Richard Blair Thomson (born 26 June 1957) is a Scottish former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

played as a forward for Preston North End.

Early life

Thomson was born in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

, Scotland, on 26 June 1957.

Career

Preston North End was Thomson's only club. He joined ''the Lilywhites'' as an apprentice, and went on to make 71 Football League appearances for the club, scoring eleven goals.Ricky Thomson
– '' Barry Hugman's Footballers'' On 4 August 1979, Preston and arch-rivals Blackpool met at

Deepdale Deepdale is a football stadium in the Deepdale area of Preston, England, the home of Preston North End. Deepdale is "widely recognised as being the oldest 'continuously used' football stadium in the world, though this is contested". History ...

in the

Anglo-Scottish Cup The Anglo-Scottish Cup was a tournament arranged for teams in the English and Scottish football leagues during the summer for several years during the 1970s. It was created in 1975 as a new incarnation of the Texaco Cup, with a similar format t ...

. With the hosts leading 3–1 in the final minute, Blackpool goalkeeper Tom McAlister saved Thomson's penalty, tipping the ball onto the bar. It bounced down over the line, but by then the referee, Ashley, had blown his whistle to signal the end of the game. The goal did not count, but the spectators went home in the belief that the scoreline was 3–2. The official explained to Thomson and McAlister that the moment the ball had stopped travelling forwards the game was over and ruled it had ended the moment McAlister touched the ball.''Mad for It: From Blackpool to Barcelona: Football’s Greatest Rivalries'', Andy Mitten (2010)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomson, Ricky 1957 births Living people Footballers from Edinburgh Scottish men's footballers Men's association football forwards English Football League players Preston North End F.C. players