Scottish Cup: Aberdeen v Celtic

Aberdeen v Celtic.

Four games so far this season and Celtic have racked up an aggregate score of 17-1. They probably just edge it as favourites today.

Coming into the weekend this was seen as the semi-final that would likely turn out the more one sided affair. Then marvellous Motherwell led the sorry Saints on a first half dance at Hampden yesterday.

Can Aberdeen offer us some nerve tingling excitement today?

It’s a tough ask. Aside from a brief revival when Craig Brown arrived as manager this has been another season of underwhelming struggle at Pittodrie.

Their last four league games have resulted in four defeats. In losing to Hibs and St Mirren they haven’t indicated an intent to rail against their lowly status by cutting a swathe through the bottom six.

I still feel that in Brown they have a manager who can bring some positive northern light to Aberdeen. But that’s in the future.

Right now they need to find a way of leaving their league form behind them and figuring out how to perform against a team that has destroyed them more than once this season.

Celtic, in a season of distraction and complication, have a simple enough task ahead of them. Win every game and a new team with a novice manager will have won the double.

It would a hell of an achievement. Delivering that will, of course, not be quite as easy, but dispatching Aberdeen today will be the removal of another important obstacle.

The last time these sides met at Hampden Celtic’s first half performance was outstanding. The pace of their play, their attacking verve showed them at their best. It was a game that confirmed the impression that the depth and quality of the Celtic squad is without equal in Scotland this season.

That the league is not yet sewn up, that a treble chance has eluded them is because their consistency has not always matched their abilities.

In recent weeks a ruthless first half dismantling of Hibs on the back of the league cup final defeat offered the most articulate example of their superiority.

Another 45 minutes like that today, in a game that doesn’t carry the tightness of the SPL’s nip and tuck battle with Rangers, will beat Aberdeen. Even an Aberdeen free from the fug of their league despondency will not be able to live with that kind of Celtic performance.

So Celtic are massively strong favourites with the ability to render even a markedly improved Aberdeen performance meaningless. The ability, in fact, to make just like Motherwell and have this game done and dusted before the first half is out.

But football often rages against the most obvious plots, the underdog occasionally destroys the script.

At this stage my mind drifts back to a very different version of Neil Lennon’s Celtic arriving at Hampden at the same stage of the Scottish Cup last year.

Ross County proved that anything can happen. That stinging experience is likely only to strengthen Celtic’s resolve today.

I’d expect - I’d hope in another semi final with a TV reach beyond our own limited border - that Aberdeen will make a game of it today.

But it’s Celtic all the way for me.

The last review

Another day, another review of the season.

Actually this one is the start of a monthly overview of all things Scottish football across on Albion Road:

This is turning into a really depressing review, isn’t it? It wasn’t all bad. Honestly. 39 year old David Weir played every minute of every league match as he captained Rangers to the title. He was rewarded with a host of Player of the Year awards. Few would grudge him the accolades although his teammate Steven Davis, at the heart of so much that Rangers do well, would have pipped him to the gongs had the voters cast aside sentimentality.

Rangers achievement in winning the title – leaving aside the flimsy nature of Celtic’s opposition – was proof of what a decent manager with a committed, hardworking team playing to their strengths can achieve. Financial uncertainty means Walter Smith’s future remains unclear. If this is to be his last hurrah then he leaves as one of the Ibrox greats.

Dundee United’s Scottish Cup win was a welcome break on the Old Firm’s stranglehold of the silverware. Combined with third place in the SPL it was a real statement of intent about United’s plans for establishing themselves as the best of the rest. The Scottish Cup also gave us Ross County and their incredible run to the final. Their win over Celtic in the semi-finals was one of the biggest results Scottish football has ever seen and sparked life into a season that provided little cause for enthusiasm. We’re all due the Staggies a big thank you.

And that is pretty much that as far as 2009/2010 in Scottish football is concerned.

I didn't do awards this year but very briefly:

• Player - Steven Davis (if he'd already turned 40 he'd have swept the board. And that comeback victory over John Higgins was a joy to behold)
• Young Player - Anthony Stokes (20-plus goals for a non Old Firm team is exceptional. To do it for a team that stopped playing in February is all the more remarkable.)
• Team - Dundee United (best of the rest, a cup win, recovered from both the loss of their manager and a mid season wobble.)
• Manager - Danny Lennon (brilliant promotion against a backdrop of misery.)

So onwards to 2010/2011. With a World Cup to negotiate on the way. Bring it on.

Scottish Cup Final: Dundee United 3:0 Ross County

So Goliath emerged unscathed, David was sent back to the Highlands licking his wounds.

Congratulations to Dundee United. They were below par. But they managed to keep their heads and they were deserving winners. Three good finishes as well, from Goodwillie and twice from Conway.

The game itself was a disappointment. The first half especially seemed oddly flat. United looked nervy at being favourites and resorted to a long ball game that doesn't play to their strengths.

County also seemed unsure of themselves. Were they overawed by the occasion? Perhaps, but they would also be aware that the surprise factor disappeared when they beat Celtic. They remained underdogs but now they had the weight of expectation as well, they were known giant-killers.

