The 1991 Scottish Cup Final was the 106th final of the

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,Scottish football's most prestigious knockout

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

competition. The match took place at Hampden Park on 18 May 1991 and was contested by

Scottish Premier Division The Scottish Football League Premier Division was, from 1975 until 1998, the top division of the Scottish Football League and the entire Scottish football league system. It lay above the Scottish Football League First, Second and (from 1994) ...

clubs Motherwell and

Dundee United Dundee United Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the city of Dundee. The club name is usually abbreviated to Dundee United. Formed in 1909, originally as Dundee Hibernian, the club changed to the present name in 1 ...

. It was both Motherwell's and Dundee United's 6th

Scottish Cup Final The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the Scottish Cup, is a knockout cup competition in Scottish football. Organised by the Scottish Football Association, it is the third oldest existing football competition in the w ...

and also the first time the clubs had met in a Scottish Cup Final. The match was dubbed the "family final", as the manager of both clubs were brothers,

Tommy McLean Thomas McLean Jr. (born 2 June 1947 in Larkhall) is a Scottish former professional football player and manager. McLean played for Kilmarnock, Rangers and Scotland as a midfielder. He managed Morton, Motherwell, Hearts, Raith Rovers and Dund ...

and

Jim McLean James Yuille McLean (2 August 1937 – 26 December 2020) was a Scottish football player, manager and director. He managed Dundee United between 1971 and 1993, becoming the longest-serving and most successful manager in the club's history, winn ...

. As

clubs, Motherwell and United both entered the competition in the third round. Neither club won all four of their ties at the first attempt, Dundee United requiring a replay to knock out Division Two club East Fife in the third round. United went on to defeat Division One clubs Airdrieonians and archrivals Dundee before eliminating

Tayside derby The Tayside derby is a football rivalry based in Tayside. The matches are contested by the three professional clubs in the region: Dundee, Dundee United and St Johnstone. A match between Dundee and Dundee United, whose grounds are in the same s ...

rivals St Johnstone in the semi-finals. After winning against defending champions

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

in the third round, Motherwell defeated Division One clubs Falkirk and

Greenock Morton Greenock Morton Football Club is a Scottish professional football club, which plays in the Scottish Championship. The club was founded as Morton Football Club in 1874, making it one of the oldest senior Scottish clubs. Morton was renamed Green ...

then the previous seasons runners-up,

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language * Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Fo ...

, in a replayed semi-final. The match was both clubs' 6th appearance in the final. However, it was Motherwell's first appearance in 39 years whilst Dundee United had reached the final only three seasons beforehand. Motherwell had previously won only one final whilst Dundee United had lost on all previous final appearances. Motherwell won the match 4–3 after extra time was played. They took the lead when Iain Ferguson headed in just after 30 minutes had been played. In the second half, Dundee United equalized through Dave Bowman. Motherwell went back in front thanks to 18-year-old Phil O'Donnell and their lead was then extended to 3-1 by Ian Angus. However, two goals from United, one from John O'Neil and a last minute equaliser from

Darren Jackson Darren Jackson (born 25 July 1966) is a Scottish former professional footballer, who played predominantly as a forward. Jackson played for several clubs in Scotland and England, including Newcastle United, Dundee United, Hibernian, Celtic ...

made the score 3–3, forcing the match into extra-time. Substitute Stevie Kirk scored a header in the first half of extra-time to conclude victory for Motherwell.

Route to the final

Motherwell

As a

club, Motherwell entered the competition in the third round. They were drawn against fellow Premier Division club

who were also defending champions having won the

1990 Scottish Cup Final The 1990 Scottish Cup Final was the 105th final of the Scottish Cup, Scottish football's most prestigious knock-out association football competition. The match took place at Hampden Park on 12 May 1990 and was contested by Scottish Premier Di ...

. The match was played at Aberdeen's home of

Pittodrie Stadium Pittodrie Stadium, commonly referred to as Pittodrie, is an all-seater stadium in Aberdeen, Scotland. Used primarily for football, it has been the home ground of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) club Aberdeen F.C. since they w ...

with Motherwell winning 1–0. The fourth round draw paired the club with Division One club Falkirk resulting in a 4–2 win at

Fir Park Fir Park Stadium is a football stadium situated in Motherwell, North Lanarkshire, Scotland. The stadium plays host to the home matches of Scottish Premiership club Motherwell and was the temporary home of Gretna for the 2007–08 SPL season. M ...

to progress to the quarter-finals. Another Division One club in the form of

was the club's opponent, with the two clubs playing out a 0–0 draw to force a replay at Cappielow. The replay ended in another draw at 1–1 and the game progressed to a

penalty shootout The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...

with Motherwell winning 5–4. In the semi-finals Motherwell faced the previous season's runners-up,

, at Hampden Park with the game ending in another 0–0 draw for the club. A week later in the replay, Motherwell triumphed in a 4–2 victory to progress to the Scottish Cup Final for the first time in 39 years since defeating Dundee in the 1952 Final.

