Alex McLeish explains how Rangers sealed Scottish Cup win over Celtic

Loved that game one of my favs of all time. Can never get sick of seeing it... brilliant.
 
THE 2002 Scottish Cup final was one that Rangers fans will look back on fondly. Twice Celtic took the lead over their arch-rivals in an end-to-end contest, only to be pegged back first by Peter Lovenkrands and then by Barry Ferguson.
As the game passed the 90-minute mark, extra-time looked inevitable. But then, right at the death, Lovenkrands' late header steered the ball past Rab Douglas to seal a League Cup and Scottish Cup double for the Light Blues.

Alex McLeish, the Ibrox boss at the time, insists that the last-gasp victory was one of his greatest moments as a manager. And speaking to the Athletic, the former Hibs and Scotland manager revealed that he had a plan to target a weak link in Martin O'Neill's starting XI.
Chris Sutton started at centre-back that day at Hampden, and McLeish was convinced that Lovenkrands would be able to cause the striker-turned-defender all sorts of problems.

"Chris was a centre-forward but he had played there with aplomb before," he said. "Peter's legs were too good for any of Celtic's back four and through the middle of defence was definitely an area we targeted.

"I've had a few highs in my career but to win such an exciting game in the way we did after beating Celtic in the League Cup was a fantastic way to end the season.
"That was a top Celtic team. Martin O'Neill said that was their next-best team since the Lisbon Lions."
The Danish forward got on the end of Neil McCann's first-time cross to bundle the ball home to seal Rangers' name on the trophy, and McLeish reckons that Lovenkrands didn't always get the recognition that he deserved.
"Peter was a fantastic finisher," he said. "He was capable of overhead kicks or scuffing one in with his right foot.
"He was great at coming in off the line but playing on the wing wasn't his greatest strength. People thought, 'Peter has pace, he can go by people and put the ball in' but there is an art to getting past people.
"Peter often looked more deadly when he ran inside or ran through the middle. He was sort of a modern-day wide player - like you see now in front threes, like [Liverpool pair] [Sadio] Mane and [Mo] Salah, who like to play narrow.
"He deserves more credit than he was given."
Thanks you just made my day. What a comparison from then till now...... real challenges, fighting spirit. Brilliant. That's the spirit we need today. Smiling big time
 
THE 2002 Scottish Cup final was one that Rangers fans will look back on fondly. Twice Celtic took the lead over their arch-rivals in an end-to-end contest, only to be pegged back first by Peter Lovenkrands and then by Barry Ferguson.
As the game passed the 90-minute mark, extra-time looked inevitable. But then, right at the death, Lovenkrands' late header steered the ball past Rab Douglas to seal a League Cup and Scottish Cup double for the Light Blues.

Alex McLeish, the Ibrox boss at the time, insists that the last-gasp victory was one of his greatest moments as a manager. And speaking to the Athletic, the former Hibs and Scotland manager revealed that he had a plan to target a weak link in Martin O'Neill's starting XI.
Chris Sutton started at centre-back that day at Hampden, and McLeish was convinced that Lovenkrands would be able to cause the striker-turned-defender all sorts of problems.

"Chris was a centre-forward but he had played there with aplomb before," he said. "Peter's legs were too good for any of Celtic's back four and through the middle of defence was definitely an area we targeted.

"I've had a few highs in my career but to win such an exciting game in the way we did after beating Celtic in the League Cup was a fantastic way to end the season.
"That was a top Celtic team. Martin O'Neill said that was their next-best team since the Lisbon Lions."
The Danish forward got on the end of Neil McCann's first-time cross to bundle the ball home to seal Rangers' name on the trophy, and McLeish reckons that Lovenkrands didn't always get the recognition that he deserved.
"Peter was a fantastic finisher," he said. "He was capable of overhead kicks or scuffing one in with his right foot.
"He was great at coming in off the line but playing on the wing wasn't his greatest strength. People thought, 'Peter has pace, he can go by people and put the ball in' but there is an art to getting past people.
"Peter often looked more deadly when he ran inside or ran through the middle. He was sort of a modern-day wide player - like you see now in front threes, like [Liverpool pair] [Sadio] Mane and [Mo] Salah, who like to play narrow.
"He deserves more credit than he was given."


