Glenrothes Arabs - History

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Paul Sturrock's Testimonial match against Real Sociedad kicked off the season, and new signings Freddy Van der Hoorn and Peter Hinds made their first appearances as United won 1-0. Darren Jackson made his long awaited comeback after being out injured since December. Scott Thomson had been given the No.1 jersey after Billy Thomson refused to sign a new contract.

We had Hendry's Coaches for transport this season. With moss growing up the windows and a maximum speed of 30 mph, this bus had character - and a large queue of cars behind it!

The first League game in August saw Motherwell get a 1-1 draw at Tannadice with Hamish French scoring. Before the next match, Jim McLean brought in Northern Ireland striker Michael O'Neill from Newcastle for a record transfer fee of £350,000, and he scored on his debut in a Leaguel Cup match at Tannadice as United beat Partick Thistle 1-0. O'Neill scored again in his next match as United went up 2-0 at Dens, but Dundee twice fought back to win the match 4-3. Billy Thomson returned for the midweek trip through to Hamilton for the next round of the League Cup, but he let the ball spill from his fingers for an embarrassing goal as United were dumped out of the competition 2-1. Freddy Van der Hoorn scored his first goal for the club as Dunfermline were beaten 2-1 at Tannadice, with O'Neill scoring his third goal in four games.

September started badly with a 2-0 defeat at Easter Road to Hibs, but United bounced back again in a midweek trip to Northern Ireland as they beat Glentoran 3-1 in the 1st round of the UEFA Cup. We ran our own bus through for once, including Rammy, Graham Carswell, Paul McDaid, Mike Braid and Charlie, which involved a armed escort to and from the match, a memorable ferry trip and the scary moment the Glentoran fans found out about United's religious past! Freddy Van der Hoorn and Hamish French scored in a 2-2 draw with Celtic at Tannadice, and Jim McInally scored in a 1-1 draw at Tynecastle. The 2nd leg of the Glentoran match at Tannadice saw United win 2-0 before a disappointing 0-0 draw with St Mirren.

In their last match of the season in May, United needed a point to qualify for Europe, and got it in a nervy 0-0 draw against St Mirren at Love Street. We were ready for a party that day, looking forward to more trips abroad the following season, with balloons and steamers etc., but the bus driver must have been from Paisley, and threatened to turn the bus round if we made a mess!

The "Player of the Year" Dance was at the Wayfairer's. This turned out to be one of our best, a fantastic night with a great turn out by the fans and remarkable turn out by the players, with Paul Sturrock, Darren Jackson, Jim McInally, Paddy Connolly, Ray McKinnon, and John Clark, all showing up for a night out in Markinch!


