Pat has been St Mirren's lucky charm

Mar 16 2013 by Jeff Holmes, Paisley Daily Express

Former goalkeeper Pat Liney will never forget the time he ‘bunked-off’ to watch St Mirren play in a cup final.

The Linwood man, who is now 77, starred for Dundee and Bradford City before finally getting an opportunity to play for his beloved Buddies.

And it was during his spell at Dens Park that he invited the wrath of gaffer Willie Thornton, the legendary Rangers forward of the 1930s and 40s.

Pat, who will be rooting for Saints when they line up against Hearts in tomorrow’s League Cup Final, recalled: “I had just turned 20 and was at Dundee. Bobby Brown, the great international keeper, was the regular number one and I shared reserve team duties with another youngster, Jim Ferguson.

“Jim and I took it in turns to play for the reserves and, unfortunately, my turn coincided with the 1959 Scottish Cup Final between St Mirren and Aberdeen.

“I had been a lifelong Saints supporter and was desperate to be at the final. My dad Danny had taken me to all the games when I was younger and he urged me to ask Willie Thornton for the day off.

“I struggled to pluck up the courage but dad told me to ask sooner rather than later, so we could get tickets.

“I recall standing outside the manager’s office, shaking like a leaf, and going over and over in my head what I was going to say.

“When the door opened, I walked in and proceeded to stutter through my request.

“Thankfully, Willie agreed to my request. He was a great man and I think he knew I was genuine about my desire to see that cup final.”

Pat can clearly recall standing with his dad in the Saints end at Hampden for the glorious victory over the Dons.

He said: “We got one of the special trains from Paisley to Mount Florida and, along with thousands of other St Mirren supporters, we walked down to the stadium.

“The atmosphere was something special. There were nearly 110,000 people inside the ground that day.

“To see St Mirren play in the Scottish Cup Final was amazing and to win it was just magical.

“When we got back to Paisley after the game, we watched Davie Lapsley parade the cup in front of the town hall.

“If we thought there was a great buzz inside Hampden, then the atmosphere in Paisley town centre was second to none.”

Pat’s footballing career had kicked off in 1941 after he left St Mirin’s Academy, in Paisley, and signed for Junior outfit Dalry Thistle.

He always harboured a burning desire to play for the Buddies.

Pat said: “Dad and I never missed a Saints game at Love Street. We would get the bus from Linwood to Paisley Cross and only a few of us would get off – with the rest staying on to go to either Celtic Park or Ibrox.

“That used to irk me.

“If dad was working, I would go by myself, even though I was just eight or nine at the time.

“I would be first in the ground as soon as the turnstiles opened.”

Pat was thrilled when he was offered a trial at Love Street ... but things didn’t exactly go according to his plans.

He revealed: “I had joined Dalry straight from Linwood Thistle and, when I was offered a trial at St Mirren, I was so excited.

“Unfortunately, I was playing in a cup tie for Dalry the night before the trial and suffered a nasty ankle injury.

“I was gutted to miss out.”

Following his St Mirren heartache, Thornton signed Pat for Dundee in 1957 and he went on to win a First Division championship medal at Dens Park.

Pat, who now lives in Rait, a small village between Perth and Dundee, added: “I played every single game in our championship season at Dens Park and I’ll never forget our penultimate game – because it was against St Mirren!

“My dad told me that, if Saints got a penalty, big Jim Clunie would blast it into the top right-hand corner.

“We were neck and neck with Rangers going into the league game against Saints and anything less than two points would have been a disaster.

“I remember we were 1-0 up and the tension was unbelievable.

“Sure enough, St Mirren got a penalty and I knew where it was going.

“I guessed right and we won the game.”

Bob Shankly then took over the reins at Dundee and, when he signed a new keeper, Pat knew it was time to move on.

He said: “I finally got my move to St Mirren and, when I ran out at Love Street to make my debut, it was the best feeling in the world.

“I’ve always been a supporter and I was lucky enough to see them lift the Scottish Cup in 1959 and again in 1987.

“A win over Hearts in the League Cup Final would make it the perfect hat-trick!”