A RECENT column included an appeal relating to the astonishing result in a football match played by local schoolboys.

The game took place in 1963 but tracing a Telegraph report of the game was proving difficult as the exact date was not known.

I now know the date thanks to Joe Gurney, a retired teacher who has written several books about matters of local interest in the past.

His research has included consulting the Telegraph archives held by the Watt Library.

Joe read my appeal and gave me a copy of the paper’s preview and match report of the game against Dundee counterparts won 6-5 by Greenock and district schoolboys after being 5-1 behind at half-time. The match is mentioned in Joe’s book about the 1960s.

A quarter-final of the Scottish Schools Cup, it was played in Port Glasgow on April 13, 1963.

The local team included two players who became professionals – Joe Harper (Mount School) and Eddie Morrison (St Columba’s High School).

Morrison scored his team’s only goal in the first half.

Under the headline ‘Greenock boys staged remarkable recovery’, the Telegraph said the local team gained inspiration after Paul McGarrigle (St Columba’s High School) scored.

The report stated: “The second half started quietly and for the first 10 minutes play was very even.

“Following a corner, McGarrigle headed a good goal. That was all the Greenock boys needed to inspire them.

“First Morrison netted from close in after a melee in the Dundee goal.

“Then Harper, with a glorious shot, brought Greenock’s total to four. The same player brought the scores level when he took a free kick just outside the box and found a gap in the Dundee defence.”

The match looked like ending a draw until Morrison connected with a ‘beautiful’ cross and scored his third goal with a header.

It was an amazing achievement but Greenock and district were knocked out in the next round of the Scottish Schools Cup.