THE tournament which will reach a frenzied conclusion between Alloa Athletic and Livingston at McDiarmid Park, Perth, today is now into its 25th year.
This in itself is somewhat remarkable considering it was first envisaged as a one-off. Having begun life in 1990 as the B&Q Centenary Cup, this novelty tournament to celebrate the centenary of the Scottish Football League has proved more durable even than its parent organisation, the SFL being voted out of existence amid the reshuffle which led to the formation of the SPFL a few years back. Sponsors like B&Q, Bell's, ALBA itself, Ramsdens and now Petrofac have come and gone - indeed in the 1998-99 season the competition didn't take place at all because it didn't have one - but this plucky little underdog has more than proved its worth. It's as good a time as any to compile a list of the five most famous finals in the history of the competition.
November 1995: Stenhousemuir 0 Dundee United 0 (Stenny win 5-4 on pens). Venue: McDiarmid Park, Perth. Att: 7856
DUNDEE United only dropped to the first division for one season during the 90s, but it was still long enough to be duffed up by Terry Christie and his legendary Duffel coat. Despite progressing through the entire tournament without conceding a goal in normal play, this was a block in the road for Billy Kirkwood's side during a season which would end with a play-off win against Partick Thistle. United had won the Scottish Cup final only a year before, but it was second division Stenhousemuir who stole the honours in the first national cup final in the club's 111-year history. In the first Challenge Cup final to be decided on penalties, the hero of the hour was Roddy McKenzie - the goalkeeper who would go on to find fame with Hearts and Livingston. He saved Craig Brewster's penalty at the outset, the only spot kick missed during the entire shoot-out. Other notables in the United team that day included Steven Pressley, Maurice Malpas and Christian Dailly, while former United favourite Eamonn Bannon and Hamilton Cup hero Adrian Sprott played for Stenny.
November 1999: Inverness CT 4 Alloa Athletic 4 (Alloa win 5-4 on pens). Venue: Excelsior Stadium, Airdrie. Att: 4043
THE Duffel coat returns. Christie had decamped to today's finalists Alloa by now, taking his son Max with him, but he had more heroics in store in this competition against more-vaunted opponents. This was only a matter of months before Steve Paterson's Super Caley were going ballistic by knocking Celtic out of the Scottish Cup at Parkhead, but they themselves fell victim to a giant-killing of sorts to second division Alloa. Gary Clark, also a scorer on Challenge Cup final day for Hamilton against Morton, got the ball rolling for Alloa early on, but additional goals from Mark Wilson and Martin Cameron (2) were cancelled out by Barry Wilson and a Paul Sheerin hat-trick. Into penalties again and this time the hero was Alloa stopper Mark Cairns. Not only did he score a nerveless sudden death penalty of his own, but he saved from Mike Teasdale to take the cup to Clackmannanshire.
November 2009: Dundee 3 Inverness Caledonian Thistle 2. Venue: McDiarmid Park, Perth. Att: 8031
TERRY Butcher's Highlanders boasted a trio of high- powered Irishmen in Adam Rooney, Jonny Hayes and Richie Foran but they still found themselves outlasted by Jocky Scott's Dundee, a group which could call on current Scotland internationals such as Leigh Griffiths and Craig Forsyth. In the end things came full circle with Dundee's first win in this tournament since 1990, the clinching goal being scored by Forsyth - whose father had played in that very match. It arrived with just seven minutes remaining, with goals from Rooney and Caley Thistle's Latvian Nauris Bulvitis having previously been cancelled out by Gary Harkins and a Bulvitis own goal. Inverness sub Dougie Imrie was dismissed on 90 minutes for a bad tackle on Pat Clarke.
April 2013: Queen of the South 1 Partick Thistle 1 (QoS won 6-5 on pens). Venue: Almondvale, Livingston. Att: 9452
THIS was the most outlandish of the lot. Thistle, marching triumphantly to the first division title under Alan Archibald, were deserved favourites for their first national final since their epic League Cup win against Celtic in 1971 but Allan Johnston's Doonhamers had other ideas. The runaway second division leaders got through the 90 minutes with the scoreline still goalless, then all hell broke loose in the additional half hour. First Nicky Clark gave Queens the ascendancy, then with seconds remaining Partick were awarded a penalty, only for Lee Robinson to save Aaron Muirhead's kick, the centre-half compounding his error by headbutting the gloating Chris Higgins and being sent off. Somehow 10-man Thistle took the match to penalties, courtesy of a Kris Doolan equaliser, only for Queens keeper Lee Robinson to prove the hero. He scored his own penalty, then sealed the win by saving from Conrad Balatoni.
April 2014: Raith Rovers 1 Rangers 0. Venue: Easter Road. Att: 19,983
THERE is room for just one more. Rangers' epic, and as yet unfinished, journey through the divisions has been a slog but their Ramsdens Cup rendezvous with Raith at Easter Road had been pencilled in by their fans as a simple, uncomplicated day of celebration. No-one told the Kirkcaldy side, though and in the end, courtesy of a goal with three minutes of extra time remaining by John Baird, a player who had a brief spell on the books at Rangers, it was Raith who reprised their League Cup heroics of 1994. Rangers appeared sluggish all day and Bilel Mohsni in particular had a few glaring opportunities to score, but 2013 cup hero Lee Robinson in the Raith goal had a more straightforward afternoon than he endured some 12 months earlier. Things went from bad to worse for manager Ally McCoist when he was captured singing karaoke afterwards.
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