1993-94 – Rangers 2 Hibs 1 – Ally McCoist’s overhead kick
Number 14? Yes, this was McCoist coming on as sub. It was his first appearance after recovering from a broken leg suffered against Portugal while on Scotland duty, and what an introduction! The look on his face after he scores says it all. Coming into this match – played in the days when the League Cup Final was always settled before Christmas – Hibs were actually leading the table and Rangers were in fourth. It wouldn’t last for long. With McCoist back, Walter Smith’s side won their sixth consecutive title comfortably over Motherwell and Aberdeen (Hibs finished 5th).
1994-95 – Raith Rovers 2 Celtic 2 – Paul McStay’s missed penalty
This was the nadir for that terrible Celtic team in the early nineties. Any kids reading this probably won’t believe it, but there’s a small generation of fans who grew up thinking Celtic were just another team that brought an unusually large away support. They went eight years without finishing in the top two with this being the last of those forgettable seasons. Things would soon pick up – they won the Scottish Cup later that campaign – but they had to endure the sickening thud before the dead cat bounce. For Raith Rovers it is one of the greatest days in the club’s history. Won on penalties after Gordon Dalziel had immediately equalised what looked sure to be the game winner from Charlie Nicholas with four minutes remaining. That’s keeper Scott Thompson doing the “I’m so f****** happy/is this real?” manic celebration.
1996-97 – Rangers 4 Hearts 3 – Paul Gascoigne drives through Hearts
Arguably the best League Cup Final in living memory. Hearts were 2-0 down early on to an Ally McCoist double and the “hear we go again” feeling sunk heavily over the crowd six months after the same opponents had trounched them 5-1 in the Scottish Cup Final. Yet the defiant Hearts players refused to let fatalism set in and fought their way back into the match with goals from Stevie Fulton and John Robertson. This terrific goal from Gascoigne was shortly after the equaliser and immediately killed the underdogs’ momentum. In fact, Gazza would kill the game off with a second of the evening a couple of minutes later. The .GIF is also noted for one tactical wrinkle which helped Hearts compete with the champions but ultimately cost them at this crucial juncture. Paul Ritchie was charged with man marking Brian Laudrup. He excelled to the extent that Laudrup had one of his quietest games in a Rangers jersey, though he did impact that goal without touching the ball; bending his run around the defence and dragging Ritchie out of the area where Gazza would strike from.
2002-03 – Rangers 2 Celtic 1 – John Hartson’s Missed Penalty
When it’s not your day sometimes it’s REALLY not your day. 2-0 down to first half goals from Claudio Caniggia and Peter Lovenkrands, Celtic managed to haul themselves back into the game via the head of Henrik Larsson but then had a debated goal ruled out for offside. Pressing to keep themselves in the match, Neil Lennon was sent off for a second booking and Chris Sutton went off injured. And yet they refused to give up and were ultimately rewarded with this late penalty. The look on Hartson’s face says it all.
2003-04 – Livingston 2 Hibs 0 – Jamie McAllister’s Goal
Looking back, this shouldn’t have been so much of a shock. It was an average top six team against an average bottom six team. What made Hibs the heavy favourites was that it just seemed like everything was swinging in their direction. They’d beaten Celtic AND Rangers on their march to the final, they had this group of highly talented young players that the Scottish media loved, there were 30,000+ Hibs fans attending the group and, to top it all off, their opponents had not long gone into administration. They were the better team in the first half but couldn’t find a breakthrough and were stunned when Derek Lilley gave Livingston the lead, so much so that they then allowed this defensive calamity to happen. Livingston never looked like conceding after that and the clock simply ticked down to the final whistle, bringing with it Livingston’s only major trophy win.
2007-08 – Rangers 2 Dundee United 2 – Mark Kerr’s Backpass
This wasn’t just a horrible moment for Dundee United fans, it was a horrible moment for neutrals everywhere who so badly wanted the plucky underdog, who were outstanding on the day, to hold out for this unlikely victory. Five minutes were all that were left when Kerr executed one of the most ill-advised back-passes in Scottish Football history. Kris Boyd (who else?) latched onto it, sending the game into extra-time. The mean spirited git would then do it again with seven minutes remaining in the additional period before scoring the winning penalty in the shootout. It should be remembered as the “Kris Boyd Final”, and probably is by Rangers fans, but everyone else just thinks of this.
2008-09 – Celtic 2 Rangers 0 – Darren O’Dea’s Header
This was included to appease the Celtic fans who have watched a few iconic moments go against them. I swear it’s not our fault. Celtic have won five League Cup finals in the past 20 years but this was the only one that was remotely close. Rangers have won nine within that time and seven of those were either decided by one goal or on penalties. The Bhoys either seem to win a final at a canter or they don’t win it at all. This moment is at least cool for an unlikely scorer becoming the hero in a cup final. It kicked off an entertaining extra-time period in which Celtic battered Rangers, who had all the stuffing knocked out of them by this goal. Aiden McGeady’s injury time penalty settled things.
2009-10 – Rangers 1 St Mirren 0 – Nine Men Win
The horrible moment when you just thought “ah **** it, what’s the point?” The duopoly has always been bad, but going into this match the Old Firm had won 27 of the last 30 major trophies on offer. Then St Mirren did something nobody expected. They came out and they were better than Rangers. They were more organised, they wanted it more and they even threatened with greater frequency than their heavily favoured opponents. Then Danny Wilson gets sent off. Then Kevin Thomson gets sent off. Rangers are down to nine men… then this happened. For every child who had chosen to go against the grain in their impressionable years it was a miserable confirmation that there was no point in fighting it. There was an inevitability about Scottish football that we just had to accept. Or so we thought. Dundee United won the Scottish Cup that season and since then the Old Firm will (after Sunday’s events) have won seven out of 12 trophies. It’s still a duopoly, briefly a monopoly, but it’s still easier to take. Jesus, who sad are we?
2011-12 – Kilmarnock 1 Celtic 0 – Dieter Van Tornhout
Kilmarnock fans should be ashamed of themselves. See on YouTube, there’s about a million different videos showing goals, highlights, after match celebrations of Hearts’ Scottish Cup win over Hibs. For Killie beating Celtic, there’s just this grainy footage someone shot with a camera phone on their TV. It must be the apathy with all those other League Cup wins you have. Granted, those who own the DVD or recorded the game might not have the technological know-how to put it on the internet, but there will be a Killie fan somewhere who knows how to do that. Team up! Anyway, the goalscorer was Dieter Van Tornhout: a mid-season signing and second half sub who did absolutely nothing else of note in his brief Kilmarnock career other than score this goal and will one day score “zero” on a Scottish Broadcasting Corporation version of ‘Pointless’.
2012-13 – St Mirren 3 Hearts 2 – Connor Newton’s Winner
The more iconic moment is Steven Thompson scoring the goal that put St Mirren 2-1 up. After all, he’s a St Mirren supporter and the expression on his face you everything you need to know about what he means to him and the fans. But there’s already a .GIF on that. And, in the end, this was the goal that turned out to be the winner and it’s certainly the best finish of the day. Plus, it’s always cool to think that a young Newcastle player, who may well live out the majority of his career down south, has given a set of supporters a memory they’ll never forget in a national final in front of 40,000 people.
Here’s one more moment that deserves a mention. There wasn’t much to show from the game – which was heavily one-sided – but the after game celebrating cannot be begrudged. I (Craig Fowler) am a Hearts fan and even I think this is a pretty cool moment.
)
Subscribe to Podcast