Whatever the reason they failed to perform, couldn't find their natural game. When United emerged for the second half they had more confidence, suddenly they looked like they felt they had less to fear and they dominated. You always felt that it was only a matter of time.

And that was to be expected. There is a big gulf between these two teams, United 3rd in the SPL and County only 5th in the First Division.

You'll struggle to find a United fan who cares about the quality of the game. They'll be celebrating, a cup win and their emergence as the current holders of the "third force" crown. Now they'll be looking at the board to keep the team - and manager - at Tannadice.

It feels patronising to say that Ross County did well just to get there. But they did and that, rather than a poor performance today, should be the memory they take from their run. Judging by the way they stayed, even at 3-0 down, to applaud the players they are already thinking that way.

Nor did United want County to dominate the "romance of the cup" stories. Lee Wilkie led the team out and helped captain Andy Webster raise the trophy. Chairman Stephen Thompson was obviously thinking of his late father Eddie as he celebrated.

Lots of stories. A good day. Not an Old Firm team in sight and two teams that can look back on seasons to be proud of.

It niggles now that game didn't deliver as we would have liked. That will soon be forgotten.

This season - for both teams and their fans - won't.

Dundee United 3 v 0 Ross County
Goodwillie 61
Conway 75, 86

Scottish Cup Live

Dundee United v Ross County
Scottish Cup Final, Hampden

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Just seen this (via Twitter): Dingwall's Wikipedia entry as of five minutes ago:

Scottish Cup Final Preview

Time to look ahead to the game.

Dundee United or Ross County. Ninety minutes from destiny.

County will have a lot of support, including what seems to be an extraordinary exodus from the Highlands, as the underdogs.

Others will just be delighted that a different name will be on the cup by the end of the day. On BBC Radio Five this morning an interviewer asked Peter Houston if people were a bit fed up of the Old Firm dominance.

You could say.

As a neutral (I'm a sucker for romance but there's cockle warming tales aplenty from both sides) I'm hoping for that old cliche - a darn good game.

At the moment I'm backing United to sneak it. But not by much.

We know by now the qualities of this United team. And in finishing third with relative ease in the SPL they have shown their spirit and determination. I can't see this United freezing today.

But County too have shown their guile. Don't expect them to get stage fright. The Celtic game (for which, even now, I feel they have not been given enough credit) was proof of their appetite for the big games.

Good managers involved too. Derek Adams has managed above accusations of nepotism and is now mentioned as one of the bright young things in Scotland.

Peter Houston has stepped out of Craig Levein's shadow (tittle-tattle apart) to take this team further than Levein himself ever managed.

So the stage is set for a enthralling match. And, yes, it looks like being much better than the FA Cup showdown at Wembley on their crappy pitch. Ha!

My prediction remains United for glory. But I think, and hope, it will be close. Maybe the odd goal, maybe extra time. Maybe even a spot of penalties.

That would be fitting on the 20th anniversary of this:

1922 and all that

The glitz and the glamour of Scottish Cup final.

Ye cannae whack it, right enough.

As is my wont I've been doing some serious historical research/mucking about on YouTube to mark the occasion.

And I've managed to find out a bit more about the 1922 Scottish Cup final.

If you are looking for omens then this might be one for the minnows (via Greenock Morton Supporters' Trust):

However, the clubs greatest achievement was reserved for April 1922, when Morton football club won the Scottish cup. On the way to the final Morton disposed of:

Vale of Leithen (h) 4-1
Clydebank (after replay) – (h) 1-1 & (a) 3-1
Clyde (h) 4-1
Motherwell (a) 2-1
Aberdeen (semi-final) – 3-1 - Dens Park

Before defeating Rangers 1 – 0 in the final at Hampden park, Glasgow.

Morton survived an early round scare in the match against Clydebank at Cappielow, being somewhat fortunate to gain a replay which they won 3-1.

The goal heroes in the semi-final against Aberdeen were Alex McNab and George French (2 goals) and it was a severe blow to Morton when French was ruled out of the final because of injury. However, on 27 April, 1922, in front of 75,000 spectators, Morton won the Scottish cup for their one and only time, when a Jimmy Gourlay goal, from a free-kick in the 11th minute, brought the cup to Greenock.

The 11 heroes on the day were:

Edwards, McIntyre, R. Brown, Gourlay, Wright, McGregor (captain), McNab, McKay, Buchanan, A. Brown, McMinn

After the game Morton had to rush away to play a friendly against Hartlepool, only after that could 10,000 fans descend on Cappielow to celebrate with their heroes.

One Golac was enough

Any talk about Dundee United's Scottish Cup win over Rangers in 1994 always throws up a couple of Scottish football's great unanswered questions.

How did they fail to win the trophy in the Jim McLean era? And how did anyone ever expect McLean and Ivan Golac to enjoy a stable working relationship.

The first might be put down to nothing more than a footballing hoodoo. They can happen.

The second is more interesting. Golac, the Serbian manager who liked his players to stop and smell the flowers, and McLean, the gruff manager turned chairman who could kill a whole rose garden with a sideways glance.

That really was an uneasy coalition.

Yet it survived long enough to bring the Scottish Cup to Tannadice for the first time. And nobody knew better than McLean the magnitude of that feat: six times over the course of three decades he'd led the club to defeats in the cup final.

