Bell thirsting for a final lift
FOR someone who has been capped by Scotland and beaten Celtic in a League Cup Final with Kilmarnock, motivation might be a problem when it comes to the Irn-Bru Cup semi-finals. Yet Dundee United goalkeeper Cammy Bell’s worst moment in football came when he was part of the Rangers team beaten by Raith Rovers in the final of this competition in 2014 and he is fired by the desire to erase that bitter memory. Ally McCoist’s side were odds-on to lift the trophy but, in front of almost 20,000 fans at Easter Road, John Baird scored the only goal of the game three minutes from the end of extra time. That was hard enough for Rangers’ fans to take but the ill-advised decision to proceed with a prearranged party at Ibrox saw footage of players drinking while McCoist sang along to a karaoke machine turned into a PR disaster. ‘That final was a tough one to take for the team,’ said Bell. ‘We got a lot of criticism after that game. ‘I’d like to be involved in another final and win it, which would be great for United fans after the disappointment of getting relegated last season.’ Today’s opponents Queen of the South last beat United 54 seasons ago and Bell hopes to extend that long sequence against his boyhood heroes at Palmerston. ‘I’m originally from Annan but they weren’t in the league at the time, so Queens were my local team and I played with them as a youth as well,’ he said. ‘I also played for them on loan from Kilmarnock. They’re a good club but, hopefully, we can beat them.’ St Mirren host Welsh champions The New Saints in the other semi-final tomorrow.