Defender remembers Inverness Caledonian Thistle’s first league game on 30th anniversary of match
Mark McAllister was one of the pioneers of Inverness Caledonian Thistle who played in their first ever league match in the Scottish Third Division, 30 years ago.
On Saturday, August 13, 1994, Caley Thistle defeated Arbroath 5-2 at Telford Street Park in front of a crowd of around 1700 people.
In a blistering start to life in the Scottish Third Division, Alan Hercher scored a hat-trick within the first 30 minutes to give them a 3-0 lead at half time.
Arbroath did reduce the deficit to one in the second half, but Paul Mackenzie’s strike in the 71st minute before Wilson Robertson killed the game off six minutes later secured Caley Thistle’s first ever three points as a team in the national league.
Following up from winning their first competitive game, defeating East Stirling 2-0 in Falkirk in the League Cup on Tuesday, August 9, it was the first week which would lead to an incredible three decades for Inverness where they have seen major highs and lows.
McAllister (53) says the players didn’t appreciate at the time that they were on the cusp of Inverness sporting history. But looking back and what the club has gone on to do in the last 30 years, he can now appreciate the enormity of the occasion.
He said: “It was a truly momentous day, for the club, the town and the players.
“Were we aware of it at the time? I certainly wasn’t. We knew it was a big day, but where we are 30 years on, it is part of history. In 100 years time, that starting 11 will still be the first starting line-up for Caley Thistle.
“On the day itself, we were just focussing on the game. Our manager Sergei Baltacha spoke about Arbroath’s dangermen, we were only focussed on that, we weren’t concerned if the day would be remembered years down the line.
“But we did talk about that day in the 25th anniversary celebration, that it was amazing where the club had come from and the achievements they have done, going on to play in the Premiership as well as winning the Scottish Cup.”
McAllister (53) was originally a Caledonian player before being selected for the first Caledonian Thistle team which played in the 1994/95 campaign.
Caledonian merged with Inverness Thistle to form Caledonian Thistle as it was known for the first two years of its existence.
He says at first, it was surreal to being in the same squad with players from Inverness Thistle and Clachnacuddin, who they had faced up against for many seasons before.
But he says everyone gelled quickly and were determined to make a success of the merger which had captured the imagination of the city in the lead up to their first home match.
He said: “I signed the pro forms in 1988 and when the merger was ratified I had the option to move to the merged club.
“My contract was automatically transferred to Caley Thistle.
There was a huge build up in the town to the first league game. There was a huge buzz and great anticipation from the players and the fans.
“You could sense the excitement in the town, even from people who were non football people and had little interest in the sport. But everyone was talking about the first league game and everyone was saying they were going to it.
The Caledonian players had a bit of an advantage as Sergei Baltacha was the Caledonian manager in the previous season in the Highland League.
“It was a bit different for the Inverness Thistle players and we had a couple of players who had couple from Clachnacuddin.
“We knew what Sergei wanted, the style of play and the formation. Everyone integrated well, even though there was a rivalry between the three Inverness clubs, we all knew each other well. Straight after the game we were in the social club. Even though there was a rivalry between 3pm and 4.45pm that was all forgotten about afterwards.
“But it was surreal, it was like playing in a select team, whereas we were used to playing in the same team for years with the same guys. Especially with Caley we had a team that picked itself every week, unless someone was suspended or injured, it was the same names on that team sheet.
“Having new guys in the dressing room created excitement as well from the playing side and coaching side. A lot of the supporters at the time found it surreal too as they felt like it was a select team. It was like a new toy for them I suppose.”
In the match itself, Hercher scored the first goal after 13 minutes followed by two in quick succession to put Caley Thistle 3-0 up after 33 minutes.
Despite Arbroath pulling it back to 3-2, goals midway through the second half from McKenzie and Robertson gave the newly merged club their first ever league win.
They found themselves top of the league with four wins after their first five matches, with wins away at Ross County and Albion Rovers and at home to Forfar Athletic.
A dip in form eventually saw Caledonian Thistle finish the season in sixth place, but McAllister said their win on the opening day of the season showed there was an appetite for the club to become a success.
He said: “I don’t think anyone could have expected the start we had. In the dressing room we knew the occasion was big. We were up for it and in the first half we controlled proceedings.
“Getting early goals in quick succession was fantastic from Alan Hercher. But you can’t control the whole 90 minutes, no matter how good a team you are.
Arbroath brought it back to 3-2, it was a bit nervy for a while, but from start to finish it went well.
“We won four of our first five games and by the end of September we were top of the league. It was followed up with a couple of draws and we went down the table.
“We may have peaked too early, but the buzz and hype led to that peak and then we were brought down to reality. But the opening day from start to finish was fantastic. It was pleasing, all the players were proud to be involved. When we look back at 30 years ago, we were proud to be the pioneers of Caledonian Thistle.”
McAllister remembers in the first season how youngsters would look at them as an inspiration and would aspire to go on to play for Caledonian Thistle.
He said youngsters saw it as opportunity to go and play in the Scottish League .
He said: “People still point out that we were the first players, even the youngsters said that we were the leaders and that thew wanted to go and play for Caley Thistle.
“They said that we were inspiring them to play football. Apart from Paul McKenzie was from Peterhead and Wilson Robertson from Aberdeen, generally it was an Inverness based team. It was a great inspiration to the young guys that they have a chance of playing for a team in the Scottish League and not just the Highland League. “Everyone is immensely proud of that.”
Inverness Caledonian Thistle would go to achieve greater heights, playing in the Premiership and in Europe, as well as winning the Scottish Cup final in 2015 and reaching the final in 2023 along with the League Cup final in 2014.
The club has fallen on hard times financially and have been relegated to League One this season, the first time they have played in the third tier for 25 years.
But McAllister is confident the club can bounce back and says youngstesr from the club academy that are getting a chance to shine in the first team, should take inspiration from what the first Caley Thistle team in 1994 did.
“For anyone involved in football, it is always enthusing to see young talent getting a chance.
“Caley Thistle’s financial position is well documented just now and the club’s hand has been forced.
“But they have a good springboard as they are in League One whereas we started in League Two.
“They have that advantage and it is important to make sure there is not so much pressure put onto young shoulders and integrating that with more experienced individuals to talk them through the games.
“All they need is to get a good run of results together and it builds their confidence that they deserve to be in the team and the league.
“Once you have a few games under your belt, you back yourself and that is what we did in 1994.
“We had that feeling of deserving to be in the league.”