The intriguing Golac was somewhat miscast in the Scottish football of the early 1990s and his tenure was brief. He went on to manage a chocolate factory in Belgrade.

It's probably safe to say that was never one of Jim McLean's ambitions.

United's Winning Team: Guido van de Kamp, Maurice Malpas, Gordan Petrić, Brian Welsh, Jim McInally, David Bowman, David Hannah, Alex Cleland, Christian Dailly, Craig Brewster, Andy McLaren (Jerren Nixon).

Brewster's winning goal is always worth a look, United extracting a modicum of revenge on former Motherwell 'keeper Ally Maxwell:

Those lost finals

1973/74 0-3 v Celtic
1980/81 1-4 v Rangers (Replay)
1984/85 1-2 v Celtic
1986/87 0-1 v St Mirren
1987/88 1-2 v Celtic
1990/91 3-4 v Motherwell
2004/05 0-1 v Celtic (United manager was Gordon Chisholm)

County must escape shadow of history

Ross County won't just be playing Dundee United on Saturday at Hampden they'll be playing history.

Sorry, of course they will just be playing Dundee United. But, aborted cliche apart, the size of the task does look unenviable.

We've become used in the last few years to the Scottish Cup throwing up romantic tales of derring-do from lower league sides.

Ross County are the third side from outside the top flight to contest the final in the last five years and the fifth side in the last 16 finals.

(Starting with Airdrie in 1994/95, we've had Falkirk in 1997, Gretna in 2006 and Queen of the South in 2008.)

So it works out roughly as a lower division side once every three years. Big deal?

Perhaps, but before Airdrie in 1995 you have to go all the way back to East Fife in 1938 to find a lower division side in the final, a feat they'd also managed in 1927.*

We're living in a golden era for Scottish Cup minnows. And that's nice because there's not much else golden about at the moment.

The problem for Ross County is translating the romance of the road to Hampden into glory. How to convert the goodwill into a win?

In the long history of the cup only that 1938 East Fife side that has gone to the final from the lower divisions and left with the Scottish Cup.

The Fife drew 1-1 with Kilmarnock before winning the replay 4-2 in front of more than 92000 fans:

A crowd of 91,710 turned out for the replay on Wednesday 27th April. After the Fifers had managed to hold out during an early Killie onslaught, McKerrell unleashed a fierce shot at the other end of the park to put the ‘underdogs’ ahead. Within six minutes, however, the First Division club had turned the match around and went in at half-time 2-1 ahead.

Despite further pressure from Kilmarnock early in the second half, East Fife managed to square the match once again just before the hour-mark, when McLeod scored with an overhead kick. When the final whistle sounded, the score was still level at two goals apiece and the match went into extra time. As the additional 30 minutes progressed, East Fife slowly gained the upper hand using the wings to great advantage and soon had the Kilmarnock goal under severe pressure.

Sensing that the underdogs were about to have their day, the crowd roared encouragement and, with ten minutes remaining, Miller scored to send the black and gold bunnets high in the air. With the Fifers in total control as the light began to fade, McKerrell scored a fourth to put the result beyond doubt and the Scottish Cup was on its way to Methil!

Omens for Ross County? Like Dundee United, Kilmarnock knocked Rangers out on the way to the final.

And like Ross County, East Fife's cup run caused them to run out of steam in the league. Like County they ended up finishing fifth and missing out on promotion.

Spooky.

Well, maybe not. But when you're playing against the weight of history and Dundee United (slipped the cliche in after all), you'll take all the help you can get.

*Queen's Park weren't in the top flight when they beat Celtic in the 1892/93 final. But nor were they a lower division club. Having refused to join the league set-up Queen's Park were more like a specialist cup side!

State visit

Humour me. Allow me one last moment of politics. Just one last moment, before we all roll up our sleeves and volunteer for the coalition's Big Society. It's all in the national interest.

David Cameron has promised to govern Scotland with "respect" and will travel north of Hadrian's Wall within the week, carrying a whopping, Calman sized gift.

Might I be so presumptious as to suggest a destination?

As a keen football fan (he's a Villain!) Mr Cameron will know that this weekend sees Ross County and Dundee United contest the Active Nation Scottish Cup Final.

What better way to bring his message of hope to the people of Scotland? A nation, at this stage, still to share in the Cameroonian love.

And there's a precedent that would go down well in the Tory heartlands. He'd be making a pilgrimage in the footsteps of dear old Margaret.

She handed over the trophy to Celtic captain Roy Aitken in 1988. I'm sure David would love to unite both sets of supporters at the national stadium just as Mrs Thatcher did 22 years ago.

In one voice, Celtic and Dundee United supporters saluted her

See you there, Dave!

An old fashioned romance

Cinderella has removed her jacket and offered Hansel and Gretel outside.

It’s the battle of the fairytales, as the Scottish Cup goes head to head with its English counterpart. Will it be Ross County or Portsmouth who warm the cockles more come the 15th of May?

I suppose, in case the title of this blog isn’t giveaway enough, I should probably declare a slight conflict of interest in favour of Scottish football.

