Events are listed alphabetically by sport, then by day. Sport Listings compiled byTom Lappin.
ATHLETICS
Sunday 14
I Scottish Indoor league Final Kelvin Hall
Glasgow.
Friday 19
INDOOR INTERNATIONAL I Scotland V Wales Kelvin Hall. Glasgow.
Glasgow
I Race Days Tuesday. Thursday and Saturday. Shawfield Stadium. Rutherglen Road. Glasgow. There are ten races in each meeting. starting at 7.45pm. £2.
Edinburgh
I Race Days Tuesday. Thursday and Saturday. Powderhall Stadium. Beaverhall Road. Edinburgh. Each meeting includes ten races. starting at 7.30pm. £2.50 Stand. Race programme free with admission.
FOOTBALL
Saturday 13
PREMIER LEAGUE
I Dundee v St Johnstone Dens Park. Sandeman Street. Dundee. 3pm.
I llearts V Falkirk Tynecastle Park. Gorgie
Road. Edinburgh. 3pm.
I Motherwell V lllbs Fir Park. Motherwell.
3pm. 2 I Partick Thistle v Dundee United Firhill.
Firhill Road. Glasgow. 3pm. A promising look to this game with the increasingly erratic Thistle taking on Jim McLean's bunch of youngsters. foreigners and
disgruntled intemationals.
I Rangers V Airdrie lbrox Stadium. Glasgow. 3pm. With European ties looming. Rangers won‘t be relishing the visit of the Premier League‘s bad boys. With one or two
exceptions the champions' capacity to dish it 3
out has lessened since Graeme Souness's departure. a deficiency which Airdrie might exploit.
FIRST DIVISION
I Ayr V Meadowbank Somerset Park. Somerset Road. Ayr. 3pm.
Wednesday 17
WORLD CUP
I Scotland V Malta lbrox Stadium. Glasgow. 7.30pm. Scotland's World Cup qualification chances took a turn for the worst when Portugal nicked a I-O victory over Malta in Valletta. What that suggests is that the plucky little islandes aren‘t necessarily the pushovers everyone assumes. They won‘t relish the prospect of a February night in Glasgow though. and Roxburgh‘s team have to take every chance offered to stay in contention in the group. Expect the manager to say ‘there are no easy games in international football any more.‘ at the end of the match.
Saturday 20
PREMIER LEAGUE
I Airdrie V llearts Broomfield. Airdn'e. 3pm. I Celtic v Partick Thistle Celtic Park. Gallowgate. Glasgow. 3pm.
I Dundee Otd v Rangers Tannadice Park.
Tannadice Street, Dundee. 3pm.
I Falkirk V Hem" Brockville. Falkirk. 3pm.
I IIIIIC V Dundee Easter Road Stadium. Albion Road. Edinburgh. 3pm.
FIRST DIVISION
I Clydebank V Ilarnllton Kilbowie Park. Clydebank. 3pm.
I Dunfennllne v Dunbarton East End Park. Dunfermline. 3pm
I Nllrnarnock v Cowdenbeath Rugby Park. Kilmarnock. 3pm. Kilmarnock still nurture hopes of overhauling Raith at the top of the First Division. and a couple of points here should help their cause.
I Meadowbank Thistle v lialth liovers Meadowbank Stadium. London Road. Edinburgh. 3pm.
I Stirling Albion v Morton Annfield. Stirling. 3pm.
I St Mirren v Ayr United Love Street. Paisley. 3pm.
SECOND DIVISION
I Alloa Athletic v Albion novers Recreation Park. Alloa. 3pm.
I Clyde V Oueen’s Park Douglas Park. Hamilton. 3pm.
Friday 12—Saturday 13
I Ayr Ayr Racecourse. 2 Whitletts Road. Ayr. Club £10. Eglinton £6. First race 1.50pm. Weather permitting. National Hunt racing from Scotland‘s premier track.
Friday 19
I Edinburgh Musselburgh Racecourse. Musselburgh. Club £10. paddock £6. First race 2pm. A chilly National Hunt meeting at the windswept track stuck out in the wildemess of Musselburgh.
RUGBY
Saturday 13
ICEWAN’S NATIONAL LEAGUE DIVISION 1
I Doroughrsulr V ilawlck Meggetland. Colinton Road. Edinburgh. 3pm.
I Glasgow lligh/Nelvinslde v Edinburgh Acads Old Anniesland. Crow Road. Glasgow. 3pm.
I Iieriot's F? V Sliding County Goldenacre. Bangholm Terrace. Edinburgh. 3pm. HCEWAN’S NATIONAL LEAGUE DIVISION 2
I Kirkcaldy V Preston Lodge FP Beveridge Park. Balwearie Road. Kirkcaldy. 3pm.
I Musselburgh v Clarkston Stoneyhill. Stoneyhill Farm Road. Musselburgh. 3pm. I Stewart’s/Melville F? v Glasgow Acads lnverleith. Ferry Road. Edinburgh. 3pm.
