PSYCHO & THE SCREAMER

O’neill’s belter was murder for the Bhoys

IT was a night and a goal that will forever etch Colin O’neill’s name in Motherwell history.

The Scottish Cup semi-final replay with Celtic at Hampden was finely poised. An own goal from Tom Boyd and a strike from Anton Rogan had been cancelled out by a double from Well striker Dougie Arnott.

The game was in the balance when the Northern Ireland midfielder took a pass from Stevie Kirk, stepped forward deeper into the Celtic half and unleashed a 35-yard thunderbolt into the top left-hand corner of Pat Bonner’s net.

O’neill, who also played for Ards, Larne, Ballymena United and Portadown, said: “Kirky gave it to me and pointed out the run of Nick Cusack. It was one of those Tango balls so I just kept my head down and hit it. It flew like a missile and I knew it was going in. It was a great feeling.

“Kirky saw me hitting it, shouted ‘F*** sake!’ and then held his head in his hands as it flew into the back of the net. I knew if I’d missed it I’d have been in trouble because Cusack was running through and I should have played him in.

“I did my wee somersault forward roll celebration and Iain Ferguson nearly broke my neck trying to grab me.”

It was enough to floor the Hoops before Kirk sealed the famous win with a cheeky chip that helped Tommy Mclean’s side book their place in the 1991 Scottish Cup Final.

Belfast man O’neill, whose nickname was Psycho, said: “We knew we couldn’t sit back because if you do the Old Firm steamroller over you.

“We went for it and Kirky scored the last one with a chip and he meant it. He used to try that all the time.”

Motherwell had come close to sinking the Hoops with a shot that came off the bar, from Ferguson, in the goalless first tie.

Arnott then kept them in it with his brace in the second game. O’neill said: “We had beaten Aberdeen and had some hard matches along the way so didn’t fear anybody.

“We went 1-0 down in the replay then Dougie equalised and Anton Rogan scored to make it 2-1 to Celtic. I know

Anton well and he ran past me and went ‘Yes’ – but that came back to haunt him. Dougie got his second equaliser and that gave us a lift and burst of energy.”

O’neill joked he tried to replicate his goal the following season and got knocked off his perch by Davie Cooper.

He said: “I tried one against Hibs and nearly killed the lady in the snack bar behind the ground. Davie said, ‘Just give it to me, I’ll do the fancy stuff !’”

O’neill was nowhere near fit for the final with Dundee United but came off the bench. He added: “Tommy told me my heart was ruling his head. He told me I’d get on at some point. A few weeks later I had a knee op but it was worth it.”

PAOLO DI CANIO has revealed he could have ended up in signing talks with Rangers had Joe Jordan not intervened. Celtic’s former hero will forever be grateful to Scotland legend Jordan for setting up the switch from AC Milan as the Italian (above) lit up Glasgow’s east end during the 1996-97 season. He said: “It was a typical situation where there’s an agent who maybe knows the two clubs, they can help the situation to move on. “They sent some messages through Joe Jordan, who used to play for AC Milan, to sign for Rangers. But Joe said, ‘I know someone at Celtic. I have seen them play and Paolo Di Canio can be a good prospect for this club.’”

MOTHERWELL: Maxwell, Nijholt, Boyd (Cusack 67), O’neill, Philliben, Mccart, Griffin, O’donnell, Angus (Kirk 56), Arnott, Ferguson. CELTIC: Bonner, Mcnally, Elliott, Whyte, Wdowczyk, Rogan, Miller, Mcstay, Collins, Coyne, Creaney (Britton 70). Not used: Walker. THANKS FIR THE MEMORY Well hero O’neill

sensational O’neill after SCREAMER lifting the month later strike and one below with Tom Boyd, Scottish Cup