Robbie Winters on how he ended up in goals v Rangers in Scottish Cup final

At 5ft 8in, the Aberdeen striker was an unlikely replacement for broken-jaw victim Jim Leighton who never played again

Eoin Jess welcomes Robbie Winters to the fray

There is a famous story of an inebriated Aberdeen fan trooping out of Hampden at the end of the 2000 Scottish Cup final; cursing his lot, his team and the world. And as a result of having watched, glazed over, the 4-0 slamming of his side by Rangers, the pie-eyed Pittodrie punter was in no mood for sentiment.

It didn’t matter to him that the occasion – 20 years ago today – marked the last game of Jim Leighton’s stellar, 23-year senior career. “He should have done much better,” the supporter slurred. At which point it had to be gently pointed out to him that the 91-times capped, then 41-year-old had been denied the opportunity to add to his 10-strong haul of major honours as a consequence of, um, being forced off with what proved a broken jaw inside two minutes.

It is Leighton’s accidental collision with an on-rushing Rod Wallace at precisely one minute and 55 seconds that makes the Scottish Cup final of two decades ago like no other.

Aberdeen's stand-in goalkeeper Robbie Winters is left helpless as Giovanni Van Bronkhorst runs off to celebrate his goal.

It makes the showpiece the Winters’ tale… with a desperate sting in it.

Our Wullie in oven gloves

Neither before nor since on such a stage at Hampden has there been the requirement for an outfield player to be pressed into action as a makeshift keeper – the invidious challenge accepted by Aberdeen striker Robbie Winters. All 5ft 8in of him.

It took a full five minutes for the forward, on the bench at the start of proceedings, to be properly adorned in an oversized goalie top and gloves. The transformation left him looking like an Oor Wullie character wearing oven mitts. And ensured that what then kicked the bucket were any hopes harboured by manager Ebbe Skovdahl, pictured below left, and his bottom-placed top-flight finishers that they might be able to pull off an almighty shock against the Scottish champions.

Agony for Aberdeen keeper Jim Leighton as Rangers' Rod Wallace collides with him in the 2000 Scottish Cup final.

“I have spoken to Aberdeen fans since and they have said, when it happened, it was like ‘right we better enjoy the day because that is that’. And they stuck by us right throughout,” said Winters yesterday when asked to recall the afternoon that affords him a special place in Scottish football history.

One question always burns though: why? Why did he put himself through it. “It was a couple of weeks before and the manager said ‘does anyone fancy doing this if it comes up’. I stuck my hand up thinking it was a one in a million.

‘Nae chance of me having to go in’

“I had never played in goal since I was a kid diving about with my mates in the park but knew that, with only three subs then, they didn’t want to use up one for a keeper. Between then and the final I had a few wee run-outs in goal, but all the while I was thinking, ‘there’s nae chance of me having to go in’.”

Indeed, on radio the other week, Leighton revealed that, in a moment of prescience, he had encouraged Skovdahl to consider having an understudy to him on the bench but the Dane would not countenance such a move. In truth, no teams did, with Rangers placing three outfield players in their dug-out for the afternoon.

“Now that teams have five subs, it will probably never happen again, so at least I’ve become a quiz question for years to come. It was such an unpredictable event.

“I remember at kick-off I was sitting there raging at not starting and then within two minutes they were telling me to get ready and I am thinking, ‘really? Ye serious?’” said Winters. “With the get-up, I looked like a wee 16-year-old who had just been picked up off the street.”

Sad for Jim Leighton

Winters acquitted himself as well as he could when he had a defence in front of him that looked like they had never played their positions before. He made two decent saves – smartly tipping an effort over the bar – before Giovanni van Bronckhorst opened the scoring in the 36th minute. In the opening stages of the second period, the roof caved in. Goals from Tony Vidmar, Billy Dodds and a long-range effort from Jorge Albertz made it 4-0 after only 51 minutes.

“It was a bit of a free-for-all at times and you don’t want to be left exposed when you have a player like Albertz and that shot of his up against you,” said Winters.

It would have been cruel on the stand-in if any further goals had been conceded to match, or even surpass, the record winning margin for a Scottish Cup final held by Celtic courtesy of their 6-1 drubbing of Hibernian in
 1972. Yet the cruelty of the occasion for Winters remains what happened to Leighton. “It was such an emotional day for Jim and the club, and with his bravery in going for the ball, as Rod Wallace came in and only had his eyes on it, it was so unfortunate and such a sad way for his career to end,” he said.

Winters didn’t wrap up his playing days until he stopped turning out for the juniors a couple of years ago. The 45-year-old has never gone in goal again. “I now just play fives with my mates on a Friday night and don’t even go in goal there. With my lack of mobility now, though, maybe I should…”

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