But, come on, it says everything you need to know about the rotten heart of English football that some papers are trying to paint Portsmouth’s run to the final as a triumph for the romance of the FA Cup.

I’m happy for their fans. But the Portsmouth story is of greed, mismanagement, dodgy dealings and disaster. An all too common football tragedy but hardly the stuff that dreams are made of. “Hey, look at us, the best league in the world driven to the brink of meltdown by an insane belief in the value of naked greed, let’s all celebrate that one of the worst offenders has actually been rewarded for one of the craziest season’s football’s ever known.”

If they ever come to film the story of Portsmouth then I’m guessing it’s more likely to be directed by Oliver Stone than it is to star Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks.

Compare that to the tale of Ross County. Of Derek and George Adams providing a dash of family magic. Of more people than actually live in Dingwall watching them at Hampden. Of their ascent from middling Highland League club to national finalists.

Of them out-fighting, out-thinking and out-playing Celtic.

A script that the Hallmark Channel might turn down as being a bit too treacly.

It might be argued that we’ve been here before with Gretna but when we followed their story we were watching a mirage. Ross County’s feet remain on the ground. Gretna, like Portsmouth, had their heads in the clouds and were too dizzy by the prospect of success to realise that the madness that enveloped them was slowly killing them.

Romance in the cup? You can ignore the south of England. It’s all happening up north this year.

Robbie Keane
Only here for the money? Perhaps. And, as gambles go, his £65,000 a week wage must now be considered on of Dermot Desmond’s less impressive punts. One thing though, Scottish football’s richest player at least gave the impression of wanting to win on Saturday. His attitude to teammates that seemed to want to do nothing more than disappear suggest he’ll not be hanging around in the summer.

I’m sure his weekend didn’t improve when he saw Spurs crash out to Portsmouth giving Keane an unusual, perhaps unique, cup double.

Super County go ballistic, Celtic are atrocious

Apologies for the headline. Hardly original. I'm guessing you'll see it more than once over the next 24 hours.

OK, so I called it wrong on my prediction post (not, thankfully, in the bookies).

Celtic 0 v 2 Ross County

I'll do a video printer on that. It's Celtic 0 (nil) v Ross County 2 (two).

The biggest result in the Scottish Cup's history? The worst result in Celtic's history? They're big claims and it's too early to make them.

But, dearie me, it's an absolute stunner of a result.

A fitting end for Celtic's season. The end of any hopes Neil Lennon had of taking over permanently. Can they raise themselves to secure second?

And the signal for yet more soul searching at Celtic Park. Time for the board to fall on their swords?

Questions for later. Today, in the match, Celtic were beaten by a better side.

So we should be celebrating Ross County's achievement. Which is huge, absolutely huge. A cup final. Knocking leading SPL teams out on the way. Magnificent.

Celtic were bad. But Ross County were better than them by quite a distance. Corners, attempts, territory. Celtic were dominated by the First Division side. County got everything they deserved. So, in a completely different way, did Celtic.

Earlier today I wrote:

Yes, they have a chance (and they will still be patronised by Sky Sports). Will they win? I think probably not. Do I hope they win? Absolutely. Celtic in the final is boring, a reward for a season of mismanagement that they don't deserve.

Nobody is patronising County now.

Not that I want to hijack Ross County's win. But. Is this not quite an argument for both the pyramid system and a larger SPL. I think it might just be.

Neil Lennon:

"Two things you can't give them is hunger and desire. And this team is really lacking in that department. You can see today why Tony lost his job, we've gone out of every competition with a whimper."

"Some of them [players] don't deserve to be here. They went out and took game for granted. We were living in hope at half time. 

"Major surgery, major surgery. Nowhere near good enough for Celtic. 

"You've got to call it as you see it. Totally unacceptable. Last chance of silverware, went out with a whimper. That's an indictement on me."

Craig Levein:

Biggest shock was how much County deserved to win it. Feel for Neil Lennon but unfortunately this will become all about Celtic, it should be all about Ross County."

"Neil's players should be hurting more than him but they won't be. He'll be feeling it more than anyone."

Double fantasy

The romance of the Scottish Cup.

Ross County battle to their first semi final and are rewarded with that most traditional of kick off times. Yes, it's the much coveted 12.15 kick off at Hampden.

Not going to say anymore, a rant free weekend will help my equilibrium. Maybe I should try meditation. Or at least medication.

So County, the Staggies, the marauding clansmen, the brave highlanders, the plucky minnows, the pride of Dingwall. Today is their day in the sun. Have they got any chance? Or will they simply have to make do with being patronised by Sky Sports for a couple of hours?

Yes, they have a chance (and they will still be patronised by Sky Sports). Will they win? I think probably not. Do I hope they win? Absolutely. Celtic in the final is boring, a reward for a season of mismanagement that they don't deserve.

Celtic are still beatable. The cult of Neil Lennon may be growing but, in truth, he's not working miracles, hasn't given evidence of his genius. Celtic fans should probably be wary of giving him to much acclaim at this stage. It lets the board off the hook, allows them to go for the cheapest option. And what are Celtic left with? Another former player with absolutely no experience of managing a club of their size. Sound familiar?

