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Scottish Cup Final Pre-Match Banter


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As the title says:

A picked some up for the wing mirrors of me van, lookin good they are, waving in the wind! :thumbup:

 

Remnant Kings in Hamilton, is the place to get it, right across from Hemingways. They got loads in, and more due in for the weekend!!

 

`MON THE WELL!!!

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It's twenty years exactly to the day since we won the Scottish Cup in 1991 with that 'stupendous performance' quote commentator Jock Brown in the best Scottish Cup Final in history. It's hard to believe that was 20 years ago and even harder to believe that two of that squad are no longer with us. So raise a glass to 'The Class of '91' tonight Well fans, a squad that will forever belong in Motherwell folklore.

 

I wonder if we'll ever see the likes of them again :whistling:

Sadly its four of the squad that are no longer with us, Davie Cooper, Phil O'Donnell, Jamie Dolan and Paul McGrillen .They were all in the squad in 91.Hope they are all looking down on Saturday to see the Well win .

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Well, Well! O’Neill is predicting more woe for Celtic

Ex-fir park hero can see another cup humiliation

 

Wednesday, 18 May 2011

 

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Charismatic: Former Portadown midfielder Colin O?Neill became a legend at Motherwell, with his stunning Scottish Cup semi-final replay goal against Celtic in 1991 voted the best ever in the club?s history by the fans.

 

 

 

 

Colin O'Neill talks about it as if it happened just yesterday. The charismatic and controversial former Motherwell and Northern Ireland midfielder admits other details of his colourful career are sketchy in his head, but not this.

 

He's referring to THAT goal as Motherwell fans describe it.

 

They actually voted it THE number one goal in the club's history. It came in a Scottish Cup semi-final replay at Hampden against Celtic in 1991.

 

The score was 2-2 at the time when the ball fell to O'Neill. Over 35 yards out he unleashed a stunning shot which rocketed into the net.

 

Already a cult hero with the Fir Park faithful, who had labelled him Psycho for his fierce tackling, the chunky midfielder reached iconic status for Motherwell that night as they went on to win 4-2.

 

Twenty years on and now 47, the straight-talking O'Neill is hoping someone else in Motherwell colours can strike for glory against Celtic in Saturday's Scottish Cup final.

 

He'll be at Hampden, as a guest of his old club, no doubt lapping up the cheers from their supporters, who recall his deeds from two decades ago with relish.

 

“We thought we had a chance of doing something special in the Scottish Cup that year after we beat Morton in a penalty shoot-out,” said O'Neill, who joined Motherwell from Portadown in 1988.

 

“It was 4-4 in the shoot-out and they had missed so it was up to me to win it for us. After scoring the winning penalty, I landed on the top of my neck trying to do a somersault, so perhaps that wasn't the best idea, but I was lost in the moment.

 

“In the semi-finals we drew with Celtic and then in the replay we were losing 2-0. We pulled it back to 2-2 setting things up for a big finish.

 

“I'm glad to say I stepped up to score our third goal which proved to be crucial.

 

“It was actually named the best goal in Motherwell's history,” adds O'Neill with a real sense of pride before joyously painting a picture of his wonder strike.

 

“We had a throw-in and Stevie Kirk flicked it inside to me. He told me to push it through to Nick Cusack. I thought, sod it, I'm hitting this so I did and it went into the top corner. I can still see it going in now.

 

“My manager Tommy McLean said to me after the match that if I had not have scored I'd have been on the boat home because Cusack was clean through!

 

“It was a great feeling scoring that goal. I loved it.”

 

After the ecstasy came agony, when he suffered a knee injury putting his appearance in the final in doubt.

 

O'Neill admits now that he should not have been in the

 

squad, but manager McLean showed a sentimental side by naming the Ulsterman on the bench and bringing him on for the final few minutes of the 4-3 victory over Dundee United.

 

“After beating Celtic in the semi-final I got a knee injury,” says Colin, as talented as he was tough in the centre of the park.

 

“To be honest I shouldn't have been involved in the final. Tommy brought me in on the Friday before the Cup final and asked me if I was fit. I said I wasn't too bad and they tried me out for the Saturday but it was no good.

 

“The manager, who was a hardy wee guy, said his heart was ruling his head and he kept me in the squad for scoring the winning goals in the other two matches. I came on for the last three minutes and had a shot from about 60 yards which the fans enjoyed.

 

“Winning the Cup that year was a great moment in Motherwell's history. We hadn't won anything from 1952. In some bars in the town the price of a pint was the same as it was in 1952. Half the people running about didn't know what day it was.”

 

O'Neill himself had a reputation for enjoying himself after games.

 

He says: “Yeah, I went out a few times. The night I scored the goal against Celtic, Davie Cooper said on TV that I would be missing for a week!

 

“I guess I've always had a bit of a reputation for living life to the full. Jimmy Nicholl used to say in after dinner speeches that there were 5,000 police off duty in Northern Ireland because Colin O'Neill was over in Scotland. I played up to it a bit I guess, like the hardman image. When the fans were singing Pyscho to me it would give me a buzz and I'd go in and tackle someone hard.

 

“When I moved to Motherwell I blattered a few boys early on and that went down well with the fans. It wasn't a case of I went over there intending to make my mark deliberately, it was just the way I played.”

