| Andrew Johnston |
 Andrew Johnston was probably born in Scotland, although his place and date of birth remain unknown to us. * The forward probably joined Thistle in 1884 or 1885. He made his first known appearance on Saturday, 31st January, 1885, in a 5-0 friendly win at home to Kilmarnock Athletic. Andrew scored his first two known goals for Thistle on Saturday, 11th April, 1885, in a 5-0 friendly win at home to Falkirk. He scored the last of his 80 known goals on Saturday, 25th October, 1890, in a 3-2 friendly win away to Rangers. He played his last known game for the club on Saturday, 15th November, 1890, in a 4-1 friendly defeat at home to Abercorn, having clocked up at least 182 appearances for the Thistle. His club-list included Partick Thistle, Third Lanark and Albion Rovers. We don't know where or when Andrew died. *
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 In the photo above, our wee Eddie Gallagher look-a-like is proudly showing one off his City caps. His striking prowess was recognised by the Glasgow FA and he represented the club in three matches; vs London in November 1886 (D2-2) and twice vs East of Scotland in February 1888 (D1-1) and February 1889 (L3-5). Andrew’s first known appearance was at Inchview on 31st January 1885, when he lined up as outside right vs. Kilmarnock Athletic. On his inside was Willie Paul – who was to score his first goal for the club that day – a historic occasion. Playing at centre forward was our eccentric goalie, Andrew Duff, who also got onto the score sheet. There were no goals for our Andrew though, but the Jags ran out winners by 5 goals to 0. The goals weren’t long in coming for the wee man though – there were at least 80 of them over the course of the next 6 years – and he outscored Willie Paul in what was the debut season for both forwards. In fact, Andrew’s first full season total of at least 13 goals was enough for him to claim the crown as Top Scorer – not a bad start to his career. Andrew bagged at least 5 hat tricks in his time at Thistle, including a 4 goal haul in the 12-0 Scottish Cup mauling of Alloa Athletic in October 1885. On a personal level, Andrew might have felt some degree of satisfaction when he scored a first half equaliser at Deepdale in April 1889, for the Preston North End had just completed the “double”, were nicknamed “the Invincibles” and were considered the finest club side in Britain at the time. The goal looked to have given Thistle a famous draw until the home side snatched a winner at the death. Still, it was one he could tell the grandchildren. Later, he signed up with Third Lanark as they geared up to compete in the inaugural Scottish Football League season of 1890-91. He was always welcome back at Inchview though – and would occasionally return as a guest and for the odd benefit match. Andrew is one of the super seven who contributed to all three victories against Rangers in season 1888-89. |
| (WS) |
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