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Partick Thistle's Intertoto Cup cameo 25 years on

Firhill legend John Lambie led the club on their Intertoto Cup adventureSNS

Firhill legend John Lambie led the club on their Intertoto Cup adventure

By Nick Mheat
BBC Scotland

Memories of European nights in Glasgow don't usually involve Partick Thistle. But 25 years ago this month, the Firhill club embarked on what proved a memorable Intertoto Cup campaign.

Here, BBC Scotland tells the story of a widely-forgotten pre-season European adventure, and why it still matters so much to so many from the west end of Glasgow.

'Intertoto Cup? Aye, why not'

The Intertoto Cup ran from 1961 to 2008 and was taken over by Uefa the same year as Thistle's unlikely debut. Dubbed 'The Cup for the Cupless', it was largely perceived as worthless by British sides, despite offering back-door entry to major European competition.

Not only did Thistle go without silverware in the 1994-95 season, they flirted with relegation before finishing eighth in the 10-team top flight. So how exactly did they end up in Europe?

Thistle fan David Forrest, of the 'Draw, Lose or Draw' podcast, re a "bizarre" selection process.

"Qualification went to the highest placed non-European qualifier, so it should have been Hibs in third, but they declined," he says. "Celtic were fourth, but they won the Scottish Cup, so went into the Cup Winners' Cup. Then Falkirk, Hearts and Kilmarnock all declined.

"So when Thistle were eventually offered, we said 'Aye, why not">