony Fitzpatrick through suspension.

The next match saw Saints travel to Fir Park, Motherwell on 27^th December 1986 for the final match of the year. The Buddies were in seventh place, four points and one place above their hosts, and hoped for a repeat of the victory they had achieved in the October meeting in Paisley.

Motherwell's "Centenary Season Official Programme" was a 16-page issue measuring 24cm by 17cm priced at 50p. It was printed black on white gloss paper, but made generous use of claret and amber spot colour throughout.

The front cover was dominated by an aerial view of a very different looking Fir Park when compared to today's ground. It also displayed the match details and, given the time of year and possibility of postponements, it very cleverly stated "Scheduled for Saturday, 27^th December 1986" in order to retain the validity of the programme, should the match succumb to the weather.

Manager Tommy McLean's piece was short, acknowledging both his First Team and Reserve sides' recent 1-1 draws with Celtic, a welcome to St. Mirren and a thanks and good wishes to Motherwell fans for the New Year.

"Fir Park Notice Board" occupied two half pages above photographs from Motherwell's recent match against Celtic. There was a reflection on the events of the Club's Centenary Year, followed by an appreciation of Paul Smith, Crawford Baptie and Martin McBride for their efforts against the Parkhead men. Another photo shared the next page with "Action Replay", which focussed on former 'Well goalkeeper Stuart Rennie.

The centre pages displayed the team line-ups, in which both sides made one change from those listed. Motherwell replaced Martin McBride with Ray Farningham and Ian Ferguson took the field instead of Brian Gallagher for St. Mirren. The pages also included Reserve Team news, a photo of Motherwell's leading goalscorer Paul Smith and the half time scoreboard.

In "Today's Visitor's", programme editor John Swinburne welcomed Saints' new Manager Alex Smith and indulged us with his selection of all time Greats who had starred for St. Mirren since the war. His selection was: Thomson, Lapsley, Wilson, Fitzpatrick, Telfer, Holmes, Baker, Bryceland, Linwood, Gemmell and Weir.

After a page of statistics, "Notes" mentioned Tom McAdam's contribution in the recent Celtic match, the requirement that the forthcoming home match v Rangers would be all-ticket, and the upgraded facilities in the new VP Club.

This programme is quite readily available nowadays at a reasonable price.

At a rain-soaked Fir Park, a crowd of 3,804 witnessed a slow start to the game. The visitors were soon thankful for the return of Campbell Money between the sticks, as he brought off a miraculous one-handed save to deny Andy Walker from six yards. At the other end, the returning Ian Ferguson crashed in a shot from 20 yards, but John Gardiner tipped the ball around the right-hand post.

Motherwell took the lead in the 39^th minute when a long ball from Brian Wright through the middle was mis-controlled by Neil Cooper, allowing it to reach John Reilly. The Motherwell man raced forward and appeared to have taken the ball too far wide but managed to unleash a low shot beyond Money into the 'keeper's right hand corner.

The second period had hardly started when Saints equalised. A Gardner Spiers corner evaded the home defence and an unchallenged Frank McGarvey nodded home from close range.

With less than a quarter of an hour to go, Money again showed his value to the side when he advanced quickly from his line to block a shot from Reilly and then immediately prevented Walker from knocking home the rebound.

It was another blunder in the home defence that allowed St. Mirren to clinch the points with four minutes remaining. McGarvey found Brian Hamilton out on the left and, when his rather innocuous cross arrived in the penalty box, Motherwell players Gardiner, McAdam, Kennedy and Mair all hesitated long enough for Ian Ferguson to make a decision for them and smash it into the net.