IT will forever be remembered as one of Scottish football’s great cup upsets along with such unexpected results as Berwick’s win over Rangers back in 1967 and Inverness Caledonian Thistle’s triumph against Celtic in 2000.

Ross County, a First Division club from tiny Dingwall in the Highlands, were expected to present precious few problems for Celtic when they played in the semi-final of the Scottish Cup at Hampden back in 2010.

Yet, Derek Adams’ side ran out deserved 2-0 winners against Neil Lennon’s team thanks to goals from Steven Craig and Martin Scott at the end of 90 compelling minutes.

As the two clubs prepare to meet in the semi-final of the League Cup at the national stadium once again this weekend, many County supporters are hoping that history repeats itself.

Celtic had been in a state of some disarray before that fixture six years ago - Lennon had just taken over from Tony Mowbray as manager and it was only his third game in charge.

Ronny Deila’s men are, having scored no fewer than 15 goals in their last three Premiership games against Dundee United, Hamilton and St. Johnstone, certainly in far better shape entering this encounter.

But goalscorer Craig maintains that Jim McIntrye’s side is more likely to prevail than the team he played for - due to the quality of their personnel in their squad and their experience of top flight football.

“Ross County now are better equipped now to beat Celtic in a game like this than the side I was a member of was in 2010,” he said. “They have done exceptionally well to establish themselves as a Premiership club in the last few years.

“That is down to Roy McGregor’s vision and determination to take the club to the very top - not to mention the money he has spent has taken them to a new level. He has spent a lot of money. Jim McIntrye and Billy Dodds have also built an excellent squad which has shown they can more than hold their own in the top flight.

“A lot of thanks have to go to George Adam and Derek Adam for taking County from the lower leagues to the Premier League. They have two survivors from the 2010 cup semi-final win – Michael Gardyne and Scott Boyd – in their ranks. Their experience of an occasion like a cup semi-final at Hampden will be invaluable.”

Craig, who is set to return to football in a player/coach role imminently after parting company with Championship club Dumbarton earlier this month, will certainly never forget the day that Ross County effectively announced their arrival as a force in our national game as long as he lives.

“It was a magical game to be part of,” he said. “We knew there was no pressure going into that game. We knew the odds were stacked against us. Nobody gave us a hope. Anyway, the attention paid to us in the build-up was minimal. It was all about Neil Lennon.

“But Derek Adams had built a good team up at County and one thing we certainly had was belief. His preparation was meticulous and everything worked in our favour. In games like that you have to hope that all 11 of your players perform and your opponents have an off day. That is what happened.

“Celtic had a great side with Robbie Keane, Georgios Samaras, Andreas Hinkel, Scott Brown, Aiden McGeady and Marc Fortune all playing. But we didn’t pay any attention to them. We concentrated on our own strengths."

Craig continued: “Celtic were expected to steamroller us, but it didn’t work out that way. There wasn’t a lot happening for them and pretty soon their fans started to get on their case. That gave us a wee lift. When Landry N’Guemo was substituted before half-time we knew something wasn’t right.

“I scored early on in the second half. I was always fairly confident when I got through I would score. It was just one of those games when everything goes right.”

Scott added a second just two minutes before the end of regulation time to secure a victory which stunned Scottish football in general and a Celtic side which would finish the season trophyless as a result in particular. Craig, though, was impressed by the reaction from the opposition manager and supporters that day.

“Neil Lennon was very gracious afterwards, very professional,” he said. “He shook all of the Ross County players’ hands and was very complimentary about us. That said a lot for him. He was under massive pressure.

“Our bus out of Glasgow was a given a police escort. The Celtic fans were applauding us as we made our way through the city. To have opposition fans of a club of that size doing that was quite heartening."

Craig will watch the action unfold at Hampden this weekend on television and believes the current County side, who moved to fourth place in the Premiership with their 2-1 win over Motherwell at the weekend, are more than capable of emulating their predecessors and reaching the final.

“It is a cup tie and it is about who turns up on the day,” he said. “What we did shows you that, with a wee bit of belief, it can be done.”