Rangers 0
Dundee Utd 1
Scottish Cup (Final)

Match Report

The Tannadice men finally dumped their Scottish Cup Final Hoodoo and also wrecked Rangers back to back treble hopes. The fact that the trophy was won by a goal as bizarre as anything ever seen at the national stadium will not diminish the delight on Tayside.

The action was unrelenting from the off. McPherson came up for a corner in the ninth minute and his header beat Guido Van de Kamp, but was cleared off the line by Jim McInally. Play switched to the other end where Andy McLaren sweetly sent the fast breaking Alex Cleland through. The youngster should have struck the ball first time as Maxwell advanced, but he delayed and was hit from behind by the back tracking Ian Ferguson. United wanted a penalty, but referee Dougie Hope waved play on. Welsh had a header knocked away by Stuart McCall and Hateley drilled a low shot wide of the post. But the Rangers strike force were never really a threat.

The decisive moment came two minutes into the second half of an engrossing Final, after Rangers defender Dave McPherson hastily pushed the ball back to Ally Maxwell but he battered his attempted clearance against the encroaching Christian Dailly. The United youngster rolled a left foot shot towards the unprotected goal but the ball went all the way along the line and came back off the post. With the Rangers defence all over the place, Craig Brewster stroked the ball home to send the Arabs wild behind the goal. United, who had had the best of the first half, were now under intense pressure all through the second period, but Ivan Golac's men did not wilt thanks in particular to Brian Welsh and Man of the Match Gordan Petric. He and Welsh tamed every scoring threat Rangers could muster. United almost sealed it in the closing moments when Brewster broke away and blasted a drive against Maxwell. The noise from the United end gradually increased as the game inched towards full-time before it exploded in a sea of tangerine when the whistle finally went. The wait was over in more ways than one.

Boss Ivan Golac declared "We have no need to fear any team in Britain now. This was a very special day for me and my young team can only get better. After we didn't get the penalty we were due in the first half we were even more determined to win".