A cup win of course would give Lennon instant karma and leave Tony Mowbray a jealous guy. Imagine.

I think Celtic will win today but I'll be disappointed if County don't give them a game.

In the Sabbath semi final Raith Rovers face Dundee United. I'd like to say I tipped United for the cup at the start of the season but that would be a lie. I'm sort of tipping them now though.

Right now United seem to have the kind of momentum that David Cameron would sell his granny for. Well, maybe not his granny. But definitely your granny or my granny. Or all non Bullingdon grannies.

I think they'll be too strong for Rovers and too professional to slip up against the First Division side. No chance of dancing on the street's of Raith tonight. Actually, win or lose, they'll be dancing in Kirkcaldy tonight. There's not much else to do. (Can any Fife based readers tell me if Caesar's is still the town's premier nightspot?)

United then to win by a comfortable margin.

And finally, a little video to wish Ross County luck:

Clued up

Last week Walter Smith said:

We have a cup final to play on Sunday. But we have a whole load of cup finals to play if we are going to succeed this season. When you see today’s game, you see the difficulties that you have to overcome if you are going to win a Treble.

I feel just now that talk of winning a Treble, people saying we’ve won the league because we’ve got a gap, is really premature.

I know everyone is saying I’m just playing at it when I say that. But this shows that it’s not the case. I’m making a realistic appraisal of what we have to do between now and the end of the season if we are going to succeed.

We now find ourselves in a really tough replay at Tannadice — and we might still have to go there twice in the championship. So the assumption that everyone is making is, in my view, not taking into account what we will have to do between now and the end of the season.

On Tuesday I said:

I think, and I'm probably not alone, that Rangers delivered the first leg of a treble at Hampden.

This, probably, is why Walter Smith is a successful football manager. And I'm just an arsehole.

Congratulations to Dundee United for having the belief to keep going in both the first match at Ibrox and again last night.

They won't be underestimating Raith Rovers. But I'm sure they'll already be dreaming of a May final at Tannadice.

Semi Final draw in full:

• Celtic v Ross County (Saturday 10th April, Sky @ 12.15pm)
• Dundee United v Raith Rovers (Sunday 11th April, 3pm)

Cup, cup and away?

League reconstruction. One of Scottish football’s most durable arguments. There’s rarely a season goes by when we don’t have a debate about it. They probably discussed it on the coach (and horse) ride back to Edinburgh the last time Hibs won the Scottish Cup.

My own take: league reconstruction on its own is just fiddling while Scottish football burns. If we were actually to have a serious – and by serious I mean something not involving Henry McLeish – look at the game and decide that league restructuring is part of the solution then we should go for it.

Restructuring for its own sake is a kneejerk reaction that probably won’t work.

Glenn Gibbons had a good take on this in The Scotsman a couple of weeks back:

Now that the domestic game is failing to generate the revenue anticipated when the SPL was formed by the secessionists from the Scottish Football League a dozen years ago, the Champions League has become as necessary to the Old Firm as benefits to the unemployed. These are causes and effects which no amount of tinkering with numbers will change for the better.

If, as a random example, Inverness Caledonian Thistle and Dunfermline Athletic were to play each other at this time of year while in, say, 12th and 14th place respectively in the SPL, would it be any more profitable as a fixture than contesting one of the top places in the First Division?

Increasing the membership would certainly give these presently marginalised clubs (Dundee and Partick Thistle would be other examples of medium-sized organisations now in reduced circumstances) the opportunity once again to play the Old Firm. By then, however, mass disillusionment will have put paid to the gates.

So don’t rush in. But as I lay awake last night (even in Leith the sound of chortling coming from Gorgie was loud enough up to be disruptive) I found myself thinking.

The negative reasons for restructuring are well aired: our poor form in Europe, poor national team, SPL teams playing each other too often, little competition, the ridiculous split, too many games and on, and on, and on.

On the positive side we’ve got the competitive nature of the First Division. And we’ve also got the Scottish Cup.

Ross County and Raith Rovers have made the semi finals this year. By my reckoning that’s eight teams from outside the top flight in Scottish Cup semis in the last five years. Queen of the South and Gretna have both made the final. We’ve also seen St Mirren, Falkirk and Dunfermline reach Hampden while struggling in the SPL, with Dunfermline making the final the year they were relegated.

This might mean nothing more than our SPL clubs being as bad in the cup as they are in the league.

But a less cynical view might be that it points to a depth of competition in Scotland that is offered little chance to prove itself by a 12 team top flight operating a near closed shop, one-in and one-out policy. Certainly teams from outside the SPL are finding success too often for it to be called a fluke.

We’ve all spent the last few seasons saying the cup has lost its magic. Maybe it’s actually being trying to tell us that there is more to Scottish football than a 12 team, 38 game SPL.

Are Hibs ready for a ding-dong in Dingwall?

Yes, there was a real disappointment on Saturday but we have to get on with it, we still have it all to play for. It's going to be a test or our resolve and character. Okay, there was doom and gloom but I've asked the boys if we feel sorry for ourselves or take the bull by the horns.

We've got a quarter-final to look forward to, the chance to go to Hampden and a couple of wins will take us right back up that there. That's why I am delighted with what the boys have done, getting ourselves into this position and now we have to refocus and get ourselves over that finishing line.

