GLF 55:Ricky has lots to say about the CIS Semi at Easter Road.
RICKY'S RANT
WA - FEKCING HEY !Hampden here we come !After 14 long years,and much suffering in the “ Diddy ” Cup,Hampden will be graced with the appearance of the Mighty Dossers in the League Cup Final 2005.We are gonna party,and need ALL Foot Sodies to be there - make sure you are !
Don’t think I need to speak for many when I say that Tuesday night,1st February 2005,will go down as one of the most memorable nights in the history of Motherwell FC.Having followed the team for over 20 years,I can honestly say there have been fewer,if any,more emotional nights than then.I’ve been all over to see us play, been to Finland to suffer the heartbreak of that night,been to Legoland and witnessed an injury - struck team see off the locals,but that League Cup Semi - Final had everything you could possibly imagine in a football match.The whole day held something special.
Going to work,I was desperate to see the whole day zip past until it was time to go to the game.I went out running as usual,but about five minutes into the run my foot went down a hole in the ground and I went down in agony.I quite literally sh*t myself that I’d broken my ankle and would miss the Semi,thankfully the pain eased after a few minutes and I was well enough to finish my run.I got changed,went home,and then up to a pre - match get - together at Yir Elder’s home in deepest Netherton.Yir,Brainier and I then sauntered down to Fir Park getting a few well wishes on the way,along with a few other less savoury looks from worried locals……
Anyway,we all had a pre - match pint in the club,then onto the bounciest,wildest bus you ever did witness.It was singing,dancing and fun galore all the way through to Auld Reekie.There was a sense of expectancy amongst everyone;it was as if we all felt something special was about to unfold.The Bus dropped us off at some bowling green in downtown Leith,the sort of place The Proclaimers would NEVER admit to knowing.Everyone wandered over the park and eventually we all found Easter Pit,and some even managed to get a drink.We got a few funny looks,and the odd inquisitive Hivee wanting to know what FHW stood for on our faces.I’m sure you know….Around 20 past 7 the atmosphere was already beginning to gather as we made our way to the ground,a buzz already descending amongst us all.Walking up the stairs and entering the upper tier,it just felt special.
All sort of methods of receiving the lads on to the pitch at a couple of minutes prior to kick off were used, the atmosphere rising all the time.Thing was, and I’m sure even the opposition fans would have to agree;we WERE the atmosphere than night.What a roar greeted the ‘Well,and although we didn’t start particularly well,the fans kept right behind the team.Mass celebrations greeted the opening goal,many turning to each other and querying whether or not they had witnessed the magic of a Craggo wondergoal.Well,the good man scores so few they must all be considered a wonder,even by the man himself.Right up to half time,although again we weren’t at our best playing - wise,we were solid as a unit, and bar really only one serious moment near the break,we comfortably went in at the break ahead.There were many happy faces but also,like me, afew contemplating being once again ahead in a Semi - Final and being just 45 minutes away from the Final itself.
It just felt so close,and I couldn’t help but think back to the Cup Semi a couple of years back when we were there barring an unfortunate miss near half - time.As the second half wore on,the mood of expectancy just grew,then with 13 minutes to go Skippy burst towards the box before being unceremoniously hauled to the ground by a desperate defender.
It was a clear penalty, thankfully the otherwise incompetent Referee agreed,and for about the first time ever I think I couldn’t watch as Richie strode up.I did turn round,saw the penalty expertly executed,and then allowed myself to relax somewhat.That was unusual,I remember when we were 4 - 0 up against The Jammy Farts a few years back and still never felt the game was over.The team did the same,and they nabbed a goal somewhat fortuitously with five to go. Four minutes injury time said the board as it went up,and the groans and complaints went on round about me.Less than a few seconds later they grabbed a second as our defence went to sleep for virtually the first time the whole match.It was despair,my note book rattled off the ground as I threw it down.I couldn’t believe it,had we done it again ?
Thing was,just like two years ago,we’d passed up a superb chance to finish the game and missed it.That clearly rattled the lads as the Jammy Farts almost got through again.However,the final whistle seemed to galvanise the team,and the fans,and we began extra time anew with the depression of losing an equaliser so late consigned to history as we made one last, big effort.The first part of extra time went by relatively quickly,and without much incident,but like the whole of the 90, Motherwell supporters cheered their team loudly and passionately and you would have thought WE had the majority of supporters there,not the opposition.
As the second part of extra time progressed,we began to look the stronger team,and began to create chances.Some wondered about the wisdom of taking off two penalty takers as that spectre loomed large,but I don’t know,something suggested at the time it wasn’t such a bad move.Don’t know what it was,just a feeling existed.Clarky made the by - line,Skippy slotted home,and we thought we were there…... then the flag went up somewhat late and perhaps unfairly,hard to say where I was.Then another shot flashed across the box but wide.I looked at my watch,it said 119 minutes,and as we all know injury time in extra time is a creature which rarely shows its head.A nice mix up in the middle of the park allowed Skippy to surge through midfield and he played a brilliant,if difficult,pass wide to Fitzy.
The expectation level suddenly surged around me,the cries of “ Go on, Fitzy ! ” ran loud,and the young man duly obliged ramming home an angled drive into the far bottom corner.I’ve never seen celebrations so wild,even at the Cup Final in 1991 they just didn’t seem so unbridled as this.No sooner had the game kicked off,than the final whistle went.We had done it,Motherwell had made the CIS Cup Final 2005,and boy did we party in that stand.The players knew they had achieved something really special, only the second League Cup Final spot booked since the win in the early Fifties ( and the first since 1955 ),and our long,long terrible run in the Competition actually took on a whole, new meaning.
The cries of “ When the Well, go up, to lift the Diddy Cup, we’ll be there, oh we’ll be there ” rang high throughout that stand.Tel led the players in the celebrations, that sort of thing is just magic and you cannot put a price on the feeling it gives you.The long,long walk back to the Buses seemed not quite the distance it had pre - match,and as we arrived back in Motherwell the first thought of many was to see the team bus back.You could see what it meant to the lads,Richie Foran coming off the bus punching the air and shouting loudly,Skippy tooting his car horn in sheer excitement.Craggo looking worried he’d miss the Final until,as he said later , Tel wound him up a bit before letting him know it was okay.It’s an Evening I will never forget,so charged with emotion, and probably one of the proudest moments I have ever experienced in the 24 years I have followed Motherwell.
There’s really only one thing left to do now with regards to the CIS Cup this year, and that is to go to Hampden and bring the Trophy back to Fir Park.Irrespective of what actually happens that day,we are winners all the way, and should be proud of what we have achieved.Enjoy what will be another brilliant day,and as you look across Hampden,be glad you are a Well fan.I know I am !
Forever ‘Well,Ricky Mullen
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