Novo wondergoal a cruel blow to brave Falkirk

Published on Sunday 31 May 2009 23:20

AS WALTER Smith eclipsed one of Sir Alex Ferguson's managerial landmarks on Saturday, he might also have been tempted to emulate one of his close friend's most infamous post-match assessments.

It was immediately after the 1983 Scottish Cup final, when Aberdeen were often outplayed by Rangers but scored the game's only goal, that Ferguson launched into a tirade against his players during a television interview, branding them the "luckiest team in the world" to lift the trophy.

It was a harsh assessment, one Ferguson later regretted. Even had he not been delegating most of the media duties to his assistant Ally McCoist on Saturday, Smith would certainly have resisted such a knee-jerk reaction.

Yet as on that occasion 26 years earlier, this was not a cup final won by the better team on the day. Falkirk's dominance of possession left Rangers looking leaden-footed for most of a sultry afternoon and it was difficult not to sympathise with John Hughes' players as their admirable efforts reaped no reward.

But while Falkirk earned the plaudits, Rangers took the silverware and as Smith appreciates better than anyone, that is the only currency that counts for an Old Firm manager.

Saturday saw Smith win the Scottish Cup for the fifth time, one more than Ferguson, and collect his 17th major honour overall from his two spells in charge of Rangers.

It draws him level with Scot Symon in the pantheon of great Scottish managers, with only the legendary trio of Bill Struth, Willie Maley and Jock Stein having won more domestic trophies.

Long after the unconvincing nature of Saturday's triumph is forgotten, history will simply record another notch on Smith's belt as his impressive restoration of Rangers' self-respect and fortunes continued.

After the vibrancy and irresistible conviction his team had displayed in the victory at Tannadice six days earlier to win the SPL title for the first time in four years, there was always likely to be a hangover to contend with on Saturday.

Falkirk's superior movement and ball retention left Rangers chasing shadows in the sunshine for long periods, their recast central midfield of Barry Ferguson and Lee McCulloch unable to secure any meaningful possession as the excellent Kevin McBride and Patrick Cregg dictated the tempo.

But for all of Rangers' sluggishness, Falkirk were betrayed by a familiar failing in their attempts to take advantage of the toiling champions.

A lack of incisiveness in the attacking third of the pitch was the most significant factor in Falkirk having to engage in a desperate fight against relegation this season and it was all too evident again on Saturday. For all of the pretty patterns they weaved, they were unable to force Rangers goalkeeper Neil Alexander into making a genuine save.

Neil McCann, who rolled back the years with his first half display, missed Falkirk's best opportunity to secure an opening goal from which Rangers may well have struggled to recover.

Having already clipped the top of Alexander's crossbar with a left foot shot from the edge of the penalty area, the former Scotland winger was presented with a glorious chance when Darren Barr's 21st minute cross found him unmarked inside the box. McCann placed too much emphasis on trying to place his shot, however, succeeding only in guiding it narrowly wide of Alexander's left hand post.

Even at that stage, there was a powerful sense Falkirk would pay a predictable price for their profligacy, although no-one could have anticipated the manner in which Rangers would turn the final in their favour.

Smith decided to replace the wilting Kris Boyd with Nacho Novo at the start of the second half and never has there been a more dramatically effective substitution in the history of the Scottish Cup.

Just 29 seconds after the resumption, Sasa Papac took a quick throw-in on the left which allowed Novo to steal a yard of space and cut inside to create room for a shot. The little Spaniard unleashed a stunning right foot effort from around 30 yards which dipped and swerved over the helpless Falkirk goalkeeper Dani Mallo to bulge the net.

"That goal today was worthy of winning any game of football anywhere in the world," observed Rangers manager Ally McCoist.

"It was unbelievable. I'm so pleased for Nacho, because it is not easy being on the bench as often as he has been this season. I love the wee guy, I love his enthusiasm for football and for life.

Nacho throws himself into a game. He doesn't try to break himself in, he arrives with a bang. He's like a small packet of TNT. Even with the fans, he just generates something that we need."

While Novo's goal placed Rangers in a position of strength, Falkirk continued to produce the more cohesive football. They had chances to score the equaliser which was the least their play would have merited. Tam Scobbie headed a McCann corner wide from close range and, with seven minutes remaining, the hard-working Steve Lovell was unfortunate to see his close range shot deflect off Steven Davis onto Alexander's right hand post.

The Falkirk players deserved the ovation they received from their supporters at full-time but the celebrations, regardless of how they were arrived at, belonged to Rangers.