The 1986/87 Defeat on Aggregate vs Dukla Prague

[Martin_T]

Watched the Tannadice 87 documentary on the BBC Iplayer last night, about the Dundee United team who reached the 1987 Uefa Cup final, where they lost to IFK Gothenburg. It made me wonder how Hearts had done in Europe in the 86/87 season (I was only 4 years old at the time), I wasn't aware that we had gone out on away goals to Dukla Prague. Was this perhaps our best opportunity to reach a European final, given that we had finished above that United side in the previous season and given the relative standing of Scottish football at that time? Was there a real sense of disappointment etc at the time?

 

https://www.londonhearts.com/scores/games/198609171.html

[Victorian]

I was there.  The place went berserk when we scored at the start.  Tie was there to be won after going ahead again the 2nd half.  But no cigar.

Edited August 18, 2022 by Victorian

[Silvery_Moon]

 

[Malinga the Swinga]

Prague a very nice city and one of my favourite trips. Three days on a bus there and three days back only to see us lose on away goals. 

Arrived at Czechoslovakia border (pre split) only to find out one guy on bus didn't have visa. Russian guards wouldn't let him enter country so left him behind in Germany for pick up when we returned.

Memories include playing football on Autobahn using army trucks as goals and pints being 3p or 4p for Stella at the ground.

Different now I expect as Russian soldiers stationed everywhere as, if I recall correctly, Everton or Spurs has been there previous season and caused fair amount of bother and soldiers were surprised when all Hearts fans wanted to do was drink and have a laugh. 

 

 

[PaddysBar]

Was at the home game as a 16 year old. Great game. 
 

I don’t recall anyone thinking we could reach the final. Being in Europe seemed to be more of an adventure without any real thought of reaching the final - except 1989 when we should have beaten Bayern in the quarter final. 

[Victorian]

17 minutes ago, Victorian said:

I was there.  The place went berserk when we scored at the start.  Tie was there to be won after going ahead again the 2nd half.  But no cigar.

 

Memory is going as I've just realised we were away 2nd match. 

 

[Malinga the Swinga]

2 minutes ago, Victorian said:

 

Memory is going as I've just realised we were away 2nd match. 

 

Happens to us all eventually 

[the general]

6 minutes ago, Malinga the Swinga said:

Prague a very nice city and one of my favourite trips. Three days on a bus there and three days back only to see us lose on away goals. 

Arrived at Czechoslovakia border (pre split) only to find out one guy on bus didn't have visa. Russian guards wouldn't let him enter country so left him behind in Germany for pick up when we returned.

Memories include playing football on Autobahn using army trucks as goals and pints being 3p or 4p for Stella at the ground.

Different now I expect as Russian soldiers stationed everywhere as, if I recall correctly, Everton or Spurs has been there previous season and caused fair amount of bother and soldiers were surprised when all Hearts fans wanted to do was drink and have a laugh. 

 

 

 

Maybe Budwar rather than Stella?

Same effect right enough

[We_are_the_Hearts]

They were a very good team, passed us off the park after the early Wayne Foster goal. They couldn’t handle the direct route to Sandy Clark 2nd half though and they were hanging on at 3-2 to us in the 1st leg.

[Victorian]

4 minutes ago, Malinga the Swinga said:

Happens to us all eventually 

 

Was getting mixed up with the Slavia Prague tie,  which we won.  

[carnockjambo]

I was at away leg via oostende, stuttgart and Nuremberg. Train from Nuremberg to Prague stopped at border everyone checked then rolled into Cheb same procedures. Prague was great and cheap as chips. Bought ticket for game in metro 25p. Mercer charged fans on official trip £10.  We where in hotel prior to game and saw Dukla official with UEFA party including ref   Suffice to say ref denied us a stonewall  pen after Robbo halved in two.  

[Midloth_Iain]

12 minutes ago, Malinga the Swinga said:

Prague a very nice city and one of my favourite trips. Three days on a bus there and three days back only to see us lose on away goals. 

Arrived at Czechoslovakia border (pre split) only to find out one guy on bus didn't have visa. Russian guards wouldn't let him enter country so left him behind in Germany for pick up when we returned.

Memories include playing football on Autobahn using army trucks as goals and pints being 3p or 4p for Stella at the ground.

Different now I expect as Russian soldiers stationed everywhere as, if I recall correctly, Everton or Spurs has been there previous season and caused fair amount of bother and soldiers were surprised when all Hearts fans wanted to do was drink and have a laugh. 

