'No one recognises me at Pittodrie' - Aberdeen's unlikely 1990 hero
Graham Watson scored a sudden-death penalty when Aberdeen last won the Scottish Cup in 1990. You'd be forgiven for thinking he is given a hero's welcome on his each and every return to Pittodrie. But that isn't the case."Unless they knew me, I don't think anybody would recognise me at Pittodrie now," Watson said."Some people will probably look at the cup final team picture and query 'who's that guy?'"Among a star-studded side, the defender was an unlikely hero at 19 years old.He was, reluctantly, tasked with lining up against against Republic of Ireland and Celtic goalkeeper Pat Bonner to keep his team alive in the shootout.Flame-haired Watson came off the bench in extra time for just his fifth first-team appearance after making his debut less than a month previously and kept his cool amid the Hampden "bedlam" to make it 8-8.The teenager's strike paved the way for Brian Irvine to score the winner after Anton Rogan's spot-kick was saved by Dons keeper Theo Snelders. "I didn't even expect to be in the 13," 54-year-old Watson said, reflecting on his career-defining day 35 years on and ahead of Saturday's Hampden rematch between the teams.He added: "Even when I was on the bench, I didn't think about going on the park. I felt like a spectator."When I did get on, I had a few involvements in the game and then it just kind of ran to penalties and I was thinking there's no way I would be part of any conversations for taking a penalty."It was just a major relief when I saw it going in. It would have been good to score the winner but it was still good to score one. It would have been a disaster if I'd missed."The 1990 triumph would be the pinnacle of Watson's otherwise low-key career. He broke his leg in a friendly in Holland a few weeks later and missed the entire following season.After 13 appearances in the 1991-92 campaign, he dropped back into the reserves and then left Pittodrie in 1994 and had spells with Clyde, Livingston and Forfar before embarking on a long career in the police."It was funny because I went up 10 years ago for the 25-year anniversary and some of the other players didn't even recognise me because obviously I'm bald now and have put on a bit of weight," said Watson."Some professionals play for 20 years or make 400 appearances for a team and don't win a cup final so for me to have 15-20 appearances for Aberdeen and get a cup winner's medal there, I feel pretty lucky."
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Scottish Sun
17 minutes ago
- Scottish Sun
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Midnite: Bet £10 Get £20 + 50 Free Spins - CLAIM HERE* William Hill: Get your £60 in free bets when you stake a tenner on football - CLAIM HERE* Betfred: Get £50 in free football bets - CLAIM HERE* Parimatch: Bet £10 and Get £30 in free bets & bonuses - CLAIM HERE* BetMGM: Get £40 in free bets to spend on football - CLAIM HERE* talkSPORT BET: Get up to £40 in free bets to spend on football - CLAIM HERE* Tote: Bet £10 & get £40 in bonuses - CLAIM HERE* Liechtenstein vs Scotland preview It's only a friendly at the end of the season against one of world football's minnows. No big deal, right? Sadly for Steve Clarke and this Scotland squad, after Friday's horror show at Hampden, they've made this game have a much greater importance than it should. Despite mixing it with the big boys in the Nations League recently, it does seem strange that we can only attract friendlies against the likes of Iceland and tonight's opponents, Liechtenstein. 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BBC News
20 minutes ago
- BBC News
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The Independent
30 minutes ago
- The Independent
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