Hearts Broken
The cruel final day of the 85/86 season
Welcome to this first ever “Tartan Tuesday”. Each Tuesday, the Retro Football Network will have a Scottish touch. So let’s go back to the middle of the decade that brought us Pacman, E.T. and Knight Rider.
The Scottish Premier Division in the 1980s saw not only the two Glasgow clubs do battle for honours. The New Firm of Aberdeen and Dundee United took on Rangers and Celtic, with Alex Ferguson’s Dons winning the title in 1980, 1984 and 1985. Dundee United lifted the trophy in 1983 with Celtic top of the tree for the previous two years. Rangers didn’t manage one title. It was so competitive. Then in 1985/86, a new threat to these clubs emerged from Edinburgh; Heart of Midlothian FC.
Hearts didn’t look like they would challenge after the opening two months of the season. Five defeats in their first eight games meant they were closer to the foot of the table than the top. But after losing 1-0 at Clydebank at the end of September, the team went on an incredible unbeaten run. They won at Celtic before seeing off Aberdeen by a single goal at Tynecastle. They brushed Rangers aside too. Hearts continued to gather points at will, with nobody looking capable of stopping them.
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