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Past meetings, then, and let’s start with “SCOTLAND’S BRAVE DISPLAY: Beaten but Not Humbled.” That was the Manchester Guardian’s headline after a Scottish XI containing two players apiece from Partick Thistle, Preston and Clyde took on Ferenc Puskas, Nandor Hidegkuti, Sandor Kocsis, Joszef Bozsik et al at Hampden in December 1954. Bozsik and Hidegkuti put the visitors two up after 26 minutes; goals by Tommy Ring and Bobby Johnstone later sandwiched Hungary’s third by Karoly Sandor; and Scotland were the better team for the majority of the second half in pushing for an equaliser, before Kocsis sealed a 4-2 win for Hungary in the final minute.
A more-than-decent showing, and Scotland followed it up with a brave 3-1 defeat in Budapest the following May, Gordon Smith giving the Scots a surprise lead, Billy Liddell missing a late penalty. A much more respectable pair of results against the famous Aranycsapat than England’s 6-3 and 7-1 maulings, but it’s probably best not to thumb the nose too much, because in between those two matches with Hungary, Scotland were skittered 7-2 by England at Wembley, which if nothing else proves that comparing results in the playground style is a fool’s errand.
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