IT’S a scene repeated through  the generations for football fans – supporters young and old meeting up ahead of the journey to follow their teams.
This cheerful bunch was off to Belfast, full of expectation for the British Championship encounter with Northern Ireland at Windsor Park, where Scotland lined up behind captain Jock  Shaw.
And these fans look hopeful for a good result on October 4.
However, it endeed in tears, as a crowd of 52,000 saw a double from Samuel Smyth, who played for Liverpool and Stoke City during his career, break the visitors’ hearts.
The match came as
international football was still being re- established following the war years.
A few months before, in May, a Scotland side had travelled to Belgium, where they lost 2-1, but they then went on to beat Luxembourg 6-0 a few days later. 
Fans’ lives were still hard as the country recovered from conflict, so any sporting event was important to lift the spirits.
These fans were disappointed in Belfast, but such a hopeful looking crowd would surely not have long to wait before their optimism was rewarded.  

Glasgow Times:

Glasgow councillor Frank McAveety brought the flowers as Esther Cairney moved into her new house in Blackhill in 1999.