It was almost like streaking in reverse Ryan Esson dutifully remained on the Hampden sidelines in the Millennium year Scottish Cup final as his playing kit took part but he did not.

The man who will be between the posts for Inverness Caledonian Thistle this afternoon was Aberdeen's reserve goal-keeper back in 2000 when manager Ebbe Skovdahl took a gamble which backfired horribly by opting to fill the three available substitutes' berths with outfield players.

Three minutes into the match Jim Leighton suffered the injury which ended a career in which he had become Scotland's most capped goal-keeper.

"At least my strip made it on," said Esson, ruefully.

"It wasn't a great day to be fair but you learn from those days and I'll always be a decent pub quiz question. My strip made it onto the park and I can't remember if my gloves did as well, but I certainly didn't.

"So it's a great question to ask people - whose strip made it into a Scottish Cup final but never played?"

The outcome was inevitable as Robbie Winters, with little more than some time filling in as a goal-keeper on the training ground, hauled on Esson's shirt and it has taken until now for the 35-year-old, who is ICT's goal-keeping coach but has taken over since first choice 'keeper Dean Brill suffered a season ending injury, to get his chance to play in a Hampden final.

It speaks to his attitude that his first thought was for Leighton while he refuses to condemn the then Aberdeen manager for his pre-match decision.

""My first reaction when he got injured was worrying about Jim and thinking about how he was," he said.

"I went in to see him when he came off because I was just behind the dugout, but that's football, these things happen.

"It was a decision the managers had to make then: what's the chances of the 'keeper getting injured? But it's one that came back on us.

"In hindsight you can look back and say it was the wrong decision, but at the time he probably made the right call.

"We were playing against Rangers it was going to be a difficult game and it was just one of those things.

"It ruined the cup final because, really, there was no chance of it being a close game after that.

"They changed the rule afterwards so 'keepers have been on the bench every season since, but that's life."