I West of Scotland v Edinburgh Wanderers
Bumbrae. Milngavie. Glasgow. 3pm.
Friday 19 UNDER-21 INTERNATIONAL
I Scotland V Wales Myreside. Edinburgh. 2pm. Scotland's promising young hopefuls lost their last home game against Ireland. and will be hoping for a better result this time around.
Saturday 20 FIVE NATIONS CHAMPIONSHIP
I Scotland V Wales Murraylield. Edinburgh. 2pm. Always an atmospheric fixture. due to the fact that the supporters from the valleys hit the road north several days early. occupy any Scottish town within 50 miles of Murrayficld and don't drift away until the following Wednesday. The result seems almost secondary somehow.
Mr Happy
As Scotland prepare to take on the mighty Malta in a vital World Cup qualifier, the man they’re looking to for vital goals Is Ally McCoIst. Johnny Mellie tracked down the Ranger with the chlrpy grin.
For the first time since 1970, the unthinkable may be about to happen. After a string of Indifferent results, Scotland could fail to qualify for next year's World Cup Finals in the OSA. Worse, this could mean no World Cup team single in the tradition of Andy Cameron’s (We’re On The March With) Ally’s Army or B.A. Robertson's We Have A Dream. Only a hatful of goals will save Scotland, and the man most likely to score them Is Rangers striker
Ally McColst.
I Cowdenbeath V Dunfennline Central Park.
Cowdenbeath. 3pm.
I Dumbarton v kilmamock Boghead. Dumbatton. 3pm.
I llalnilton v St Mirren Douglas Park. Hamilton. 3pm.
I Morton V Clydebank Cappielow Park. Greenock. 3pm.
I Raith Rovers v Stirling Albion Stark's Park. Pratt Street. Kirkcaldy. 3pm. SECOND DIVISION
I Albion Rovers v Arbroattt Cliftonhill. Coatbn’dge. 3pm.
Tuesday 16
FIST DIVISION
I Stirling Albion V Cowdenbeth Annfield. Stirling. 7.30pm.
SECOND DIVISION
I Clyde V Oueen Dt The South Douglas Park. Hamilton. 7.30pm.
‘lt’s not beyond us,’ says McCoist of Scotland’s qualification chances, remaining characteristically optimistic in the face of formidable
challenges from Portugal, Switzerland , i see is the happy-go-lucky, Iaugh-a-lot rests on the shoulders of the man who
and Italy. An awful lot of pressure
won Europe’s Golden Boot for club
goalscorlng last season, and looks set
to notch an even greater tally this time around.
' McColst has serious claims on being the most popular Scottish footballer since Kenny Dalgllsh, with a cannier appreciation of public relations than the dour Ken ever achieved. When he pulls on the Scotland Jersey even the
“W ‘,
the attention the Scottish media Iavishes upon him. But does the perpetual grin never fade? ‘I think I’m perceived as a happy-go-lucky, always-smiling type of guy,’ he admits, ‘which isn’t always the case. It’s a
‘ well-known fact that everybody’s got a
deeper side and an inner side to them. But I think the side the public wants to
side.’ Well actually, come Wednesday night the public will probably be looking more for the shrug off a couple of defenders, stick the bail in
I the back of the net side.
most devout Celtic fan finds it hard to i
hate Super Ally. More than anyone else in Scottish public life McColst gets a buzz from
On the surface McCoist would seem to exemplify the easy-going ilello magazine lifestyle of the successful sports star, but In fact, Rangers and Scotland’s gain is subculture’s loss. For In his youth the amiable and smooth McCoist was a punk rocker. ‘Well and truly,’ he confirms. ‘Plstols, Clash, Stiff Little Fingers, early .larn. My mother will tell you to this day that
Ally McCoist: My story published a, Mainstream 212.99
if it hadn’t been for the football I would still have the orange hair and the staples in my nose.’
Nowadays it’s Springsteen, Bon Jovi, Sun and Simple Minds, as well as the occasional nostalgic listen to some of those pogo classics. Otherwise McColst is the epitome of media-
: friendly Football Man, successful,
3 approachable and destined for a lob in i the media as soon as his illustrious
; soccer career ends.
9 Too good to be true? Well if pressed
i he will admit to cheating once, diving ! in the area to get a penalty. ‘lam
; totally embarrassed about it,’ he
confesses. ‘It was at Falkirk and I saw It on television. It was shocking and I
vowed never to do it again.’ Ilot even
r against Celtic, or AC Milan in the
European Cup Final? ‘Ilo,’ and the ' cheeky grin resurfaces, ‘. . .well, not l
unless I’m taking it.’ i ; Scotland v Malta is at Ibrox Stadium i on Wednesday February 17.
l _ _. J
The List l2—~25 February I993 55