The short sprint to Hampden started in September when a couple of towering headers from Page eased us through the third round in Brechin. A month later Gow’s goal four minutes from the end eliminated Dundee United at Fir Park and under the stewardship of Craig Brown we reached the semi-final.
Since Brown’s move north our season has stuttered. Stuart McCall arrived to see Blackman and Gow disappear and now Reynolds has been sold. The new manager doesn’t have his troubles to seek. To add to his woes Lasley has missed the last couple of games with a hamstring injury – a return on Sunday would be well timed.
Pleas of poverty from Rangers earn no sympathy from Motherwell. The depth of experience and talent in their ranks should, in theory, make this a very unbalanced contest. Walter Smith may grumble that he’ll have to play some players with niggling injuries and wish that he could rotate his squad but that is the reality that faces most the other SPL clubs.
Plenty of claret and amber on show at Hampden
The memory of the thrashing handed out by Rangers in the 2005 final still lingers in the collective memory of Motherwell fans and particularly in the heads of Craigan and Hammell. Terry Butcher admitted that on that occasion “we didn’t turn up”. Let’s hope we do make a match of it this time but even at our best we are likely to need some help from the opposition. Is it too much to hope for a 1-0 win?
The road to Hampden
26 October 1-0 v Dundee United