It won't be easy, we will be playing against teams who are going for the same as we are but also clubs who are fighting relegation battles but we can't let anything faze us.

Falkirk fans will be familiar with John Hughes taking a belligerently optimistic stance at this stage of the season. Last season he was saying that if he kept them up and won the cup it would be one of the most successful seasons they'd ever had. In the end he delivered survival and a cup final before taking his leave.

The stakes are slightly different this year, but the Hibs fans are being delivered a familiar mantra. Third place and the cup - the holy relic of Hibs' annual, futile pilgrimage - are still on the table, stick by me as we weather the current storm.

After a toothless and spineless derby display - a Hearts supporting friend watching in London told me he was stunned by Hibs' apparent lack of interest - has cranked up the pressure on tonight's replay against Ross County. Those hardy Hibs fans making the long trip to Dingwall are waiting to be impressed. They're unlikely to be forgiving of failure.

In truth Hibs should already be out. An early goal and the composure of Derek Riordan earned them a draw that their display did not deserve. Like Hearts at Tynecastle on Saturday, Ross County turned up at Easter Road with more desire than their opponents.

Passion is not something that Hughes himself has ever lacked. It must worry him, as it undoubtedly worries the fans, that at the moment he seems unable to instill it in his players.

With a few key players not quite firing, the attacking, passing mantra that Hughes is so keen to preach is failing his team. In such circumstances a team has to find the desire and fight that will see them through the lean times. Too often recently Hibs have failed. Even the Hibs fans, so often held up a paragons of a utopian brand of football that harks back to the halcyon days of Smith, Lawrie et al, appreciate hard graft. At times like this they would take a team of Ian Murrays.

But Yogi arrived at Easter Road with a plan to entertain and thrill the purist. His extensive transfer dealings were confined to building on that dream. With Plan A failing he seems to be flailing around in his search for a Plan B.

The derby defeat will have hurt the manager more than most. But tonight is an even sterner test. The building work continues at Easter Road. In Dingwall tonight we'll discover if John Hughes' Hibs Mark One are anything more than a house built on sand.

Prediction: Ross County in 90 minutes or Hibs on penalties. Or fence sitting as it's sometimes known.

Scottish Cup Quarter Finals

Scottish Cup quarter final day. Someone's going to Hampden. Someone's going hame.

Kilmarnock v Celtic (12.15/Sky)

The league is gone and the best response Celtic seem to be able to muster is scratching their heads and asking each other what happened. The Scottish Cup is the last chance for some level of redemption amid the doom and gloom of Tony Mowbray's botched Celtic experiment. That makes defeat at Rugby Park tomorrow unthinkable. Unthinkable for a team less fragile than this Celtic side anyway. For this group of players, with this manager? Still favourites and I'll back the away win. Wouldn't be surprised if Kilmarnock get something though.

Hibs v Ross County (2pm)

An early kick off because Easter Road is currently without floodlights. This is the stage when Hibs fans start to panic in the Scottish Cup, as the great annual odyssey reaches the stage where disappointment seems to stalk them. The euphoria of an "easy" draw will have been replaced by fear at losing to a lower division side. Is there much chance of that? Ross County will be up for a scrap and Hibs have been creaky of late. There won't be many in Leith relishing this one. Still I'm backing the home win.

Dundee v Raith (3pm)

So who is going to grab the chance? The team with SPL aspirations anxious to prove they're already capable of mixing it with the big boys? Or the plucky outsiders who know a semi final can ease their club's financial woes. So it's a hearts and heads kind of match. The head wins. Home win.

Rangers v Dundee United (Sunday 12.05/BBC2)

Can United stop Rangers' march to domestic dominance? This game will be a closer affair than the 7-1 league drubbing Rangers handed out the last time these two met at Ibrox. But you've still got to fancy Rangers to make it through for their seven billionth semi final in a row. Home win. Maybe by just the odd goal though.

Midweek medley

As the dust settles on an SPL weekend that saw significant results at both the top and the bottom, we can take a breather this midweek and concentrate once again on the Active Nations Scottish Cup.

Aberdeen v Raith Rovers

Will the real Aberdeen please stand up? A draw against Raith at home threatened to join the increasingly long list of joke Aberdeen cup results. They follow that up with a draw at third placed Hibs before sticking four past Celtic in a thrilling draw at Pittodrie. Consistent only in their unpredictability, this is a squad that must be driving the supporters to distraction.

So anything could happen tonight but it probably won’t. Having had their 90 minutes in the sun back in Fife I think Raith will put up a brave fight before capitulating. And so the Dons will march on to play Dundee in what could be the fixture to watch in the quarter finals.

Rangers v St Mirren

To vanquish Rangers you have to take chances when they come along. That is true in 90 minutes (Motherwell were always likely to need a cushion of more than a solitary goal going into the final half hour last Wednesday, Hibs needed to take advantage when they had more of the match in the first half at Ibrox on Sunday) or over two games (as Hamilton proved in the last round.)

And so St Mirren, for whom cup competitions are a welcome distraction from the business of losing league games, have probably missed the opportunity for a famous win. They really dominated the first game but they couldn’t make the breakthrough that would have counted. Rangers will make them pay for that tomorrow night.

