Celtic on this Day – 30 November 1997, Celtic 3-0 Dundee United…
Wim Jansen’s men had dispatched Berwick Rangers, St Johnstone, Motherwell and Dunfermline and did not concede a goal en route to the Scottish League Cup Final on this day 27 years ago.
The triumph against Dundee United had been significant in many ways – it was Celtic’s first League Cup trophy victory since the 1982/1983 campaign. Also, it was only our second trophy-win of the 1990s, and crucially, it gave both the players and supporters real belief that the league title would be making a long-awaited return to Paradise in May!
Notably, Jansen won his first piece of silverware as Hoops manager, which would also give him much-needed confidence after a ropey start in the league. The final was played at Ibrox due to Hampden being under reconstruction.
Headed finishes courtesy of Rieper and Burley added with the deflected Henrik strike in front of a joyous Celtic support in the Broomloan Stand sealed a memorable day. Evidence of how important this triumph was can be seen in our league results thereafter – prior to the final against Tommy McLean’s side, Celtic had lost four league matches at the beginning of the 1997/1998 season.
After the final, the Celts would only lose one more game during the campaign and that was to Rangers at Ibrox. On winning his first of many trophies at Celtic, Henrik Larsson spoke of how the Hoops needed to capitalise on this landmark occasion, “everybody is so happy.
The supporters have been waiting for this for a long time. We hope we’ll feel the benefits of this win in the championship. We’ve got a lot to do but we will do well if we keep on playing like this.”