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Jackie Neilson joined Saints from
Newtongrange Star in October 1949 as a 20 year old, and made his debut against
Hibernian in a league match on 17/12/1949. That goal in 1954 came against Dundee
and capped one of Jackie's finest games for Saints. He had been switched from
right half to inside right and he totally dominated the match and his goal
helped Saints to a fine 3-0 victory. Scoring, however, was not what his job was,
and his defensive qualities were superb. The majority of his matches for
St.Mirren were played at right half, with occasional appearances at inside
right. Regarded as a solid, consistent player
he was a regular in saints line ups during the fifties and played in 320
competitive matches for them. His appearance totals could have been more, but
for a bad knee ligament injury sustained against Raith Rovers in October 1956
which required surgery and meant he missed the rest of the season. He was back in his usual place at the
start of 1956-57 and he played in 42 out of 43 competitive matches for saints
that season. Highlights of his time at Love Street
were appearing in the 1955 League Cup final when they lost 2-1 to Aberdeen and
the 1959 Scottish Cup final when they gained revenge over the Dons with a 3-1
victory. After the 1959 final Saints inside right
Tommy Bryceland was asked who he thought had been man of the match and he said
that it had to be Neilson as, 'Jackie had all the qualities of a great midfield
player. He controlled the match with his strength and skill'. | ||||||||||||||||||