 

 

 

When we went to Prague in 92 for the Slavia tie, one of my mates (who was at the Dukla match previously), was horrified that beer prices had jumped from 4p to 12p ! 🤣

[Victorian]

One big memory of that season was about a month before.  Who else was at the League Cup match at home vs Montrose?  Probably the only thing that came close to the Brora Rangers atrocity.

Edited August 18, 2022 by Victorian

[Eddiepolio3]

My first ever game!

[Doctor FinnBarr]

Was at both games, away game was easily forgettable. Top trip with Glasgow Hearts though, having an off the cuff unplanned stop in some West German village near Siegburg was a belter, 50 fans invading 2 village pubs on a Monday night caught them by surprise I can tell you!

[We_are_the_Hearts]

43 minutes ago, Victorian said:

One big memory of that season was about a month before.  Who else was at the League Cup match at home vs Montrose?  Probably the only thing that came close to the Brora Rangers atrocity.

I had completely forgot about that

Edited August 18, 2022 by We_are_the_Hearts

[martoon]

43 minutes ago, Victorian said:

One big memory of that season was about a month before.  Who else was at the League Cup match at home vs Montrose?  Probably the only thing that came close to the Brora Rangers atrocity.

 

1 minute ago, We_are_the_Hearts said:

Think you are about 5 years out on this game?

 

Victorian is right.

 

We lost 0-2 at home to Montrose in August 1986 and beat Dukla 3-2 about 3/4 weeks later.

 

I think we pumped Hibs 3-1 at ER in between. The "Lochend Vice" derby.

 

I was at all three but not the away leg in Prague.

[We_are_the_Hearts]

Just now, martoon said:

 

 

Victorian is right.

 

We lost 0-2 at home to Montrose in August 1986 and beat Dukla 3-2 about 3/4 weeks later.

 

I think we pumped Hibs 3-1 at ER in between. The "Lochend Vice" derby.

 

I was at all three but not the away leg in Prague.

Yip I had clearly forgot about it as mind had it happening when we were in the 1st division for some reason. The mind playing tricks as per 🙈

[martoon]

1 minute ago, We_are_the_Hearts said:

Yip I had clearly forgot about it as mind had it happening when we were in the 1st division for some reason. The mind playing tricks as per 🙈

 

Perhaps you were thinking of the three game Cup marathon against Montrose in '76? 

[We_are_the_Hearts]

1 minute ago, martoon said:

 

Perhaps you were thinking of the three game Cup marathon against Montrose in '76? 

I’m not that old 😂 thinking it might be the Forfar Scottish cup game in 82 I’m getting mixed up with 😬

[Victorian]

The Montrose game seemed like we had about 96% possession,  about 43 goal attempts and 30 corners.  Them scoring was incredulous stuff.

[Doctor FinnBarr]

49 minutes ago, martoon said:

 

Perhaps you were thinking of the three game Cup marathon against Montrose in '76? 

 

 I was at all 3, first 2 on the Bathgate bus then my old man took me to the 2nd replay because I'd just lost a wisdom tooth at the dentist.

Went to support Motherwell v Hibs the following night at Ibrox, he was a Motherwell fan, I celebrated yet again.

[gerryjambo41]

1 hour ago, FinnBarr Saunders said:

Was at both games, away game was easily forgettable. Top trip with Glasgow Hearts though, having an off the cuff unplanned stop in some West German village near Siegburg was a belter, 50 fans invading 2 village pubs on a Monday night caught them by surprise I can tell you!

I still get abuse for the state I was in after those stops in Germany 😂

[benny]

Got the bus from Tynecastle for the away tie.

Boy from Penicuik spewed up on the bus early doors.

He was known as Penispew for the remainder of the trip.

The so called Dukla Stadium the first disappointment of the trip.

[EIEIO]

16 minutes ago, benny said:

Got the bus from Tynecastle for the away tie.

Boy from Penicuik spewed up on the bus early doors.

He was known as Penispew for the remainder of the trip.

The so called Dukla Stadium the first disappointment of the trip.

I thought it was Pennypuke.

[martoon]

1 hour ago, We_are_the_Hearts said:

I’m not that old 😂 thinking it might be the Forfar Scottish cup game in 82 I’m getting mixed up with 😬

 

😄

 

I am that old. 

 

I was at the 2-2 Tynecastle draw with Montrose in 1976 and the infamous Forfar game.

 

Good times. 😁 

[martoon]

46 minutes ago, FinnBarr Saunders said:

 

 I was at all 3, first 2 on the Bathgate bus then my old man took me to the 2nd replay because I'd just lost a wisdom tooth at the dentist.

Went to support Motherwell v Hibs the following night at Ibrox, he was a Motherwell fan, I celebrated yet again.

