| CELTIC THE PRIDE OF SCOTLAND! | |||||||||||||||||
| History of The Scottish Cup! | |||||||||||||||||
|
The first international clash between Scotland and England in Glasgow provided the impetus for the domestic game north of the border to adopt a more competitive approach. After the match in 1872, Queen's Park called a meeting attended by representatives of the country's leading clubs of the time - Clydesdale, Vale of Leven, Dumbreck, Third Lanark, Eastern, Granville and Rovers � to form the Scottish Football Association. This meeting not only founded the SFA, but also established the Challenge Cup competition, later renamed the Scottish Cup. The first cup final in 1874 was won by Queen�s Park who beat Clydesdale 2-0 in the final. The Glasgow side then won the next two finals and, along with Vale Of Leven who won three on the trot from 1877 to 1879, they dominated the early years of the competition winning ten cups by 1893. Other early winners of the trophy were Renton, who took it twice in 1885 and 1888, St.Bernard�s, winners in 1895, Third Lanark (1889 and 1905), Hibs (1887 and 1902), Dumbarton (1883), Dundee (1910) and Falkirk (1913). By the end of the last century, the Old Firm were beginning to make regular appearances in the final. Celtic first triumphed in 1892 beating Queen�s Park 5-1 whilst Rangers first win came, aptly enough, against Celtic in 1894 with a 3-1 victory. Despite four wins by Hearts between 1891 and 1906 and four by Rangers between 1894 and 1903, it was Celtic who became top dogs with nine triumphs before World War One. Between the wars, the spoils were fairly evenly shared between the Old Firm with six wins apiece as the game re-established itself. There were notable one-offs for Partick Thistle, Airdrie, Morton, St.Mirren, East Fife and Clyde with Kilmarnock getting two cups in 1920 and 1929. Aberdeen�s first cup success came in 1947 and Motherwell�s in 1952 whilst Clyde, with wins in 1955 and 1958, and Dunfermline, in 1961 and 1968, both had purple patches. From the late �40s to the end of the �60s, however, the cup was again largely Old Firm dominated. Rangers claiming nine cups and Celtic five in that spell. The �70s were no different. Aberdeen took it in 1970 but the rest of the decade saw Celtic win five cups and Rangers claim four. Celtic�s 6-1 defeat of Hibs in 1972 along with Rangers 3-2 win over their Glasgow rivals a year later standing out. The �80s saw Aberdeen become the first club since Queen�s Park in the last century to compete with the Glasgow pair. The Dons claimed three cups in a row between 1982 and 1984 and won another in 1986. Celtic also took four trophies, their 2-1 win over Dundee United in 1988 being the pick of the bunch with Rangers only success being the 1981 4-1 replay win over the same unlucky Tannadice club. 1989 saw the last Old Firm final before this year (1999) with the Celts edging out their rivals 1-0. And so to the �90s. This decade has seen Celtic slump to just one win in 1995, over battling a Airdrie who also made the final in 1992, whilst the honours have been more evenly spread in a period reminiscent of the �20�s. The decade started with Aberdeen winning the competition�s first ever penalty shoot-out 9-8 after a tense 0-0 draw with Celtic. 1991 saw an all-time classic with Motherwell beating Dundee United 4-3 after extra time. Rangers, as in the league, were the dominant force winning three times in 1992, 1993 and 1996, with the 5-1 win over Hearts in that year standing out. At last, ever the bridesmaids Dundee United, after six failed attempts, finally won the trophy with a 1-0 triumph over Rangers in 1994 and Kilmarnock�s win in 1997 was another one for the underdogs - well, almost, as they were playing First Division Falkirk! 1998 saw Hearts take their first Scottish Cup since 1956 with memorable 2-1 win over Rangers. | |||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
|
This page has been visited
|