My defining Celtic moment – the Scottish Cup final of 1988

A huge crowd of nearly 67,000 was inside Hampden that afternoon but the match itself was really tough and sticky. I don’t recall too many opportunities for either team in the first half and at half-time it was stalemate, 0-0.

In the second half, the match kicked into life with a controversial opening goal for Hearts. A looping cross from Brian Whittaker looked like Pat Bonner’s to claim but Hearts centre-half, Dave McPherson, appeared to impede Packie and the ball sailed straight into the net. The Celtic players appealed for a foul, but the goal was given, much to the annoyance of the Hoops contingent. I still maintain that it was a foul on Bonner to this day, but it seemed to spark the Celts into life, and now it was game on.

Celtic seemed to miss chance after chance and, finally, Billy McNeill decided to make some changes, with Joe Miller coming off and Mark McGhee replacing him from the bench. McGhee had a good record against Hearts. He was a good, experienced striker and we held our breath and hoped for the best. As it turned out, it was a great substitution from the manager and Mark certainly had a key part to play in the final outcome.

By this point in the match, the Maestro Paul McStay was running the show and Celtic continued to press Hearts and create chances but just couldn’t take them. Maybe it wasn’t going to be our day this time. As “Hearts, Hearts, glorious Hearts” rang out from the covered terrace at the other end of Hampden, the Celtic fans were becoming agitated.

Then, as the clocked ticked down and time was running out, that wee bit of Celtic magic finally raised its head, the stuff that dreams are made of, the defining moments that stay in your head for years to come. Celtic equalised! It was really late in the game, surely only a few minutes to go, as Tommy Burns swung in a left-footed corner-kick in front of the Celtic End. Hearts keeper Henry Smith came out to clutch the ball and somehow, just somehow, he dropped it. Right at the feet of Mark McGhee.