On Thursday, September 27 2001, Kilmarnock were put to the sword by Viking Stavanger in the first-round of the UEFA Cup thanks to a 3-1 aggregate defeat, after a 1-1 draw at Rugby Park.
A team consisting of Freddie Dindeleux, Garry Hay, Paul Di Giacomo and Christophe Cocard didn’t realise then, but that would be the last game Kilmarnock would play competitively in Europe for 18 years after a consistent run in the competition.
Back in the present day, Eamonn Brophy’s last-gasp penalty strike at home to Rangers on the final day of the season handed a Europa League place to the Rugby Park side, and they will take on Welsh Premier League side Connah’s Quay Nomads in the first qualifying round.
But what was the world like the last time Angelo Alessio’s men played in Europe?
• The average price of a pint of beer was £1.95.
• It was 77.9p for a litre of petrol.
• It would set you back 61p for 12 eggs in 2001.
• The most popular boys name for babies was Jack, with Chloe ranking highest for girls.
• The Nokia 6310 mobile phone was invented – very durable!
• Tony Blair was the United Kingdom’s Prime Minister as he was elected for the second time, George W Bush was the US President.
• Wikipedia was created in 2001, a handy tool for research.
• Apple created and released the iPod.
• Windows XP became available to the world.
And 2001 was a good year at the cinema, with plenty of top movies on the big screen, including the first Harry Potter film.
Top movies of 2001: Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (pictured above); The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring; Monsters Inc; Shrek; Ocean’s Eleven; Pearl Harbor; The Mummy Returns; Jurassic Park III; Planet of the Apes; Moulin Rouge.
Jennifer Lopez was at the top of the charts when Killie headed to Norway with her hit ‘I’m Real’.
Other notable events in 2001:
• 9/11 – Two planes crashed into the World Trade Centre buildings (the Twin Towers).
• The US invaded Afghanistan marking the beginning of the US “War on Terrorism” campaign, seeking to oust the Taliban and find Al-Qaeda mastermind Osama Bin Laden.
• The Leaning Tower of Pisa reopened after 11 years repairs to stop it falling over.
• Foot and Mouth Disease was found in the UK after 20 years.