I actually think Rangers win over Hibs will be a bit of a watershed for them. With a lot of players hitting fitness at the same time and with a mini wobble (back to back draws is a mini wobble when you’re ten points clear) survived they’ll be raring to go now. With a treble chance looming ahead I really can’t see them losing many games.

Can St Mirren’s cup charm hold up for one more night? I’m afraid I don’t think so. Another comfortable home win.

St Johnstone v Hibs

The one SPL game of this midweek, having orginally fallen victim to the snow. Hibs' defeat at Rangers on Sunday not only ended talk of a title challenge it also made the challenge for third place slightly uncomfortable. St Johnstone’s defeat at Kilmarnock continued their dodgy run of luck but also brought the bottom of the table slightly too close for comfort.

So a cagey game with both sides going for a draw that would buy breathing space. Unlikely with these two. It’s one each in the clashes played so far this season but I can see Hibs turning the screw here and getting the win that they’ll be hoping will at least prove their resilience.

Our cup overfloweth

And so the Active Nation Scottish Cup returns this weekend with the promise of a sporting festival that will knock the Superbowl and Winter Olympics combined into a cocked hat.

Sadly prior engagements mean I'll only be able to keep one eye and half an ear on proceedings and the dictates of time rob me of the chance to write a complete preview.

So allow me to borrow some insight from Seb at Inside Left who, displaying the dedication that I lack, has cast his eye over the fixture card in an article that includes the following killer summary of life as an Aberdeen fan:

I realise I am being rather hard on my beloved AFC of late (ref: our previous posting), but fuck it, I feel like a right spanner walking around IKEA on a Saturday morning in my replica top being pointed and laughed at by small children; the parents are generally not much better either. Things have got to change, starting tomorrow. So, back the meat wagon up against the doorway at Stark’s Park and herd those Raith Rovers players into the whirling knives of our killer attack.

Seb sees no "cupsets" in the offing. I kind of disagree and can see Inverness at least doing enough to get Kilmarnock back to their place for slightly more than coffee. Of the all SPL clashes I'm backing St Johnstone to bounce back from the Hampden defeat in midweek. And, just to be contrary, I might well stick a wee fiver on St Mirren to deny Rangers the chance of a sixth successive domestic cup final.

Dunfermline entertain Celtic on Sunday. Defeat for Celtic is unthinkable. Surely.

Dundee v Ayr
Hibernian v Montrose
Kilmarnock v Inverness
Raith v Aberdeen
Ross County v Stirling
St Johnstone v Dundee United
St Mirren v Rangers

Frozen out

So the big freeze pretty much froze out the Active Nation Scottish Cup at the weekend. And the arguments for summer football gather pace.

On the plus side the much mocked sponsorship deal worked. The moment I read Active Nation in the paper I immediately got off the couch and did 100 sit ups. Or not.

That aside the games that did go ahead were quite diverting and we’ve got the added bonus of being able to enjoy this round over a couple of weeks rather than being battered by 16 ties in one weekend.

At Easter Road the more optimistic predictions of 8, 9 or 10 goals for the home side proved wildly off the mark. League position aside Hibs are not actually playing all that well at the moment and they struggled to break down a determined Irvine Meadow.

Cue the brave minnows being sent back to Ayrshire with hollow platitudes ringing in their ears. If we want to do more than patronise junior football then a pyramid structure and regional lower leagues are the best place to start. Please take note Henry McLeish.

In the first of the all-SPL heavyweight fixtures Hearts offered proof that their recent resurgence is not yet evidence of a complete return to form. Aberdeen will have groaned when the draw was made and Mark McGhee will be more than satisfied with a 2-0 win.

Circumstances are dictating that Csaba Lazlo plays a defensive game but some of his players lack the ability to mount the fluid counter attacks that make the system a success. The end result is the lack of consistency that has plagued them this season. The solution is to make some signings. Are you listening Mr Romanov? Probably not.

I was quite vocal in criticising the choice of the televised game. But I’m big enough to admit I got that one wrong as Hamilton and Rangers served up a see sawing 3-3 draw. Walter Smith will be worried that his Bougherra-less defence let a two goal lead slip while Billy Reid will be worried that Hamilton let their big chance slip.

Reid will be looking for his side to summon the spirit of Adrian Sprott when Hamilton travel to Ibrox for the replay.

St Mirren and Dundee United were both able to overcome lower league opposition. We may have expected St Mirren to get past Alloa at home but, given their recent form, United’s trip to Firhill seemed to be a potential banana skin. Much relief then at their 2-0 win and a possible cup run to savour for whoever their new manager might be.

The most one sided game of the round saw Dunfermline destroy Stenhousmuir 7-1. A good win for the Pars but one that has been marred by the threat of expulsion from the tournament.

Dunfermline’s second half substitute, Calum Woods, should have been serving a suspension. We can’t say why the confusion arose but we can say that for some reason Dunfermline fielded an ineligible player.

That’s against the rules and should be punished. But to throw them out of the tournament? It seems harsh. And to let a team that’s just been gubbed so emphatically back into the draw would seem to make a mockery of the whole thing.

