The 1991 Scottish Cup Final was the 106th final of the

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,Scottish football's most prestigious knockout

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

competition. The match took place at

Hampden Park Hampden Park ( ; Scottish Gaelic: ''Pàirc Hampden'') is a association football, football stadium in the Mount Florida area of Glasgow, Scotland, which is the national stadium of football in Scotland and home of the Scotland national football ...

on 18 May 1991 and was contested by

Scottish Premier Division The Scottish Football League Premier Division was, from 1975 until 1998, the top division of the Scottish Football League and the entire Scottish football league system. It lay above the Scottish Football League First, Second and (from 1994) ...

clubs

Motherwell Motherwell (, ) is a List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, south east of Glasgow. It has a population of around 32,120. Shires of Scotland, Historically in the p ...

and

Dundee United Dundee United Football Club is a Scotland, Scottish professional association football, football club based in the city of Dundee. Formed in 1909, originally as Dundee Hibernian, the club changed to the present name in 1923. United are nickname ...

. It was both Motherwell's and Dundee United's 6th

Scottish Cup Final The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the Scottish Cup, is a knockout cup competition in Scottish football. Organised by the Scottish Football Association, it is the third oldest existing football competition in the wo ...

and also the first time the clubs had met in a Scottish Cup Final. The match was dubbed the "family final", as the manager of both clubs were brothers,

Tommy McLean Thomas McLean Jr. (born 2 June 1947) is a Scottish former professional football player and manager. McLean played for Kilmarnock, Rangers and Scotland as a midfielder. He managed Morton, Motherwell, Hearts, Raith Rovers and Dundee United. E ...

and

Jim McLean James Yuille McLean (2 August 1937 – 26 December 2020) was a Scottish football player, manager and director. He managed Dundee United between 1971 and 1993, becoming the longest-serving and most successful manager in the club's history, winni ...

. As

clubs, Motherwell and United both entered the competition in the third round. Neither club won all four of their ties at the first attempt, Dundee United requiring a replay to knock out Division Two club East Fife in the third round. United went on to defeat Division One clubs Airdrieonians and archrivals

Dundee Dundee (; ; or , ) is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, fourth-largest city in Scotland. The mid-year population estimate for the locality was . It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firt ...

before eliminating

Tayside derby The Tayside Derby, (also known as the Tayside Trifecta) is a football rivalry based in Tayside. The matches are contested by the three professional clubs in the region: Dundee, Dundee United and St Johnstone. A match between Dundee and Dundee ...

rivals

St Johnstone St Johnstone Football Club is a professional association football club in Perth, Scotland. The team competes in the , the second division of Scottish football. The club's name is derived from St John's Toun (or Saint Johnstoun)—an old name o ...

in the semi-finals. After winning against defending champions

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

in the third round, Motherwell defeated Division One clubs

Falkirk Falkirk ( ; ; ) is a town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, historically within the county of Stirlingshire. It lies in the Forth Valley, northwest of Edinburgh and northeast of Glasgow. Falkirk had a resident population of 32,422 at the ...

and

Greenock Morton Greenock Morton Football Club is a Scottish professional football club, which plays in the . The club was founded as Morton Football Club in 1874, making it one of the oldest Scottish clubs. Morton was renamed Greenock Morton in 1994 to celebr ...

then the previous seasons runners-up,

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...

, in a replayed semi-final. The match was both clubs' 6th appearance in the final. However, it was Motherwell's first appearance in 39 years whilst Dundee United had reached the final only three seasons beforehand. Motherwell had previously won only one final whilst Dundee United had lost on all previous final appearances. Motherwell won the match 4–3 after extra time was played. They took the lead when Iain Ferguson headed in just after 30 minutes had been played. In the second half, Dundee United equalized through Dave Bowman. Motherwell went back in front thanks to 18-year-old Phil O'Donnell and their lead was then extended to 3-1 by Ian Angus. However, two goals from United, one from John O'Neil and a last minute equaliser from Darren Jackson made the score 3–3, forcing the match into extra-time. Substitute Stevie Kirk scored a header in the first half of extra-time to conclude victory for Motherwell.

Route to the final

Motherwell

As a

club, Motherwell entered the competition in the third round. They were drawn against fellow Premier Division club

who were also defending champions having won the 1990 Scottish Cup Final. The match was played at Aberdeen's home of

Pittodrie Stadium Pittodrie Stadium, commonly referred to as Pittodrie, from which the surrounding residential area has taken its name, is an all-seater stadium in Aberdeen, Scotland. Used primarily for Association football, football, it has been the home ground o ...

with Motherwell winning 1–0. The fourth round draw paired the club with Division One club

resulting in a 4–2 win at

Fir Park Fir Park Stadium is a football stadium situated in Motherwell, North Lanarkshire, Scotland. The stadium plays host to the home matches of Scottish Premiership club Motherwell and was the temporary home of Gretna for the 2007–2008 SPL season. ...

to progress to the quarter-finals. Another Division One club in the form of

was the club's opponent, with the two clubs playing out a 0–0 draw to force a replay at

Cappielow Cappielow, also known as Cappielow Park supported by Dalrada Technology UK for sponsorship reasons, is a football stadium in Greenock, Inverclyde, Scotland. It is the home ground of Scottish Professional Football League club Greenock Morton, w ...

