1991 glory finally ended my jinx at Hampden
EUAN McLEAN Well’s Cup triumph eased Ian’s pain at missing seven finals with old club Dons
IAN ANGUS jokes he was more nervous talking to a TV camera about Motherwell’s legendary 1991 Scottish Cup win than anything he felt during the final.
But as a new documentary charting that famous triumph is released tonight, Angus admits his nerves were wracked in the hours before that game worrying his Cup Final curse would rob him of his chance to play a part.
For a guy who spent seven years at Aberdeen at the height of Sir Alex Ferguson’s glorious reign in the Granite City, it’s incredible that Angus missed every one of the seven finals they won.
Five Scottish Cups, one League Cup and of course that iconic European Cup Winners’ Cup victory over Real Madrid – and Angus was a spectator for them all either from the bench or the stand.
So when he felt a twinge in his thigh a few weeks before Motherwell’s dream date at Hampden with Dundee United in 91, he feared his jinx had struck again.
And it was a worry that still lingered in his mind as the team bus rolled up outside the National Stadium, having only sport@dailyrecord.co.uk passed a late fitness test that morning. Angus recalled: “Just getting on to the pitch was a happy memory from that day that still stands out 28 years on.
“On the morning of the game I was out on the pitch-and-putt course at the Irvine Hotel, where the team was staying overnight, kicking a ball about with the physio. “Thankfully it felt OK and we came to the conclusion that I could play – but the worry was still in the back of my mind until the game started. “Having missed finals in the past with Aberdeen I was doubly determined that I wasn’t going to miss it. For two weeks I’d been getting treatment.
“Anything to avoid going through that disappointment of missing out again, as I did every time with Aberdeen.
“Being on the bench for the Cup Winners’ Cup Final didn’t hurt so much as I had only played about 40 minutes in that European run to Gothenburg.
“But the Scottish and League Cup Finals were a different story. I had played in a lot of the games that got us to Hampden but I wasn’t picked a couple of times and broke my collar bone just before another one. “It was a horrible run of luck and I
was starting to worry that I was jinxed when I picked up that injury with Motherwell too.
“I thought, ‘I’m due a wee bit of luck’ and thankfully that came to fruition and it couldn’t have worked out better.”
To finally live the boyhood dream of playing in a Cup Final was one thing.
But to score one of the goals that helped Well win one of the most dramatic finals in the competition’s long, illustrious history guaranteed Angus’ place among the club’s legends.
The memories of that incredible 4-3 win is revisited in Steelmen – a documentary which will be premiered tonight in Glasgow’s Everyman Cinema.
The film will be broadcast to a wider audience this Friday night on BBC Alba, featuring contributions from Angus, Colin O’Neill, Luc Nijholt, Stevie Kirk and skipper Tom Boyd. It’s incredible to think that it’s almost three decades since that glorious day but Angus said: “It’s always there. There’s always someone who brings it up, people you meet who like to ask a question or two about the final.
“But what means more to me is when people come and tell me their stories about what it meant to them, rather than asking my memories. That resonates even more with me.
“To realise what a big moment it was in their lives makes me feel good.”
Steelmen is produced by purpleTV for BBC ALBA. It will air on Friday at 9pm and be available on BBC iPlayer.