'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."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
an hour ago
- BBC News
PCs conquer three peaks for retired service dogs
A team of police dog handlers has completed a gruelling mountaineering challenge in aid of retired service constables from Northamptonshire and a sergeant from Leicestershire scaled the highest peaks in England, Wales and Scotland in just over 25 have so far raised more than £3,000, which will be split between two charities."This was, without doubt, the hardest and most physically demanding challenge that any of us have ever done," said PC Bradley Bowman. "We know that the Three Peaks Challenge is meant to be done in under 24 hours but considering the awful weather and some traffic disruption along the way, we're really proud of ourselves for completing it in the time we did. "Our bodies are now in pieces!" PCs Bowman, Daniel Bradley-Brophy, Lucy Sculthorpe and Sean Foster from Northamptonshire Police were joined by Sgt Grace Feavyour from titanic trio of mountains total a height of 3408m (11,182ft) over a distance of 23 miles (37km).The sun was beaming down on the team as it started its ascent of Ben Nevis in the Scottish Highlands on 13 June but the heavens opened an hour into the climb and continued throughout the was a weather warning in force at Scafell Pike in Cumbria, where thunder crashed around them in the early hours of the following day. The challengers finished with their descent of the rain-soaked Yr Wyddfa, also known as Snowdon, in Wales, that funds raised will go to the National Foundation for Retired Service Animals and Hero Paws - Life after Service, both of which look after dogs who have served with various organisations including the police, prison service and Border Force. Follow Northamptonshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
Daily Mail
6 hours ago
- Daily Mail
The Lions Rampant: Mail Sport casts an eye over Scotland's proud links to the iconic red jersey and asks who would make an all-time Scots-only Lions select?
The death of Ian McLauchlan over the weekend makes it a compelling time to consider the rugby legends Scotland has contributed to the Lions cause over the years. From leading Lions points scorer Gavin Hastings to men like Ian McGeechan and Jim Telfer — both of whom contributed so much in terms of playing and coaching — Scottish grit has been central to large chunks of what the Lions have achieved in the post-war era.
Scotsman
11 hours ago
- Scotsman
'Made for Italy' - next emerging Scotland star encouraged to join exodus to Serie A
18y/o told he would thrive like Lewis Ferguson has in Italian football Sign up to our Football newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Lennon Miller returns to Motherwell today for the start of pre-season training but how long he remains with the club remains to be seen. The 18-year-old midfielder is Scottish football's hottest property right now and, if speculation is to be believed, he will be off to pastures new before the end of the summer transfer window. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The newly capped Scotland international may not have played his last match in claret and amber just yet though. Motherwell have eight competitive matches - four in the Premier Sports Cup group stages followed by the opening four Premiership games of the season - before the September 1 transfer deadline, by which time Miller will have turned 19. Lennon Miller made his Scotland debut off the bench against Iceland earlier this month. | SNS Group Clubs linked with a move for the talented playmaker include Celtic, Sunderland, Udinese, Strasbourg and Union Saint-Gilloise. Others will also be watching with interest. His father, Lee, himself a former Scotland striker who played for Aberdeen, Hearts and Falkirk among others, has hinted that his son is open to moving abroad. Another footballing dad, Derek Ferguson, believes Miller possesses the ability to follow his own son's career path. Lewis Ferguson joined Bologna from Aberdeen three years ago and has taken Serie A by storm, winning individual awards and captaining the side to Coppa Italia glory last month. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad "The style of footballer that he is, I think he's made to measure for Italy," ex-Rangers midfielder Derek Ferguson said in reference to Lennon Miller on BBC Sportsound on Sunday where he was a guest alongside Lee Miller. "I've watched Lennon as a 16-year-old, he's added to his game already this season, so he's improving. You can just see he's going to thrive." Bologna captain Lewis Ferguson holds the trophy after the 1-0 win over AC Milan in the Coppa Italia final. (Photo by ISABELLA BONOTTO/AFP via Getty Images) | AFP via Getty Images The success of Lewis Ferguson at Bologna, along with Scott McTominay and Billy Gilmour at Napoli, Che Adams at Torino, Josh Doig at Sassuolo, and previously Aaron Hickey at Bologna, makes Italy an attractive destination for young Scots. Miller senior revealed that Lennon had "asked questions" of the foreign-based Scots when on international duty. "He's confident in his own ability, but he's not arrogant with it," he said. "It's good to see him in this environment and thriving in it. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad "He's mature enough to go and kick on in his career and he needs to do that himself. I'm more confident that he would go over there and thrive. I think it would take his game to another level. "That's the way he plays. He organises, he takes the ball under pressure. It was proud for me as a dad watching it, seeing him being himself and not changing for anyone." After two years and 76 appearances in the Motherwell first team, the time feels right for Miller to move on. The club also has good reason to think so as it may be their last chance to properly cash in on a player who has just one year left on his contract with a value of around £5million mooted. "He's back in at Motherwell training tomorrow," Lee Miller added. "We'll just wait and see what happens, but he just ultimately wants to play football. Yes, he wants to further his career and there's been lots of chat about different clubs.
