Harry Johnston (footballer, born 1949)

First spell at Montrose Born in Orkney and raised in Aberdeen, The following year was even better, as Montrose finished 3rd again – but this time among stronger opposition – in the 1975–76 Scottish First Division. They also made it to the quarter-finals of the 1975–76 Scottish Cup, losing narrowly to eventual finalists Heart of Midlothian after two replays, and reached the semi-final of the 1975–76 Scottish League Cup, where they led for much of the tie against Rangers at Hampden Park before eventually succumbing 5–1 to the team who would lift the trophy. Partick Thistle The contribution of Johnston (who by now had successfully graduated from Jordanhill College to become a Physical education teacher) After signing for a fee of £20,000, his spell with the Glasgow club was short, encompassing little more than one season due to injuries and a loss of trust from manager Auld, himself a combative character who eventually concluded that Johnston had been correct in his self-assessment of being not good enough for the top division, or at least not sufficiently confident in his own ability to make an impact. He was in the team for Thistle's first win in the new Premier Division (beating Motherwell), and two of his three goals were scored against Rangers, one in a defeat at Ibrox and the other to open the scoring in a 4–3 win at Firhill, with the third strike a winner against Kilmarnock. After a period out injured and a loan to third tier Brechin City, ==Cricket career==

Johnston was also an accomplished cricketer, appearing at club level for Aberdeenshire in his early career and later for Uddingston and Fauldhouse Victoria. he was selected for Scotland for first-class cricket matches against Ireland at Rathmines in August 1975, and against the same opposition at Clontarf in July 1981. He also made the team for 17 List A matches: 16 in the Benson & Hedges Cup (between 1980, the first year Scotland entered a team, and 1984), plus one in the NatWest Bank Trophy in 1983. The high-level appearance totals would almost certainly have been greater had Johnston not absented himself from cricket between 1976 and 1979 to concentrate on football. ==Personal life==

Johnston became a secondary school PE teacher by profession; he had already embarked on this career when his profile as a footballer began to increase in his mid-20s, and spent many years teaching at Stonelaw High School in Rutherglen. He never became the department's principal teacher nor served as the school's football coach, those responsibilities falling to colleagues Alan Byrne and Iain Burns respectively, but was involved in youth cricket coaching. ==See also==