It was a strange day. I remember leaving my flat in Kirkcudbright at about nine in the morning to make it up to my parent's house in Bishopton, where I met up with my brother before heading on to Fir Park. We were in Motherwell about an hour early and in the ground well before kick-off. There was a massive Saints support, numbering around 3,000, as we all hoped we could get the result needed to improve our survival hopes.
We went with the same team that had done so well against Dundee United a week earlier. Alex Burke and Stewart Keane, hardly the most threatening strikeforce in the world, started, while Andy Millen was in midfield. Not a lot happened in the first half and we were fairly toothless. Seven minutes before half time, Motherwell took the lead when Millen failed to mark Ross McCormack and he headed in the opener. At exactly the same time, Dunfermline scored against Inverness. As things stood, we were bottom.
Things did not get much better early in the second half. Millen gave away a penalty, McCormack scored. We were done for. There was no way we could get even a point from this game and Dunfermline weren't going to slip up. We hadn't scored all three goals in the league all season. I began to think about trips to Palmerston and Broadwood, places I'd hoped never to have to go to watch Saints again.
Minutes seem like hours. Time passed. Gus MacPherson took the gamble. With the last throw of the dice he hooked Burke and Millen and threw on Billy Mehmet and Sutton. If we were going down, we might as well have gone down fighting.
That was five minutes after Motherwell's goal. According to the stats, it took just two minutes for things to work, but it felt like much longer. Alan Reid's cross was met by Sutton and he tamely headed it straight at keeper Colin Meldrum. As I got ready to shout obscenities at Sutton for his meek effort, the ball hit the ground - and didn't bounce up. Instead, it went straight through Meldrum's legs and across the line.
The momentum was now with us and we drew level three minutes later. A throw in found its way to Kirk Broadfoot and the Rangers-bound defender laid it off to Mehmet, who curled a beauty into the corner. All square! How on earth did that happen?
After a false alarm, there was more good news when Caley Thistle equalised. Both teams were going for it, with McCormack going close a couple of times before Sutton and David van Zanten were denied by a combination of Meldrum and the woodwork. At that point I really did think we were going to suffer more torture and it reminded me of the FA Cup Final from the mid 1970s where Sunderland beat Leeds. One famous clip shows Leeds battering the Sunderland goal, and even when a Leeds striker lying on the ground flicks out a foot to direct the ball towards goal it still stays out.
With six minutes left, Broadfoot went down and we had a free-kick. Motherwell had a chance to clear it and one of their defenders headed it up in the air. When it came down one of them did the same again. That time it fell to Sutton, who absolutely hammered it into the net to spark utter bedlam, joy and ecstasy from the Saints fans behind the goal.
With the seconds ticking away, the final corkscrew in this rollercoaster of a day arrived - Caley Thistle had scored against Dunfermline. Never has a group of supporters sung "We are staying up" with such gusto as full time drew near. When the whistle went, that was it - we were safe. From despair and the drop to delight and safety in the space of 40 action packed minutes or so.
I shall never forget that day. The atmosphere was better than anything I've ever experienced as a Saints fan and the only word to describe what happened on the pitch is unbelievable.
The fighting spirit, the passion and commitment from all the players, management and supporters that day should stand as an example to the players of 2009. If you show that desire, that drive to get the results this week, we will stay up.
And if you need any more motivation, have a look at this to experience the emotions for yourself: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErUSVbgurBM