The time 3-41 p.m., the date 13th April , 2002 and the venue, Palmerston Park. Anyone remember it? Yes, it was the day that Colin Scott made his most important save for Queens. Our opponents that afternoon were Hamilton Accies who had just been awarded a penalty. Stuart Callaghan stepped up to take the kick, struck it well, but Colin dived to his right and spectacularly palmed the ball round the post for a corner. Queens went on to win the match 3-1 and clinch promotion and just a week later won the Second Division title with a victory up at Forfar. Colin remembers the moment well but modestly claims that it was all in a day's work although it meant so much to the Palmerston faithful. Colin started playing football at the tender age of eight when he turned out for his local Boys Brigade team in Glasgow. When he grew older and as his career progressed he was selected for the Glasgow Schools Select and then for the Scottish Schoolboys side. He had a brief spell in the Junior ranks with Dalry Thistle then at the age of 17 he was signed by mighty Glasgow Rangers. "It was like a dream come true" he confessed. "For it must be every young footballers fantasy to play for one of the 'Old Firm' and it had come true for me. Chris Woods, England's international keeper was number one goalie at Ibrox then and he looked after me well but in 1991 Andy Goram was signed. He was a real character but I learned a lot from Andy, and for a player who was to turn out 260 times for the club and collect 43 international caps he was so down to earth and always willing to help and offer advice at any time. The other keeper at Ibrox at that time was Billy Thomson, and we all got on very well together. Little did I realise then that Andy Goram and I would become team-mates again at Queen of the South some ten years later".

Apart from brief loan spells at Brentford and Airdrie, Colin spent nine happy years with Rangers and made 24 first team appearances. In particular he remembers the 'Old Firm' matches against Celtic--also the cup triumphs and the title-winning celebrations which will linger in his memory forever. But there were disappointments as well, like the time he suffered a cruciate injury and was sidelined for an entire season.

After departing Ibrox he played for Hamilton Accies, Raith Rovers and Clydebank before joining Queens in October, 2000. To date he has made 65 first team appearances and recalls three games in particular--the title-winning victory up at Forfar, that match against Hamilton which clinched promotion (as mentioned earlier) and the Challenge Cup semi-final against St Mirren at Love Street.

Said Colin "I played in all the Challenge Cup ties up to the final and was naturally very disappointed to miss it. I suffered a leg injury at Dundee about a month before the cup final and was not fully recovered, so Andy got the nod. But we won the cup and that's what really matters"

The one footballer he admires most is Zinedine Zidane who he rates as a true professional but away from football he admires snooker great, Stephen Hendry for his remarkable level of concentration.

Colin is happily married and stays in Uddingston with his wife Marie and their two young daughters and only recently started up his own driving school. And his ambitions for the future? "At one time I considered becoming a goalkeeping coach when I hung up my boots, but I'm not so sure now" he admits.

Bill Goldie