Scottish Cup classics: McNamara thwarts Hibernian

OF ALL the attributes which earned him the respect and admiration of team-mates and opponents alike during an outstanding playing career, goalscoring was not a knack with which Jackie McNamara was readily associated.

Celtics Jackie McNamara celebrates opening the scoring in the 2001 Scottish Cup final. Picture: Robert Perry

In 358 appearances for Celtic over ten seasons which brought him nine major honours, he netted just 15 times. It was the misfortune of Hibs, the team with which his father Jackie senior had been such a popular and successful player, that he happened to score 20 per cent of them against the Easter Road club.

The most notable of them, of course, came in the 2001 Scottish Cup final at Hampden. Jackie junior began the afternoon on the Celtic substitutes’ bench, while his old man was in the Hibs end of the stadium torn by conflicting loyalties.

After just 18 minutes of goalless action, Celtic manager Martin O’Neill called on the always ready McNamara’s services to replace Slovakian playmaker Lubomir Moravcik for whom a gamble with a knee injury sustained the previous week failed to pay off.

Henrik Larsson scored twice against a Hibs side that included Franck Sauzee

But another bet was cashed in when McNamara seized his opportunity by opening the scoring for Celtic six minutes before half-time. His older brother Stephen had backed him at long odds for first goalscorer and perhaps celebrated more lustily than anyone else inside the National Stadium when the precise low shot beat Hibs goalkeeper Nick Colgan.

“For some reason, I had a good record against Hibs,” recalls McNamara. “I’d scored my first goal for Celtic against them in a league game at Easter Road a couple of months after I had signed for them from Dunfermline in 1995. I also scored against them in a 5-0 league win at Celtic Park in 1997.

“I didn’t score too many goals but Stephen just had a hunch I might get one that day. He got a great price on it, which wasn’t surprising because I wasn’t really expected to play in the game.

“I had been injured earlier that season while I was on Scotland duty. When I was out of the team, Martin O’Neill put Didier Agathe in at right wing-back and he did really well. So I had to try and re-invent myself in a different position to get back in the team.

“I played a few games in midfield and while I felt I did well, I wasn’t first choice for that area of the team at that stage. So when he started the cup final with Lubo, I couldn’t argue with it. Lubo was a fantastic player.

“He had hurt his knee and was struggling, but it was understandable that he wanted to give it a go. Unfortunately for him, it didn’t work out. That turned out to be fortunate for me, especially as I was able to make the impact I did.

“The first goal in any game is important, but especially so in a cup final. I did feel good about myself when I went on. I always felt I could make a contribution. I’d scored in the semi-final win over Dundee United at Hampden the previous month and it was nice to do it again in the final.”

McNamara wasn’t finished, setting up Henrik Larsson for the goal which made it 2-0 three minutes into the second half and effectively killed off Hibs’ challenge. The Swedish striker wrapped up the 3-0 success with an 80th-minute penalty kick, taking his goals tally for the season to a staggering 53 and hogging the headlines.

“I wasn’t too fussy about Henrik getting all the attention,” smiles McNamara. “He was just a very special player who did it on the big occasion time and again for Celtic. I was just pleased to give him a hand that day.”

It secured Celtic’s first domestic treble since the Jock Stein era at the club and also saw McNamara complete his own personal set of winners’ medals.

“I didn’t play in the League Cup final against Kilmarnock that season, but I’d already won that trophy a couple of times before Martin came to the club,” he says. “So the Scottish Cup was the only thing I hadn’t won as a Celtic player before that day.

“I wouldn’t say it is the outstanding highlight of my career, but it is up there. To get my first Scottish Cup winner’s medal and to score as well was special. It was a piece of history for the club too. It was the start of a great era for the club. We kicked on from that season and reached a European final two years later. It was a great squad with a lot of really talented players in it.”

McNamara finds it “incredible” that Hibs have now gone 111 years without winning the Scottish Cup, a hoodoo his father was unable to break during his time with the club. “I wasn’t really aware at that stage of the timescale surrounding Hibs in terms of not having won the Scottish Cup,” he adds. “I was only six when my Dad played in the 1979 final against Rangers. I don’t really remember much about it, to be honest.

“When it came to the 2001 final, part of him must have been hoping Hibs would do it but he has always supported me throughout my career. He was in the Hibs end with his pals that day and says they actually applauded him when I scored. He was obviously delighted for me.

“He is going to the final again this Sunday to support Hibs but I have to be honest and say I don’t see Hibs having much of a chance. Celtic just look too strong. They have that winning mentality in their squad. I think Hibs will need Celtic to have an off day, or for Leigh Griffiths to do something special. Without him, they would have really struggled in all competitions. He will want to go out on a high note if it is his last game for Hibs, but I can’t see past a Celtic win.”