 

Just the Tynecastle replay for me, Finn. 0-2 after about 10 mins, iirc, and we only just salvaged it at the end.

 

I remember Hibs losing to Motherwell.

 

The Cup that year was quite a slog.

Edited August 18, 2022 by martoon

[fila]

47 minutes ago, benny said:

Got the bus from Tynecastle for the away tie.

Boy from Penicuik spewed up on the bus early doors.

He was known as Penispew for the remainder of the trip.

The so called Dukla Stadium the first disappointment of the trip.

Was a mate of mine, later went on to be high ranking in the police ! He also nearly lifted me at a Hibs,  game many years later !! 
Great trip apart from the bus sickness and near punch up on the bus that followed! 
highlight , is the signed Wallace Mercer programme ( leaflet ) I got during the game 

[Norm]

2 hours ago, Eddiepolio3 said:

My first ever game!

My 2nd. My 1st was the Watford friendly during the pre-season. 

[Shaggy2]

Dukla looked the business at Tynecastle and Wallace Mercer tried to buy their number 7 (Gunther Bittengal) but failed due to massive amounts of red tape, probably due to Dukla's status as the Czech army team.

Anyway, Hearts played it pretty cagey over there but did it very well. Andy Watson "scored" an equaliser that was very harshly ruled out which would PROBABLY have taken us through. To this day I have no idea why it was disallowed. Free-kick somewhere in the build up maybe, but with no TV scrutiny it was easier for referees to make dodgy "home" calls and get out of Dodge with their testicles still attached to their bodies. 

[Martin_T]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1987_UEFA_Cup_Final

 

Looking at IFK's route to the final in particular, who knows how far we could have gone, if we'd managed to get past Dukla.

[Doctor FinnBarr]

3 hours ago, gerryjambo41 said:

I still get abuse for the state I was in after those stops in Germany 😂

 

Didn't like to mention you but the fact no one could get into the bus bog because you had went in with a bottle of scnapps and fell asleep..........

 

More than once too

Edited August 18, 2022 by FinnBarr Saunders

[Shaggy2]

1 hour ago, Martin_T said:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1987_UEFA_Cup_Final

 

Looking at IFK's route to the final in particular, who knows how far we could have gone, if we'd managed to get past Dukla.

Inter Milan and Barcelona defeated in their respective Quarter-Finals. We’d have been very high priced 2nd favourites but I suppose, given how close we came v Bayern Munich, you just never know. 
Football was great back then and it’s amazing to think that QF was realistic for clubs our size. Fast forward to now and we’re doing our dinger for a tournament we know we’ve literally zero hope in. 

[luckydug]

5 hours ago, Malinga the Swinga said:

Prague a very nice city and one of my favourite trips. Three days on a bus there and three days back only to see us lose on away goals. 

Arrived at Czechoslovakia border (pre split) only to find out one guy on bus didn't have visa. Russian guards wouldn't let him enter country so left him behind in Germany for pick up when we returned.

Memories include playing football on Autobahn using army trucks as goals and pints being 3p or 4p for Stella at the ground.

Different now I expect as Russian soldiers stationed everywhere as, if I recall correctly, Everton or Spurs has been there previous season and caused fair amount of bother and soldiers were surprised when all Hearts fans wanted to do was drink and have a laugh. 

 

 

Yes similar memories of the away trip. We seemed to be held for hours at the German/Czech border guards had the driver in and out of the office just ****ing us around basically. 

No such bother coming back in fact the female guard on duty even had a photo taken with us all smiles. 

This was just before the end of the

'Iron Curtain' and the Czech people looked fed up. 

Paris, Munich and Prague on a bus from Tynecastle, great days. 😏

[Malinga the Swinga]

51 minutes ago, luckydug said:

Yes similar memories of the away trip. We seemed to be held for hours at the German/Czech border guards had the driver in and out of the office just ****ing us around basically. 

No such bother coming back in fact the female guard on duty even had a photo taken with us all smiles. 

This was just before the end of the

'Iron Curtain' and the Czech people looked fed up. 

Paris, Munich and Prague on a bus from Tynecastle, great days. 😏

Remember them all. The Paris bus had no toilet on it and ended up sleeping in shop doorway. Concierge at Hilton lets us use their showers in morning to clean before heading home.

Don't think I'd cope these days.

[luckydug]

3 minutes ago, Malinga the Swinga said:

Remember them all. The Paris bus had no toilet on it and ended up sleeping in shop doorway. Concierge at Hilton lets us use their showers in morning to clean before heading home.

Don't think I'd cope these days.

