Celtic versus Dundee United in the 1988 Scottish Cup Final. The game would see Billy McNeill’s side look to clinch a Double in the club’s Centenary, having already won the league title.
74,000 fans packed into Hampden, one of the onlookers was Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, who would present the trophy to the winning captain. However, a relatively muted first half came and went. Yet it was United that seized the initiative in the second half as Kevin Gallacher scored to send the Dundee United end (housed in a section of the traditional Rangers end) into raptures of celebration.
With fourteen minutes to play, Stark’s pass to Anton Rogan sent the full-back loose down the left on a swashbuckling run. Rogan’s cross allowed Frank McAvennie to head an equaliser and drag Celtic back into the Final.
It looked inevitable that the game would go to extra time. Joe Miler’s short corner was played into the danger area by Stark, then Frank McAvennie reacted and bundled the ball into the net. McAvennie and his teammates sealed their place in the fabric of Celtic’s history as the Celtic fans celebrated the Scottish Cup win.
Celtic have often held a mystic of fairytale and this was the latest chapter of the club’s illustrious history – securing a first double in more than a decade in our Centenary season.
