Stephen Halliday: Maxwell’s Hampden heroics which required a hospital press pass

BBC Scotland’s series of classic Scottish Cup matches is providing both a welcome football fix and a distracting trip down memory lane.

Injured Motherwell goalkeeper Ally Maxwell (left) with defender Luc Nijholt following their Scottish Cup triumph. Picture: SNS.

Last weekend’s rerun of the remarkable 1991 final between Motherwell and Dundee United was an especially pleasing way to spend a couple of hours.

For any of us in the inky trade who were at Hampden that afternoon, Motherwell’s epic 4-3 success after extra time will always rank highly on the list of memorable events we have covered.

Ally Maxwell’s heroic contribution for the Fir Park side, playing on in agony after having his ribs smashed by United defender John Clark’s thunderous challenge, presented this correspondent with one of my trickier assignments. Graham Clark, the accomplished and resourceful chief football writer of the Sun at the time, had stolen a march on all of us by ferrying the stricken Maxwell to the nearby Victoria Infirmary after the match while the Motherwell 
goalkeeper’s team-mates headed off to start their 
celebrations.

As rival newspapers played catch-up on Graham’s exclusive, I was dispatched by my then Scottish Daily Express gaffer to try to gain access to Maxwell’s hospital ward.

By the good grace of a sympathetic nurse who overlooked my presence outwith visiting times and the tolerance of the affable Maxwell, I got the quotes required to chronicle one of the Scottish Cup’s most courageous tales.

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