March 1976 brought a set of cup fixtures that would live long in the memory and become part of the history of Montrose FC.

When the draw was made, who could have guessed it would take three outstanding games for Premier League Heart of Midlothian to overcome Montrose FC in the Quarter-Final of the Scottish Cup.

The first match took place at Links Park, and it couldn’t have been a tie that Hearts were looking forward to. Montrose were one of the highest scoring sides in the UK with 63 goals to that point. They’d recorded a 6-1 away win at Dumbarton, a 7-O win at Methil and were on the verge of a promotion spot.

The Evening Telegraph of Friday, March 5th, predicted that Hearts would “need all their fighting qualities” to win the tie.

The following day, Montrose was invaded by an “army” of around 5,000 Jambos that boosted the attendance to 8,200, the second highest ever at Links Park.

The teams that day read: Montrose – Gorman, Barr, Markland, McNicol, D’Arcy, Cant, Lowe, Stewart, Livingstone, Johnston, Miller, subs. Guthrie, Walker. Hearts – Cruickshanks, Clunie, Jeffries, Brown, Gallacher, Murray, Aird, Busby, Gibson, Callachan, Shaw, subs. Fraser, Park.

Montrose suffered an early blow when Stuart Markland was taken off with a broken rib. However, young Alex Walker who replaced him was to have a magnificent game.

Montrose dominated a goalless first half and began to turn the screw immediately after the break, as they realised they were more than a match for the Edinburgh side. Links Park erupted at 12 minutes past four when Malcolm Lowe collected a Barr free-kick to score.

An unfortunate own goal by Dave McNicol gave Hearts a shock equaliser before an lan Stewart header restored the Montrose lead.

It seemed that Montrose had avenged their 1970 cup defeat until a Graham Shaw equaliser with the clock reading 4.45 p.m.

Hundreds of Hearts fans invaded the pitch with relief. Many more had already left the ground. Hearts did not deserve the draw but most of the sporting press reckoned they would finish off Montrose at Tynecastle.

Kenny Cameron, however, thought that Montrose could still win through: “l am confident we can still beat them,” he told the Courier. “The players feel they can win and at the end of the day that’s what counts.”

The winners would meet Dumbarton in the semi- final, so both clubs were keen to win as they would have an excellent chance of reaching the final.

“Montrose can play as well as many teams we have met in the Premier Division, they’ll be no pushover,” warned Hearts manager John Haggart.

A 16,288 crowd packed Tynecastle, including around 800 Montrosians who’d made the long mid- week journey South.

They witnessed a tremendous cup-tie that saw Montrose lead 2-0 through goals by Johnston and a Barr penalty, before Hearts pulled back through Shaw and Gibson. Dave Gorman saved a penalty and Cant and Callachan were sent off after a punch- up in a game that had everything.

The match went to extra-time but finished 2-2 – a neutral venue for a second replay would be required. Hearts wanted Easter Road as the neutral venue, while Montrose hoped for Dens Park. The SFA picked Muirton Park, Perth.

Montrose were quite happy at the choice. “l think it’s fair to both sets of supporters as Perth is equidistant from Edinburgh and Montrose,” said Chairman William Johnston.

Cup fever gripped Montrose like never before.

Over 35 special buses were booked to travel to Perth, including one taking US Navy personnel from their base at Edzell.

Around 2,500 made the journey south on Monday, March 15th. Their numbers were boosted by a large turn-out of Perth fans intent on cheering Montrose. Such was their combined numbers that they made up half the 10,047 gate.

Again, Montrose dominated and scored before half-time through Jimmy Cant. They had another goal “chalked off” before Hearts equalised through Graham Shaw in the 67th minute.

The match went to extra-time again, and it was only now that Hearts superior fitness began to tell. Callachan got the winner in the 109th minute to take Hearts into the semi’s and ultimately a final appearance against Rangers*.

All Montrose had to show was a cheque for around £8,500 as their share of the three gates. But they could hold their heads up high. They had played the better football throughout the three ties.

*It was so, so close for Montrose in all three games. If they had won, they would have gone on to play Dumbarton in the semi-final and they had already won 6-0 away at Dumbarton in the league. Surely, they would have beaten Dumbarton in the cup and gone on to play Rangers in the final which would have meant qualification to the European Cup Winners Cup as Rangers had already secured European Cup qualification – if only…