|
|
|
Mark Yardley began his career with Cowdenbeath, but did not manage to make an impact and returned to the junior ranks. He Joined his home town club Livingston
United, before rejoining Cowdenbeath in 1994. He made
an immediate impact second time around, when he scored four goals on his first
team debut, a 6-2 victory over Arbroath. He found the net on 29 occasions that
season in just 41 matches, which prompted Saints to splash £25,000 for his
services. Over the next six and a half years Mark became a firm favourite with Saints fans and led the attack with his committed style of play. His goal scoring rate was always high and it saw him climb the St.Mirren post war scoring charts. He shares fourth spot with strike partner from the 1999-2000 championship season, Barry Lavety on 71 goals. The championship season was undoubtedly his best in the stripes, when he scored 19 league goals to guide Saints to the Championship and back to the top flight of Scottish Football. This total made him the divisions top scorer and earned him the First Division player of the year award. Yards will be remembered by fans as one of the greatest goal-scorers in the clubs history, but he will also be remembered by many for a Scottish Cup match against Dundee in 1998. Keeper Alan Combe was sent off in the first half and was replaced by Tommy Turner. With Saints 3-0 down at half time, Mark re-appeared in the second half kitted out in a goal keepers top! 45 minutes and some fine saves later, Yards had earned much respect from those who witnessed his performance. Unfortunately, without his services in attack, Saints lost 4-2. His last first team game for saints was on New Years Day 2003 against Clyde at Broadwood. His final goal will be recalled for many
years to come as one of the best. In a League Cup tie against County Rivals
Morton, Mark collected the ball at the edge of the penalty box, beat three
defenders and unleashed an unstoppable shot into the net to give Saints a 3-2
victory. His final appearance in the stripes was a reserve match against Albion Rovers on the 21st January 2003. Not significant on first glance it would appear, but the team lines that night showed a young man by the name of Chris Gordon on the bench. At half time he came on to replace Brian McGinty and partner Yards in attack. Significant because Chris is Marks step-son! The first instance of a Father and son playing for saints in the same match? Mark left Saints at the end of January 2003 for Albion Rovers, leaving many memories for Saints fans. By co-incidence, one of his first matches for Rovers was a reserve fixture against St.Mirren! In total Mark played in 263 competitive matches for Saints, scoring 71 goals. | ||||||||||||