I wonder if any fans travelled to Zurich by bus or car. 

I suppose with the cost of fuel and private hire it's probably just as cheap to fly. 

[Weakened Offender]

6 hours ago, Victorian said:

One big memory of that season was about a month before.  Who else was at the League Cup match at home vs Montrose?  Probably the only thing that came close to the Brora Rangers atrocity.

 

I was at the Montrose match and it was far, far worse than the Brora result given it was at home and had supporters present. 

[savage]

Was my first european game,  had just been lifted over the turnstiles when fozzie scored the opener and the place went mental

[Doctor FinnBarr]

1 hour ago, luckydug said:

Yes similar memories of the away trip. We seemed to be held for hours at the German/Czech border guards had the driver in and out of the office just ****ing us around basically. 

No such bother coming back in fact the female guard on duty even had a photo taken with us all smiles. 

This was just before the end of the

'Iron Curtain' and the Czech people looked fed up. 

Paris, Munich and Prague on a bus from Tynecastle, great days. 😏

 

No problem on the Glasgow bus, 200 B and H and a litre of French wine had us through in about an hour.

[Victorian]

Just now, Weakened Offender said:

 

I was at the Montrose match and it was far, far worse than the Brora result given it was at home and had supporters present. 

 

It was a freak match.  We had the same players more or less between two really great Hearts sides, 86 and 88.  It wasn't a great performing side for that season but even then the Scottish Cup was there for tge taking.

[Weakened Offender]

4 minutes ago, Victorian said:

 

It was a freak match.  We had the same players more or less between two really great Hearts sides, 86 and 88.  It wasn't a great performing side for that season but even then the Scottish Cup was there for tge taking.

 

Agreed. Both cup losses that season were a real test of character. 

[Victorian]

1 minute ago, Weakened Offender said:

 

Agreed. Both cup losses that season were a real test of character. 

 

Aye,  for us.  88 was another boot up the hole anaw.  Especially since we had been terrific in the league.

[Weakened Offender]

25 minutes ago, Victorian said:

 

Aye,  for us.  88 was another boot up the hole anaw.  Especially since we had been terrific in the league.

 

That '88 side was Doddies best team, IMO. 

[Victorian]

1 minute ago, Weakened Offender said:

 

That '88 side was Doddies best team, IMO. 

 

I would say so.  Competing against a much better Rangers than 86 and still above them.  Celtic were probably a bit better than their 86 side.  Aberdeen maybe not quite as good.  

[Hmfc1965]

54 minutes ago, Weakened Offender said:

 

I was at the Montrose match and it was far, far worse than the Brora result given it was at home and had supporters present. 

I was at that game and watched the Brora match.

We did everything but score against Montrose and more or less nothing against Brora. 

[Hmfc1965]

18 minutes ago, Weakened Offender said:

 

That '88 side was Doddies best team, IMO. 

Agreed.  They were a joy to watch at times. 

[rond]

8 hours ago, Shaggy2 said:

Dukla looked the business at Tynecastle and Wallace Mercer tried to buy their number 7 (Gunther Bittengal) but failed due to massive amounts of red tape, probably due to Dukla's status as the Czech army team.

Anyway, Hearts played it pretty cagey over there but did it very well. Andy Watson "scored" an equaliser that was very harshly ruled out which would PROBABLY have taken us through. To this day I have no idea why it was disallowed. Free-kick somewhere in the build up maybe, but with no TV scrutiny it was easier for referees to make dodgy "home" calls and get out of Dodge with their testicles still attached to their bodies. 

Was it not John Colquhoun?

[andi17]

5 hours ago, martoon said:

 

😄

 

I am that old. 

 

I was at the 2-2 Tynecastle draw with Montrose in 1976 and the infamous Forfar game.

 

Good times. 😁 

Me to great times

[martoon]

5 hours ago, Weakened Offender said:

 

That '88 side was Doddies best team, IMO. 

 

Absolutely, bud.

 

Some of the football we played that season was a joy to watch:

 

4-2 vs. Falkirk 

4-1 vs. Dundee Utd.

5-1 @ Falkirk

4-2 vs. Dundee

3-0 @ Dundee Utd.

2-3 @ Rangers, a crime we took nothing

2-2 @ Celtic, a crime we didn't win

6-0 @ St. Mirren...

 

There was many others.

 

Still can't believe that magnificent team didn't lift silverware.

 

[No Idle Talk]

13 hours ago, Victorian said:

One big memory of that season was about a month before.  Who else was at the League Cup match at home vs Montrose?  Probably the only thing that came close to the Brora Rangers atrocity.

 

I was at that match. A real wtf moment.