With Celtic set to face Hearts in the Scottish Cup Final, we thought we’d take a look back at one of Celtic’s previous Hampden Park encounters with the Tynecastle side, the 1988 Scottish Cup semi-final.
The 1987-88 season for Celtic was a football fairytale. The team, managed by Billy McNeill, won the league in the club’s centenary season.
Celtic’s Scottish Cup journey was just as exciting. The semi-final has to go down as one of the best comebacks in the club’s history.
Fell behind to a controversial goal
The Celts fell behind to a controversial Brian Whittaker goal, when it looked as if goalkeeper Pat Bonner had been fouled.
The Hoops moved into the last minutes of the game a goal behind, with their double dreams in doubt. However, Mark McGhee forced him the equaliser when a shot went through a host of Hearts legs.
Took the lead minutes later
Incredibly enough, the Hoops took the lead only minutes later. Hearts goalkeeper Henry Smith dropped the ball, and Andy Walker fired the ball into the net.
Just when it looked as if the Hoops were going to go out of the cup, they won 2-1 and reached the Scottish Cup Final, where they would face Dundee United in another memorable match.
That is a story for another time. This is about Celtic and Hearts. Hoops fans will be hoping that the upcoming Scottish Cup Final is nowhere near as tense as the 1988 match. Although a similar outcome – a Celtic win – will obviously be what the fans want.
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