Bon Accord F.C.
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Bon Accord were a football team from Aberdeen, Scotland who suffered the worst defeat in any British senior football match, losing 36-0 to Arbroath on September 12, 1885 in a first round match of the Scottish Cup. Thirteen goals were scored by centre-forward John Petrie, a Scottish Cup record.
Arbroath were an established team whereas Bon Accord were in reality a cricket team, Orion Cricket Club, who were mistakenly invited to enter the Scottish Cup instead of Orion F.C., an Aberdeen football club. The name "Bon Accord" was used to commemorate the watchword that initiated the storming of the Castle of Aberdeen during the Wars of Scottish Independence. At the time, any Scottish-based team could enter the Cup without any previous experience. Today however, the requirements for entering senior competitions such as the Scottish Cup mean that the record is unlikely ever to be beaten.
The referee, Dave Stormont, is believed to have disallowed several more goals, either for offside, or because it was not clear whether the ball had gone into the goal (there being no goal nets at the time), or simply to keep the score at a "respectable" level. Although no reliable statistics of the match exist, sources claim that either five [1] or seven [2] other goals were scored.
Bon Accord do not seem to have had a single shot at goal. James Milne, the Arbroath goalkeeper, spent most of the match sheltering from the rain under an umbrella he borrowed from a spectator. Some accounts say he never touched the ball during the entire match.[2] At the other end, Andrew Lornie, was beaten at least 36 times.
Amazingly, in the same competition on the same day, Dundee Harp beat Aberdeen Rovers 35-0. The referee had counted the score as 37-0 but the club secretary of Dundee Harp recorded only 35 goals. Ironically, the lower figure was agreed upon.[3]
On September 3, 1887, Arbroath were again drawn in the same competition against Orion - this time the football club rather than the cricket club were correctly invited. The result on this occasion was 20-0 in favour of Arbroath.
The name Bon Accord was used for another team from Aberdeen founded in 1890, who entered the Scottish Cup competition in 1891-92 and 1903-1904 seasons.
In December 2000, Angus MSP Andrew Welsh tabled a motion in the Scottish Parliament to acknowledge the historic achievement.
[edit] External links
[edit] References
- ^ Will Springer (2005). A day when Scottish football scorched the record books (HTML). Scotsman. Retrieved on 9 December 2005.
- ^ a b Fraser Clyne (2003). The 36-0 team (HTML).
- ^ Fraser Clyne (2005). The 36-0 Revisited (HTML).
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