At the end of the next season [78/79] Dundee United were top after playing their Thirty Six matches-unfortunately for united a terrible winter[some teams didn’t play for Two months] caused a huge fixture back log and the old firm had enough games in hand take the top Two places-Celtic finishing top with Forty Eight points,Rangers Three points behind.United finished Third with Forty Four points and Aberdeen ended up in Fourth place with Forty points. Hibs,in Fifth place,had a fine season at home-losing only Twice and conceding less than a goal a game. St Mirren and Morton finished on Thirty Six points each,a point behind Hibs and Eighth placed Partick Thistle were only Eleven points behind runners up,Rangers.Hearts and Motherwell finished well off the pace with Twenty Three and Seventeen points respectively. So,after four seasons of Premier league football things seemed to be a bit more competitive but it was still Fourteen years since a team outwith the old firm had won the league. The 1979-80 season was the season when the storm from the East first blew across the premier league. Aberdeen finally broke the old firm duopoly when they finished the season as champions,a point ahead of Celtic[Forty Seven] and Six ahead of Third placed St Mirren who ended up on Forty Two points.Dundee United and Rangers were Fourth and Fifth,respectively,finishing the season on Thirty Seven points-Eleven points behind champions,Aberdeen and Eleven points ahead of relegated Dundee.The Dark Blues had the small consolation of not finishing bottom on account of Hibs losing Twenty Four of Thirty Six league matches.Sixteen of their Eighteen points were won at home. Dundee United kept Fourteen clean sheets in their Eighteen home matches,conceding just six goals and losing Two matches.Earlier in the season United picked up their first major honour when they beat Aberdeen in the League cup final-with Celtic winning the Scottish cup we had the Three major trophies being won by Three different teams.So,a healthy argument for the premier league achieving what it set out to achieve.Some facts and figures to come in part Four
wee premier league history-part three -1978-79
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