 

Leaving Portadown, O'Neill could have starred for Dunfermline but they had to drop their interest in him as they didn't have enough money. In stepped Motherwell, and with the help of Bill McMurdo, George Best's former agent, the deal was done.

 

“When I went over the manager Tommy McLean told me I had to lose a stone and a half. I did that in six weeks, and then once I got in the team, I was never out of it.”

 

Last week in this newspaper, O'Neill condemned the attack by a Hearts fan on Celtic boss Neil Lennon at Tynecastle, adding though that the Lurgan man brings some trouble on himself.

 

The likelihood is that Lennon will be celebrating a Scottish Cup win on Saturday, though O'Neill believes, just like 20 years ago, a Scottish Cup shock can happen.

 

“It will be tight and I reckon there will only be one goal in it,” says the former Northern Ireland international.

 

“I do give Motherwell a chance and I’d like to see them win. I am really looking forward to being there.”

 

After the Scottish Cup final, his next big date is in hospital for O’Neill, whose career with Motherwell came to a premature end due to injury.

 

“I'm going in in June to get a titanium hip.

 

“Normally people don't get them until they are 65, but I need it. It’s wear and tear though the good news is I'll be walking again in three days, so I don’t see it as a big deal.”

 

 

Belfast Telegraph

 

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Psycho

 

COLIN O'NEIL snarls at the camera as if poised to make another bone-crunching 50-50.

His chest is pumping and his heart is racing as sweat pours from his brow.

 

Sporting a 'Motherwell FC Psycho' tattoo, O'Neil is still every bit the legend his sweat soaked t-shirt suggests.

 

To this day, still a hero to thousands of Well fans - the Ulsterman was an integral part of Tommy McLean's famous 1991 Scottish Cup winning side.

 

He was a combative midfielder who thrived on his hard man image.

 

Now, after shedding two and a half stones in his battle to beat the bulge, Psycho reckons he's almost back to his fighting weight.

 

He said: "I'm doing about 110 miles a week on the bike. I go from Belfast to Carrickfergus and back.

 

"After that I go to the gym and hit the cross trainer, I do about eight miles on that.

 

"I can't run at all, my hip is too painful. I started the fitness programme last August and I've lost two and a half stone. The Motherwell boys won't recognise me.

 

"Everyone was asking me if I'm not well, but I've just been training hard."

 

As O'Neil admits, even a brisk walk is beyond him now.

 

The years of clattering opponents on the pitch has taken its toll on his hip and next month he will undergo surgery in Belfast.

 

He added: "I'm going for a hip replacement in June.

 

"I suppose that's what I get for booting people off the park for 15 years!

 

"My hip is completely worn out, crashing into walls and goalposts hasn't helped."

 

O'Neil's place in Fir Park folklore is assured. His never-to-be-forgotten 40-yard screamer against Celtic in the Scottish Cup semi-final in 1991 made sure of that.

 

He claims he'd be a wealthy man if he'd pocketed a pound for every time he'd been asked about THAT goal in the epic 4-2 win.

 

He smiled: "A boy came into my house once and thought my TV was broken.

 

"I had my goal playing on repeat non-stop.

 

"If I had a pound for every time I've been asked about that goal I'd be a rich man.

 

"I was shopping in Belfast recently and some random guy just stopped me in the street and started speaking to me about the goal.

 

"People remember the goal and I'm glad about that.

 

"That Motherwell team will always be held in high regard.

 

"Some people might say they don't want the current team to win because they will forget about us.

 

"The Motherwell fans will never forget us."

 

Two decades on and Motherwell are back at Hampden again dreaming of Scottish Cup glory.

 

O'Neil admits: "I can't believe it all happened 20 years ago. I'm just delighted the club have got back to the Scottish Cup Final.

 

"It's brilliant both for Motherwell and for the supporters. They don't get much success, the last thing they won was the Cup with us. It's great to see them back there."

 

 

 

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Psycho hopes to be at Hampden with the survivors from '91 and he admits it will be an emotional occasion for them all.

 

He added: "There is talk of the '91 team going to the final. That would be great.

 

"The only time the lads seem to meet up is in tragic circumstances.

 

"I was back for wee Dougie Arnott's testimonial, but Jamie Dolan had just died so there was no celebration that night.

 

"It's great to get back and I still keep in touch with a lot of the boys. It's hard for me to get over but I miss it, I miss the craic.

 

"I'd been doing a bit of coaching but I had to stop that because of my hip.

 

"I miss the day-to-day involvement in football.

 

"It was my life and I loved winding my team-mates up."

 

O'Neil relished his tussles with Well's cup final opponents Celtic and in particular Peter Grant.

 

The pair famously clashed at Fir Park in 1990, with O'Neil catching Grant in the face with a flying elbow and he became the first player in Scotland to face trial by TV.

 

O'Neil recalls: "People always talk about my elbow with Peter Grant.

 

"He spat at me so I elbowed him but we shook hands and a week later we were at a dinner together.

 

"I played hard, but I shook hands at the end. Now people are rolling around screaming. If I was playing now I'd have an early bath each week."

 

Scottish Sun

 

Can't get the picture as its copyrighted. Got to love his tattoo

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4-2 game is my all time favorite game I've attend. i was 9 at the time and can remember everything about it. from sitting shy as a pup in bellshill bowling club waiting for the bus to leave to the final whistle ! !

 

can't remember much of the cup final apart from crying when we won :wub:

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