Greatest Own Goals of All-Time No.7
This week’s own goal comes from Scotland’s Willie Donachie for Scotland against Wales in the 1978 Home Championship.
The game was played at Hampden Park on 17th May, with Scotland about to jet off to Argentina for the World Cup. They had beaten the Welsh to get to the Finals and so the visitors wanted payback.
It wasn’t going well for Wales as they were losing 1-0 with seconds remaining. Scotland only needed to hold on to the win to go a point behind England who they were playing at Hampden three days later.
In the last minute of the game, Scotland began to try winding the clock down. They passed the ball between their defenders and back to Jim Blyth, the Scottish goalkeeper.
The Hampden Park crowds sang as they waited for the final whistle, the voices of the 70,000 fans cheering the Scottish side on.
Blyth collected a backpass about twelve yards off his goal line and to the right of the penalty area. He saw left-back Willie Donachie jogging back to receive the ball and bowled it out to him.
Donachie had a quick look upfield before getting the ball and then turned back to goal. He looked to play it back to Blyth but the ball bounced up and Donachie ended up hitting the ball back much harder.
Blyth had no chance of getting back in time and the ball went past him before nestling in the back of the cavernous Hampden goal.
The commentary on the video below from Welshman Hugh Johns sums up the goal perfectly:
“Oh! An own goal by Willie Donachie! That’s the most remarkable goal that’s ever been been scored surely here at Hampden and it’s 1-1!”
Johns then came out with the immortal line of “Willie Donachie has never scored for Scotland, has now for Wales” just to compound the misery for Donachie and the rest of Scotland!
The game ended 1-1 and Scotland went on to the 1978 World Cup in Argentina. A 3-1 defeat in their opening game against Peru was followed by a frustrating 1-1 draw against Iran. There were knocked out in the group stage on goal difference at the expense of the Netherlands, despite beating them 3-2 in their final group game.
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