1988 Scottish Cup final

The 1988 Scottish Cup Final was played between Celtic and Dundee United at Hampden Park on 14 May 1988. Celtic had reached the final after coming from behind to defeat Hearts 2-1 in the semi-final, while Dundee United had defeated Aberdeen 1-0 in their semi-final after two replays.[1]

1988 Scottish Cup Final
Event1987–88 Scottish Cup
Date14 May 1988
VenueHampden Park, Glasgow
RefereeGeorge Smith
Attendance74,000
1987
1989

Celtic won 2–1, with Frank McAvennie scoring both of their goals. They had been 1-0 down after Kevin Gallacher put Dundee United ahead, only for McAvennie to score a late equaliser and then a winner with a low right foot shot at the back post after a corner to complete the double for Celtic, who were already Premier Division champions.[2]

The guest of honour was British prime minister Margaret Thatcher, who attended the match in an effort to improve her dismal popularity in Scotland. Expecting a negative reaction to the sight of players shaking the prime minister's hand, the traditional receiving line was moved to a snooker room in the halls of Hampden. Even still, several staffers and players from both teams (including Mick McCarthy, the son of Yorkshire miners) refused to meet or acknowledge Thatcher, and she was greeted by supporters of both teams by a wave of red cards.[3] As she took her seat, thousands of supporters of both teams sang "you can stick your poll tax up your arse".[4]

Match

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Report

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After a goalless first half, Kevin Gallacher opened the scoring for Dundee United a few minutes after halftime. Gallacher outpaced Celtic's Roy Aitken to a ball which had been headed forward by Eamonn Bannon and shot passed Celtic's goalkeeper Allen McKnight, who was in the team due to an injury to Celtic's regular goalie Packie Bonner. Shortly afterwards United failed to take the opportunity to increase their lead when Bannon missed two good opportunities. This proved costly when Frank McAvennie equalised for Celtic. McAvennie then scored the winner with 50 seconds of play remaining.[5]

The defeat meant that United had now lost all five Scottish Cup finals that they had played in. The scoreline and pattern of the match was noted by reporter Jim Traynor for being similar to the 1985 final when Celtic had also defeated United. Traynor suggested that for Dundee United the 1988 final was like a 're-run of a bad movie'.[5]

Details

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Celtic2 – 1Dundee United
Frank McAvennie   76', 90' Report Kevin Gallacher   49'
Attendance: 74,000
Referee: George Smith
CELTIC:
GK 1   Allen McKnight
DF 2   Chris Morris
DF 5   Mick McCarthy
DF 6   Derek Whyte   ?'
DF 3   Anton Rogan
MF 7   Joe Miller
MF 4   Roy Aitken
MF 8   Paul McStay
MF 11   Tommy Burns
FW 9   Frank McAvennie
FW 10   Andy Walker   ?'
Substitutes:
MF   Billy Stark   ?'
FW   Mark McGhee   ?'
Manager:
  Billy McNeill
DUNDEE UNITED:
GK   Billy Thomson
DF   David Bowman
DF   Paul Hegarty
DF   David Narey
DF   Maurice Malpas
MF   Billy McKinlay
MF   Jim McInally
MF   Eamonn Bannon
FW   Kevin Gallacher
FW   Mixu Paatelainen   ?'
FW   Iain Ferguson
Substitutes:
MF   John Clark   ?'
FW   Paul Sturrock
Manager:
  Jim McLean

References

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  1. ^ Potter, David; Jones, Phil H (2016). The History of the Scottish Cup the Story of every Season 1873-2016. Worthing: Pitch Publishing. pp. 263–264. ISBN 978-1-78531-214-4.
  2. ^ Wilson, Richard (6 September 2009). "Frank McAvennie interview". Herald Scotland. Retrieved 28 March 2020.
  3. ^ "British sport still suffers from Thatcher years". 9 April 2013. Retrieved 11 April 2013.
  4. ^ "Thatcher's Brutal Legacy in Scotland". 9 April 2013. Retrieved 26 January 2018.
  5. ^ a b Traynor, James (16 May 1988). "Thatcher is forgotten amid Celtic delirium". The Glasgow Herald. Retrieved 3 July 2018.