Dundee United

Dundee United, also a Premier Division club entered the competition in the third round. They were drawn against Division Two club East Fife who had progressed from the first round. The clubs played out a 1–1 draw at Bayview Park to force a replay at

Tannadice Park Tannadice Park ( gd, Pàirc Thanachais), usually referred to as Tannadice, is a football stadium in Dundee, Scotland. It is the home ground of Dundee United F.C., who have played at Tannadice since the club was founded as Dundee Hibernian in 1 ...

. In the replayed match United emerged victorious in a 2–1 win. The fourth round draw saw Airdrieonians visit Tannadice, with the club losing 2–0. In the quarter-finals, United were drawn against archrivals Dundee to set up a

Dundee derby The Dundee derby is a football match between Dundee and Dundee United. The clubs are based yards apart in the city of Dundee, the fourth-largest city in Scotland. History Dundee is the older of the two, having been founded in 1893, compared ...

match at home. United won the tie 3–1 to progress to the semi-finals where they faced other rivals St Johnstone from nearby

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth i ...

in a

. Dundee United won the match 2–1 and booked a place in the final for the fifth time in the past ten years following appearances in the

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, ...

and

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Bicenten ...

finals.

Match

Report

The match had been dubbed the "Family Final" by the media as the two opposing managers were brothers,

at Motherwell and

. Dundee United dominated the opening stages of the match, with Hamish French having the ball in the net after only two minutes but had his goal disallowed for off-side, whilst Freddy van der Hoorn on seven minutes hit the inside of the post from 25 yards out, only to see the ball roll out for a goal kick. Motherwell began to settle, however, before the game then went in to something of a lull. The opening goal came on 32 minutes when Motherwell's Iain Ferguson headed the ball into the top corner past Alan Main. Dundee United's

Jim McInally James Edward McInally (born 19 February 1964) is a Scottish football manager and former player. He played for Dundee United for 10 seasons in which he won the 1993–94 Scottish Cup and played in the 1987 UEFA Cup Final. At United he was also ...

came close to equalising with a shot near the end of the first half, but Motherwell held on to their lead for half-time. Early in the second half, Motherwell goalkeeper

Ally Maxwell Alistair Espie Maxwell (born 16 February 1965) is a Scottish football coach and former professional footballer. He is currently a youth coach for SC Del Sol Soccer Club in the United States, having previously played for Motherwell, Rangers a ...

was badly injured as a result of a challenge with United's John Clark. He was able to carry on after receiving treatment, but was in clear discomfort. Dundee United equalised on 55 minutes when Dave Bowman struck a 25-yard shot past the struggling Maxwell. Motherwell retook the lead a mere three minutes later when a

Davie Cooper Davie is a surname and a form of the masculine given name David. It can refer to: Surname * Alan Davie (1920-2014), Scottish painter and musician * Alexander Edmund Batson Davie (1847-1889), Canadian politician and eighth Premier of British Col ...

free-kick was flicked on by John Clark and headed past Alan Main by Phil O'Donnell. ''The Steelmen'' further extended their lead on 65 minutes when an Ian Angus shot from the edge of the penalty box flew into the top corner of the goal. Despite now being 3–1 down, Dundee United rallied and quickly pulled a goal back; John O'Neil heading in a Dave Bowman cross from the right. It was O'Neil's first competitive goal for United. Dundee United laid siege to the Motherwell goal for the rest of the second half, but Motherwell looked like holding on until in the last minute Darren Jackson equalised. In the final moments of the second half, Maurice Malpas had a chance to win it for United, but his shot was off-target. The final now went in to extra time. Four minutes in, Motherwell substitute Steve Kirk headed in at the back post to put Motherwell 4–3 ahead. Dundee United pushed on again in another effort to draw level, and near the end Maurice Malpas was denied a goal by a flying save from Maxwell. Shortly after that, John Clark shot past. This time, however, Motherwell held on to full-time to win the cup, condemning Dundee United to their sixth Scottish Cup Final defeat in 17 years.

Details

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scottish Cup Final 1991

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phi ...

Cup Final Motherwell F.C. matches Dundee United F.C. matches 20th century in Glasgow

Nicknamed sporting events