Never get tired of watching this...

Was a great performance that day.
 
Jimmy Nicholl was in the seat in front of me i think i nearly broke his back when i jumped on him at lovenkrands winner .... what a way to win a cup final, come from 2-1 down to score in last minute
Outstanding
 
That cup final was the day I fully grasped football and Rangers. Always had tops (first one was 96/97) and knew I was a Rangers fan, but was a bit young and didn't really understand, until then. Had probably never seen a free kick go in til that day, and then the last minute winner?! Basically, a day that changed my life forever and gave birth to an obsession that continues to this day.
 
Came home from Canada for that game With my 16 year old son. One of the best days of both our lives.

Rosevale bus :))
 
Booze all over Renfrew bowling club indoor carpet as me and me 2 pals went mental when that goal went in - nobody minded :)
 
THE 2002 Scottish Cup final was one that Rangers fans will look back on fondly. Twice Celtic took the lead over their arch-rivals in an end-to-end contest, only to be pegged back first by Peter Lovenkrands and then by Barry Ferguson.
As the game passed the 90-minute mark, extra-time looked inevitable. But then, right at the death, Lovenkrands' late header steered the ball past Rab Douglas to seal a League Cup and Scottish Cup double for the Light Blues.

Alex McLeish, the Ibrox boss at the time, insists that the last-gasp victory was one of his greatest moments as a manager. And speaking to the Athletic, the former Hibs and Scotland manager revealed that he had a plan to target a weak link in Martin O'Neill's starting XI.
Chris Sutton started at centre-back that day at Hampden, and McLeish was convinced that Lovenkrands would be able to cause the striker-turned-defender all sorts of problems.

"Chris was a centre-forward but he had played there with aplomb before," he said. "Peter's legs were too good for any of Celtic's back four and through the middle of defence was definitely an area we targeted.

"I've had a few highs in my career but to win such an exciting game in the way we did after beating Celtic in the League Cup was a fantastic way to end the season.
"That was a top Celtic team. Martin O'Neill said that was their next-best team since the Lisbon Lions."
The Danish forward got on the end of Neil McCann's first-time cross to bundle the ball home to seal Rangers' name on the trophy, and McLeish reckons that Lovenkrands didn't always get the recognition that he deserved.
"Peter was a fantastic finisher," he said. "He was capable of overhead kicks or scuffing one in with his right foot.
"He was great at coming in off the line but playing on the wing wasn't his greatest strength. People thought, 'Peter has pace, he can go by people and put the ball in' but there is an art to getting past people.
"Peter often looked more deadly when he ran inside or ran through the middle. He was sort of a modern-day wide player - like you see now in front threes, like [Liverpool pair] [Sadio] Mane and [Mo] Salah, who like to play narrow.
"He deserves more credit than he was given."

Great highlights. Still pisses me off and makes angry kjust watching this, how that fat welsh barsteward was not sent off.
The classic.... sting ...in the tail!
 
What a day that was, wasn't at the game but still remember it fondly when talking about my favourite games against them.
 
My first ever Old Firm Cup Final, just before my 10th birthday and can remember everything about it.

Was sitting with my dad in the North Stand and funnily enough, his first Old Firm Cup Final that we won was 1973, which was also 3-2.

He was also in the North Stand that day, (the old high one) with his dad.


A very happy coincidence.
 
He was a little lightweight and inconsistent.
I posted earlier that we had several options to play up front during that period, always remembering that both Advocaat and McLeish shuffled the pack both in selection and position they played. Off the top of my head Flo, Mols, De Boer, Arveladze, Miller, Dodds.
 
I actually recall that in a subsequent game it was a knee to Lovenkrands back was the tactic used to stop him scoring against them.. Mo Silla I think executed it in an extremely cynical bit of “play”.

Cynical is the word I always used to describe O’Neil’s Celtic.
 
Why was Sutton playing in defence that day anyway?

Putting a forward into defence always smacks of arrogance or desperation.
 
Remember that game fondly. My Celtic supporting mate said, come over and watch at his flat. I didn't know he'd asked every fecking scum supporting mate too, leaving me as the token rangers fan out it 30 folk. How fecking sweet that day was as they all timploaded :))
 
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