Season 1942-43
1942-43 was not a good league campaign for Saints. Indeed, they took until the eleventh match to gain their first victory, a 2-1 win over Partick with Alex Linwood continuing in scoring form with both goals. This form continued to the New Year and the Ne’erdy battle with Morton at Cappielow. Greenock forward Johnny Crum was to rip the Paisley defence apart time and time again as he rattled in seven goals in an 8-0 thrashing. This remains the heaviest defeat suffered at the hands of our bitter rivals. Fortunately, this was during wartime regulations and does not appear on any official league records!
Around this time manager Donald Menzies joined the RAF and was replaced by former St. Mirren goalkeeper Willie Fotheringham At the end of the season Saints were in twelfth place. The only consistency was the scoring ability of Alex Linwood who again topped the charts with 13.
The Morton domination continued in the Renfrewshire Cup with a high-scoring tie. They won the first leg at Love Street 4-2 before completing the job at Cappielow for a 10-7 aggregate. The War League Cup did not provide any cheer either as the first five sectional matches were lost even a 5-1 demolition of Celtic in the final group match couldn’t brighten the spirits.
All that was to change in the Summer Cup!
Alex Linwood led the way with four goals in a 9-4 aggregate win over Third Lanark in the first round. He followed this with six in a 7-1 defeat of Dumbarton, to set up a semi-final against rivals Morton. With recent results fresh in mind, and Morton fielding a forward line including Billy Steel, signed from St. Mirren the previous season, alongside ‘guest’ players Tommy Lawton and Stanley Matthews, everyone was expecting an easy Morton victory.
The match ended in an exciting 3-3 draw and the replay was at Hampden the following week.
The teams once again produced an exciting contest. Morton took a two-nil lead. Saints Keeper, Jack Weare was injured during Morton’s second goal and took up a position on the left wing, with centre-half Willie Kelly in goals. Gradually St. Mirren played their way back into the game and two Linwood goals levelled the score before Johnny Deakin netted a late winner to take Saints to the final.
On the 10th July 1943 St. Mirren lined up at Hampden Park to face Rangers with the following team:-
Weare, Drinkwater, McLatchie, Housam, Kelly, Colquhoun, Jess, Stenhouse, Linwood, Deakin, McGarry.
Once again Saints were the underdogs and when Rangers were awarded a first half penalty it all seemed to be going to plan. However, George Young missed the kick and the men from Paisley grew in confidence. There was only one goal in the match, and it has been described by many as the greatest goal seen at Hampden up till then. It was scored by Alex Linwood, midway through the second half when he shot first time on the turn from outside the box. Some sterling defensive work from Willie Kelly ensured the Saints held on for a well merited victory.
The Summer Cup is still proudly displayed in the Love Street boardroom today.
Linwood’s goal is reputed to have nearly brought down a Lancaster bomber! His cousin was a pilot in the RAF and when he heard about the goal, he took his hands from the controls of the plane to cheer, and it fell some 200 feet before he regained control!
