History is reserved for Queen’s Park, a viable nomination for the club that invented modern football. The story was preserved, precisely, in Hampden on Saturday.
The Scottish Cup, the world’s most venerable trophy, was up for grabs, although you would have to be optimistic and on a diet of positive thinking tablets to suggest that the winner of this third round tie would return here in May for the final. .
Queen’s Park won on penalties after a 2-2 draw, ensuring Partick Thistle maintained their record of never winning a Scottish Cup tie at Hampden.
The Jags, of course, won the League Cup at Hampden in 1971, but their only Scottish Cup final success came at Ibrox in 1921.
If history surrounds Hampden in the same way that fog enveloped 19th century London, then there was enough contemporary relevance to intrigue its followers.
The Spiders are at the top. This mood is nothing like the 10 Scottish Cup wins that ended in 1900. But promotion to the Premiership is a possibility in the future.
This is the type of sentence that would once have led to intervention by health professionals.
Meanwhile, Thistle are the subjects of a documentary produced by an Academy Award winner and, more familiarly, involved in conversations about substantial investments.
Queen’s Park players rejoice after a penalty shootout victory secured them a place in the fourth round.
The Spiders have sneaked into the top echelons of the Championship, backed by Lord Haughey. However, its priority is the promotion of youth.
Club president and secretary Graeme Shields says his top priority is producing players
When asked where he sees the club in five years, Graeme Shields, the club’s president and secretary, says: “I’m not going to give them a place in the league.” Our main priority is to produce players through our academy and be sustainable. We’ve been very lucky with our generous sponsorship, but that won’t last forever.’
The idea of a profitable player exchange model is of course not limited in Glasgow to Queen’s. Progress has already been made. Callan McKenna was transferred to Bournemouth, Alex Bannon to Burton Albion and Rory Paton to Port Vale.
“That’s the model,” Shields says. ‘Produce players and then sell them. We are an elite, category two academy, the same as Celtic and Rangers. We want kids to come here, knowing that they will improve and maybe move up the ranks.’
Shields, 59, has supported Queen’s Park all his life. “I’ve been coming seriously to games for at least 40 years,” he says.
‘My favorite Queen’s player is John O’Neill, who left us as a teenager for Celtic in 1994 after a season in which he scored 17 goals in the old second division. His career never took off because he suffered a double fracture in his leg and was no longer the same.
Shields remembers when Andy Robertson (Liverpool), Paul McGinn (Motherwell), Lawrence Shankland (Hearts) and Blair Spittal (Hearts) played in the same Queen’s team.
And he adds: ‘Here’s another little statistic. Three players from the last Scotland team made their senior football debuts for us. Andy and Lawrence, of course, but who knows the third one?
He does it. “Tony Ralston made his senior debut as a Queen’s player on loan from Celtic”.
Left back Josh Scott scores decisive penalty for Queen’s Park in 7-6 shootout win
Queen’s are largely domiciled in Hampden this season, although tomorrow’s SPFL Trust Trophy quarter-final is scheduled for Lesser Hampden. ‘The capacity there is only 900 at the moment, so we use Hampden through a reciprocal agreement with the SFA. They can use our field for national team training and we use Hampden for championship matches.’
The completion date for Lesser Hampden is not yet set. But there is another nod to history from Shields.
“We always say this is the best period for the club in recent times. Put it this way, we have beaten Morton twice recently. The last time we beat them was in 1962. So we have never beaten Morton before in my life.
The story was also the draw for Ruishu Zhang. He brought it from northwest China to Hampden. She sits in the stands before the match reading a book about the history of Scottish sport. “I’m a big soccer fan,” she says. “But I guess I’m here in my capacity as a research student.”
He majored in English and completed a master’s degree in sports management, but is now in the third year of his PhD in cultural studies at the University of Edinburgh.
“There will be an important chapter in Scottish football,” he says. “I don’t think the world really appreciates the influence of Scottish football on the development of the game. Many times in China we focus on England in historical matters, but the role of Scotland and this club in the history of football is crucial. I want to tell that history. The legacy of what happened here so long ago is still in football. Scottish football should be very proud of its ancestry.
The area around where he sits encompasses the Three Hampdens.
This is the centerpiece of an area designated as the Football’s Square Mile and there is a campaign to make it a Unesco world heritage site.
It was the breeding ground for the aerial game that took football from a robust physical game to an elegant, athletic sport that captivated the world.
The Scotch Professors, the players of the late 19th century who, in a missionary style, brought that style of football to England and therefore beyond, may have done so for purely mercenary reasons, since the Caledonian game was amateur, while the southern game was not.
But his lessons were consumed with enthusiasm by the public and his companions. They now provide a learning path for a student from China.
Zhang puts down his book to watch a gripping cup tie that stretches into extra time and a lengthy penalty shootout. They have 1,700 fans enthralled and Queen’s prevail largely thanks to the exploits of their goalkeeper, Calum Ferrie, who made three extraordinary saves in 30 seconds in the first half and took this form into the penalty shoot-out.
It was all watched with joy by nine-year-old Joseph Paterson, who was with his father, Graeme. The family lives locally and Graeme wanted to take his son to the games, so Queen’s seemed like the right choice. This is its second season.
“We love it,” says Graeme as his son munches on his crisps. ‘The atmosphere is fantastic. Sometimes we watch amateur football and the language can be something extraordinary. But in general the decorum here is good and the enthusiasm is high. I went to soccer with my dad and he always said the games were the only place where strangers hugged and high-fived.
Joseph, a Shettleston Harriers halfback, nods in agreement. His father adds: “I understand why people take it seriously, but sometimes it can be too serious.” People want to win, but if they beat you here you won’t want to go home and stomp your feet. There’s a bit of perspective.”
An older fan has seen it all. Forbes McGregor, 80, lived in Langside but now travels from Anderston with his carer.
“I’ve been coming for over 60 years,” McGregor says. “I have to say I liked it better when we were amateurs, but this is still the highlight of the week.”
This observation brings a sad smile to his caretaker, John. “I think I’m a curse here,” he says. “Every time I come, Queen loses.”
Almost three hours later, the Queen’s players are frolicking on the field. A spell has been broken. Another little bit of history made.