Eddie Thompson's final hurdle
Monday, March 17, 2008 Yesterday, at Hampden Park, Dundee United played Rangers in the final of the CIS Insurance Cup. I wasn't at the game because I couldn't get a ticket, but I watched it on BBC Scotland which is available in England on digital TV.
I went to my first United match in 1969. I was ten years old and we had recently moved to Scotland from Maidenhead in Berkshire. Rangers were the opponents then as well and although the game ended 0-0 I was hooked. My father took me that first time but after that I went on my own, rarely missing a home game until, seven years later, I went to university in Aberdeen.
Needless to say, it was only then that a small miracle started to happen. United developed into rather a good team, a team that was good enough eventually to beat some of Europe's top clubs (including Barcelona, home and away) and reach a European final (the UEFA Cup) in 1987.
I supported the club from afar and even when I was living in London I did everything I could to get to the big games, including the match in 1983 when we won the League for the first (and only) time in the club's history. (That year, the title was a three-horse race and was decided on the last day of the season. United had to win, and they did, courtesy of a nail-biting 2-1 win over our city rivals Dundee at their ground, Dens Park. It was one of the best moments of my life.)
Unfortunately, winning at Hampden was a different proposition and I (almost) lost count of the times I watched United dominate cup finals before throwing away yet another trophy. In fact, prior to yesterday United had reached 13 domestic finals since 1974, winning just three and two of those - the League Cup wins of 1979 and 1980 - were at Dens Park.
Famously, the club lost six Scottish Cup finals at Hampden (five of them between 1981 and 1990) before winning at the seventh attempt - against Rangers - in 1994. (Thankfully, having been present at five losing finals, I was there to see it happen. In fact, I think I can pinpoint that day as the moment my obsession with football began to wane. Having, finally, achieved the Holy Grail after so much grief, it was as if, football-wise, I could rest in peace.)
And so to yesterday's game which had more poignancy than most football matches because United's chairman Eddie Thompson, a lifelong fan who has spent £5.5 million of his own money on the club in recent years with little or no success, is dying of cancer and there was speculation - following an emotional semi-final win over Aberdeen - that he might not live to see the game.
I'm delighted to say that he did. And I'm thrilled to say that United played better than I have seen them play for years. In fact, they dominated the match (which went to extra time) to such an extent that the Scotsman reports that they "outplayed Rangers for about 100 of the 120 minutes", which is as good as it gets.
Of course, being United - and this being Hampden - they couldn't quite finish Rangers off. And so, having led twice, the game ended 2-2 and United lost the penalty shoot-out 3-2. Disappointed? Of course. But Graham Spiers, writing in The Times HERE, sums up what I and many United fans feel this morning, even those of us who weren't at the match:
For the 17,000 United fans at Hampden, it was still an unforgettable occasion. They chanted "There's only one Eddie Thompson" throughout the match, and he responded by waving and pumping his fist with resolve. As cruel as the outcome was for United, Thompson will still have savoured this occasion. He is a special man, at a special club.
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