AHEAD of tomorrow’s Scottish Cup final, current Dons boss Derek McInnes said an Aberdeen victory would rank as one of the biggest Hampden upsets ever.
In context, however, it would not be as seismic as the outcome of the 1970 final when Eddie Turnbull’s men defeated the Scottish champions and cup holders, and a team who were one leg away from winning an epic (and arguably the greatest) ‘Battle of Britain’ tie against Leeds United for a place in the European Cup final.
Aberdeen had not won the Scottish Cup for 23 years, but a 1-0 semi-final victory against Kilmarnock at Muirton Park gave them a crack at Celtic. That goal came from Derek McKay, who in the previous round had also netted the only goal against Dundee – the club that had freed him the previous year.
The nickname ‘Cup Tie McKay’ was already being banded around before the Dons travelled to Hampden. When it came time to make the return trip, McKay’s moniker had become part of football’s folklore.
A dubious handball decision by referee Bobby Davidson enabled Aberdeen to lead when Joe Harper converted from the spot. Davidson courted controversy, denying Celtic two ‘stonewall’ penalty claims and Bobby Lennox a goal when it appeared, to the vast majority of the 108,434 in attendance, that Bobby Clark had dropped the ball, rather than doing so under duress from Lennox.
It wasn’t until seven minutes from time that Aberdeen added a second, McKay pouncing on a rebound after Evan Williams had saved from Jim Forrest. What hope Lennox gave Celtic with a late goal was immediately killed off when Harper, cutting in from the right, teased and beat Tommy Gemmell, squaring for McKay to cement his place in history with a second goal. Celtic boss Jock Stein was incandescent with rage, his rant after the whistle eventually earning a £10 fine from the SFA. Given the paltry penalty, it almost seemed there had been some sympathy for the irate Stein from within Park Gardens.
A few days later, Celtic did indeed beat Leeds United again, on the same pitch where they’d been beaten by Aberdeen.
Teams
Aberdeen: Clark, Boel, McMillan, M. Buchan, Hermiston, McKay, Murray, Robb, Graham, Forrest, Harper
Substitute: G. Buchan (not used)
Celtic: Williams, Hay, McNeill, Brogan, Gemmell, Johnstone, Murdoch, Lennox, Hughes (Auld), Connolly, Wallace
Stewart Weir’s reflections
This final was pre-live television, so, the only way for many to enjoy the match was by listening on the wireless.
Years later, I worked for an agency, one of my duties being ghosting Eddie Turnbull’s newspaper column.
One day, I referred to Davidson’s performance in that final. Had he been that bad, or helpful?
“Put it this way,” said Eddie. “If I had been in big Jock’s shoes, I’d have had 20 quids’ worth!”
Having led Aberdeen as a 21-year-old at Hampden, seven years later Martin Buchan captained Manchester United to victory at Wembley, the first player to skipper his team to victory in both the Scottish Cup and FA Cup finals.
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