So it comes down to a choice between common sense and devaluing the world’s oldest national trophy.

We can all rest easy that it will be up to the SFA to make the decision...

The next round

Dunfermline v Morton or Celtic
Forfar or St Johnstone v Dundee United
Hibernian v Edinburgh City or Montrose
Livingston or Dundee v Ayr United or Brechin City
Raith Rovers or Airdrie United v Aberdeen
Kilmarnock or Falkirk v Inverness CT or Motherwell
St Mirren v Hamilton or Rangers
Ross County or Inverurie Loco Works v Albion Rovers or Stirling Albion

Scottish Football Decade: The Scottish Cup

There is comforting stability about the Scottish Cup, the world’s oldest national trophy. It’s always been there, it always will be there.

There’s still something special about the trip to Hampden on a sunny May day, about smaller clubs going all out for an upset in the earlier rounds, about the joy of it all.

Unfortunately, this being Scotland, we must temper that giddy idyll by pointing out that in the first decade of the 21st century Rangers and Celtic continued their dominance of the trophy.

And after we bade farewell to Tennent’s the SFA struggled to find a sponsor. If nothing else this confirmed the suspicion that the allure of cup competitions has dwindled in recent seasons.

Then we were landed with two of football’s strangers sponsoring arrangements. In 2008/2009 we had the Homecoming Scottish Cup to celebrate the Scottish Government’s year long (was it really only a year?) celebration of tartan frippery.

As the decade peters out we have the oxymoronic Active Nation Scottish Cup.

Naming rights aside the decade started off as it would continue with Rangers thumping Aberdeen 4-0. The bald fact of the scoreline masks the drama of the game. Aberdeen lost veteran goalie early on with a fractured jaw after what might reasonably be called a horrific, accidental, clash with Rod Wallace’s boot. With no ‘keeper on the bench Dons manager Ebbe Skovdahl was left with no option but to play most of the match with Robbie Winters in goal.

The following year it was the turn of Celtic to take home the trophy. A comprehensive 3-0 win over the cup’s perennial underachievers Hibs was achieved with a minimum of fuss. Hibs finished third in the league that year but in truth had run out of steam at the turn of the year. The loss of Russell Latapy to general partying in the lead up to the final overshadowed their preparations and their long wait was destined to last at least another decade.

Given the nine wins they amassed between them it’s been a quirk of the noughties that the Old Firm have only once met in the final. In 2001/2002 Rangers edged a cracker of a game by what Dougie Donnelly might call “the odd goal in five.” Barry Ferguson was the star man, a glimpse of the potential that he has never really fulfilled.

And so it went on. Rangers beating Dundee one year, Celtic marching past Dunfermline the next and Dundee United after that. A certain dull inevitability and a sobering blow for us non Old Firmites after the heady days of the 1990’s when Motherwell, Aberdeen, United, Hearts and Kilmarnock all took home the the honours.

It was Hearts who struck the solitary blow against the depressing duopoly with a tense penalty win over the minnows Gretna (a semi-final hammering of Hibs made things sweeter still for the Tynecastle faithful.) This was the season that the Romanov revolution blew like a strange wind through Scottish football. Sadly it was also the season we became aware of Romanov’s idiosyncratic tinkering. A season of success at Tynecastle but also a tantalising glimpse of what might have been. Stat fans might also like to know that this was the largest final crowd of the decade.

It was back to normal business the next season as Celtic once again put Dunfermline to the sword although the Fifers take credit for being the only team outside the big two for making two of the decades finals.

In 2007/2008 Rangers got the fright of their lives before beating Queen of the South, after Gretna, the second of the decade’s finalists to be drawn from outside the top flight. And Rangers duly won their fifth cup of the decade in 2008/2009 when they beat Falkrik 1-0.

That win was Rangers 33rd moving them just one behind Celtic in the all time standings. Depressingly Queens Park lie third on that list. Their last win came in 1893. Hearts win over Gretna moved them joint fourth with Aberdeen on seven wins.

So there we have it. The tournament itself has perhaps lost some its lustre but it retains a special place in the nation’s sporting life. Yes, we had to endure a depressing Glasgow dominance but nine other teams made it to the final.

Eight of them did not get the denouement of their dreams but you can bet they all got on to their supporters buses full of enthusiasm and optimism. The cup can still inspire and will remain to do so. We need look no further ahead than January for that when Irvine Meadow’s improbable journey takes them to Easter Road. There is no better way for the Scottish Cup to usher in another decade.

And we'll always have Clyde's 2006 win over Celtic to chuckle about. And Inverness' in 2000. And again in 2003.

1999–00 Rangers 4 – 0 Aberdeen
2000-01 Celtic 3 – 0 Hibernian
2001–02 Rangers 3 – 2 Celtic
2002–03 Rangers 1 – 0 Dundee
2003–04 Celtic 3 – 1 Dunfermline Athletic
2004–05 Celtic 1 – 0 Dundee United
2005–06 Heart of Midlothian 1 – 1 Gretna
2006-07 Celtic 1 – 0 Dunfermline Athletic
2007–08 Rangers 3 – 2 Queen of the South
2008–09 Rangers 1 – 0 Falkirk