*Home > Decades > 80's > 1989-90 > 89/90 Review*

Paul Sturrock's Testimonial match against Real Sociedad kicked off the season, and new signings Freddy Van der Hoorn and Peter Hinds made their first appearances as United won 1-0. Darren Jackson made his long awaited comeback after being out injured since December. Scott Thomson had been given the No.1 jersey after Billy Thomson refused to sign a new contract. We had Hendry's Coaches for transport this season. With moss growing up the windows and a maximum speed of 30 mph, this bus had character - and a large queue of cars behind it!
The first League game in August saw Motherwell get a 1-1 draw at Tannadice with Hamish French scoring. Before the next match, Jim McLean brought in Northern Ireland striker Michael O'Neill from Newcastle for a record transfer fee of £350,000, and he scored on his debut in a Leaguel Cup match at Tannadice as United beat Partick Thistle 1-0. O'Neill scored again in his next match as United went up 2-0 at Dens, but Dundee twice fought back to win the match 4-3. Billy Thomson returned for the midweek trip through to Hamilton for the next round of the League Cup, but he let the ball spill from his fingers for an embarrassing goal as United were dumped out of the competition 2-1. Freddy Van der Hoorn scored his first goal for the club as Dunfermline were beaten 2-1 at Tannadice, with O'Neill scoring his third goal in four games.
September started badly with a 2-0 defeat at Easter Road to Hibs, but United bounced back again in a midweek trip to Northern Ireland as they beat Glentoran 3-1 in the 1st round of the UEFA Cup. We ran our own bus through for once, including Rammy, Graham Carswell, Paul McDaid, Mike Braid and Charlie, which involved a armed escort to and from the match, a memorable ferry trip and the scary moment the Glentoran fans found out about United's religious past! Freddy Van der Hoorn and Hamish French scored in a 2-2 draw with Celtic at Tannadice, and Jim McInally scored in a 1-1 draw at Tynecastle. The 2nd leg of the Glentoran match at Tannadice saw United win 2-0 before a disappointing 0-0 draw with St Mirren.
	In October, Jim McInally and Maurice Malpas scored in a 2-0 win over Aberdeen, and a close game at Ibrox saw United go down 2-1 to Rangers with Michael O'Neill scoring a penalty (probably the last one we got at Ibrox!). In the next round out the UEFA Cup, Rammy, Graham, Mike Braid, Paul and Bryan travelled to Antwerp, Belgium on the DUSA bus, crossing by ferry at Dover. United fans were the first British fans to go back to Belgium after the Hyssel Stadium disaster, so we had a large police presence and an armed escort into the country! After absolutely no trouble and a great day, United were hammered 4-0 by Royal Antwerp and we had a long trip back home. This game saw Paul Hegarty play his last match for United and he left for St Johnstone before the season was finished.
As Alan Main became the teams first choice keeper, a Davie Cooper inspired Motherwell side beat United 3-2 at Fir Park, with Michael O'Neill scoring two for United, and a week later the second Dundee derby of the season finished 0-0. United needed to score 5 goals in the return leg against Antwerp in the UEFA Cup, and a bad start saw them go a further two goals behind. But Michael O'Neill, Mixu Paatelainen and John Clark scored to save some face and at least win the game on the night.
United were unbeaten in November, drawing 1-1 with newly promoted Dunfermline at East End Park, and Darren Jackson scored the winner against Hibs at Tannadice as United won 1-0 with 10 men after Miodrag Krivokapic was sent off. We then had a midweek trip through to Hampden to see Scotland qualify for the 1990 World Cup Finals in Italy as Ally McCoist scored in a 1-1 draw against Norway. Back to League business, and Kevin Gallacher scored for a more than deserved 1-0 win at Parkhead, but this game will always be remembered for Michael O'Neill standing on the ball on the Celtic goal line and falling on his arse!
Dave Bowman scored a cracking goal against his old team Hearts as United ended a run of seven straight draws between the clubs, winning 2-1 at Tannadice. Before his departure, Paul Hegarty was given a Testimonial, and Gothenburg came to Tannadice in honour of our glorious captain, in a match they won 2-0.
December started badly, with a 2-0 defeat at Pittodrie and a 1-0 defeat at Love Street. The last three games of the year all ended 1-1, with Mixu scoring at Tannadice against Rangers, then again against Motherwell the following week, with Darren Jackson getting the goal in a draw with Dundee at Dens.
	Into January, and Darren Jackson, playing more as a striker than before, scored again in the 1-0 win over Dunfermline at Tannadice, a comical goal where he headed in from the ground from a foot out after Ian Westwater had fumbled. A 0-0 draw with Hibs in Edinburgh followed, before Paddy Connolly scored his first goals for the club, getting both in a 2-0 victory over Celtic at Tannadice. In the 3rd round of the Scottish Cup, United were drawn against Dundee for the fourth year in a row, and with the game ending 0-0 at Dens, John Clark scored the winner at Tannadice in the replay. At Tynecastle, United went down 3-0 to Hearts, but fought back to 3-2 with goals from Paddy Connolly and Mixu Paatelainen and went close to equalising. Kevin Gallacher was sold to Coventry City for just under a £1 million and started a successful career in English football.
February saw United unluckily go down 3-1 at Ibrox, with Allan Preston stripping England defender Gary Stevens on the wing every time. Jim McInally scored against Aberdeen in another 1-1 draw at Tannadice, and goals from Darren Jackson and Paddy Connolly saw of St Mirren at Tannadice. The 4th round of the Scottish Cup had Queen of the South at Tannadice, with United making hard work of it with a 2-1 win, with goals from Paddy Connolly and Mixu Paatelainen.
United travelled through to Parkhead at the beginning of March, and were easily beaten 3-0. Another Darren Jackson winner at Fir Park saw off Motherwell, and he scored yet again in the 1-0 Scottish Cup win over Hibs at Tannadice that took United through to the semi-finals. After an early goal from Paddy Connolly, United surrendered their lead to lose the fourth Dundee derby 2-1 at Tannadice, but again Darren Jackson scored the winner at East End Park in a 1-0 win over Dunfermline. In the same week, we travelled through to Hampden to see Scotland take on an Argentina side with Claudio Canniggia, in the days before his low points of drug abuse and Dundee FC! Future United player Stuart McKimmie score the winner in a shock 1-0 victory.
In April, a Mixu Paatelainen penalty helped United beat Hibs 1-0 at Tannadice. United took on Aberdeen in the semi-final of the Scottish Cup at Tynecastle, but a bizarre match saw Aberdeen end up 4-0 winners, with United scoring two own goals! Things were made worse with having Paul's brother Dave, a loud-mouthed sheep shagger, on our bus! Again United's season fell apart in April, and after 1-0 defeats to Aberdeen at Pittodrie and Rangers at Tannadice, they were struggling to hold onto that European place in the League, but Darren Jackson scored for a 1-1 draw with Hearts at Tannadice.
In their last match of the season in May, United needed a point to qualify for Europe, and got it in a nervy 0-0 draw against St Mirren at Love Street. We were ready for a party that day, looking forward to more trips abroad the following season, with balloons and steamers etc., but the bus driver must have been from Paisley, and threatened to turn the bus round if we made a mess!
		The "Player of the Year" Dance was at the Wayfairer's. This turned out to be one of our best, a fantastic night with a great turn out by the fans and remarkable turn out by the players, with Paul Sturrock, Darren Jackson, Jim McInally, Paddy Connolly, Ray McKinnon, and John Clark, all showing up for a night out in Markinch!
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