. The replay ended in another draw at 1–1 and the game progressed to a

penalty shootout The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...

with Motherwell winning 5–4. In the semi-finals Motherwell faced the previous season's runners-up,

, at

with the game ending in another 0–0 draw for the club. A week later in the replay, Motherwell triumphed in a 4–2 victory to progress to the Scottish Cup Final for the first time in 39 years since defeating

in the 1952 Final.

Dundee United

Dundee United, also a Premier Division club entered the competition in the third round. They were drawn against Division Two club East Fife who had progressed from the first round. The clubs played out a 1–1 draw at Bayview Park to force a replay at

Tannadice Park Tannadice Park, officially known as The CalForth Construction Arena for sponsorship reasons, is a football stadium in Dundee, Scotland. It is the home ground of Dundee United F.C., who have played at Tannadice since the club was founded as Du ...

. In the replayed match United emerged victorious in a 2–1 win. The fourth round draw saw Airdrieonians visit Tannadice, with the club losing 2–0. In the quarter-finals, United were drawn against archrivals

to set up a

Dundee derby The Dundee derby is a football match between Dundee and Dundee United. The clubs are based yards apart in the city of Dundee, the fourth-largest city in Scotland. History Dundee is the older of the two, having been founded in 1893, compared t ...

match at home. United won the tie 3–1 to progress to the semi-finals where they faced other rivals

from nearby

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

in a

. Dundee United won the match 2–1 and booked a place in the final for the fifth time in the past ten years following appearances in the

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 6 – A funeral service is held in West Germany for Nazi Grand Admiral ...

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a n ...

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

and

1988 1988 was a crucial year in the early history of the Internet—it was the year of the first well-known computer virus, the Morris worm, 1988 Internet worm. The first permanent intercontinental Internet link was made between the United State ...

finals.

Match

Report

The match had been dubbed the "Family Final" by the media as the two opposing managers were brothers,

and

. Dundee United dominated the opening stages of the match, with Hamish French having the ball in the net after only two minutes but had his goal disallowed for off-side, whilst

Freddy van der Hoorn Fred van der Hoorn (born 12 October 1963) is a Dutch former footballer who played in defence. Career Van der Hoorn joined Dundee United in 1989 from Dutch side FC Den Bosch and stayed at Tannadice until just after United's Scottish Cup win in ...

on seven minutes hit the inside of the post from 25 yards out, only to see the ball roll out for a goal kick. Motherwell began to settle, however, before the game then went in to something of a lull. The opening goal came on 32 minutes when Motherwell's Iain Ferguson headed the ball into the top corner past Alan Main. Dundee United's

Jim McInally James Edward McInally (born 19 February 1964) is a Scottish football manager and former player, who was most recently the manager of Scottish League Two club Peterhead. He played for Dundee United for 10 seasons in which he won the 1993–94 ...

came close to equalising with a shot near the end of the first half, but Motherwell held on to their lead for half-time. Early in the second half, Motherwell goalkeeper Ally Maxwell was badly injured as a result of a challenge with United's John Clark. He was able to carry on after receiving treatment, but was in clear discomfort. Dundee United equalised on 55 minutes when Dave Bowman struck a 25-yard shot past the struggling Maxwell. Motherwell retook the lead a mere three minutes later when a

Davie Cooper David Cooper (25 February 1956 – 23 March 1995) was a Scottish professional association football, footballer who played as a winger (association football), winger. Born in Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Hamilton, Cooper played as a youth for l ...

free-kick was flicked on by John Clark and headed past Alan Main by Phil O'Donnell. ''The Steelmen'' further extended their lead on 65 minutes when an Ian Angus shot from the edge of the penalty box flew into the top corner of the goal. Despite now being 3–1 down, Dundee United rallied and quickly pulled a goal back; John O'Neil heading in a Dave Bowman cross from the right. It was O'Neil's first competitive goal for United. Dundee United laid siege to the Motherwell goal for the rest of the second half, but Motherwell looked like holding on until in the last minute Darren Jackson equalised. In the final moments of the second half, Maurice Malpas had a chance to win it for United, but his shot was off-target. The final now went in to extra time. Four minutes in, Motherwell substitute Steve Kirk headed in at the back post to put Motherwell 4–3 ahead. Dundee United pushed on again in another effort to draw level, and near the end Maurice Malpas was denied a goal by a flying save from Maxwell. Shortly after that, John Clark shot past. This time, however, Motherwell held on to full-time to win the cup, condemning Dundee United to their sixth Scottish Cup Final defeat in 17 years.

Details

References

External links

1991 final
{{DEFAULTSORT:Scottish Cup Final 1991

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

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Motherwell F.C. matches Dundee United F.C. matches 1990s in Glasgow

Nicknamed sporting events