The Press and Journal (Inverness, Highlands, and Islands)
Mason had watching brief
Brian Irvine was the unlikely hero when Aberdeen lifted the Scottish Cup in 1990, but team-mate Paul Mason conceded he could barely watch as the defender walked up to take the winning spot kick.
Two hours of football could not separate the Dons and Celtic in a tense Scottish Cup final which proceeded to penalties.
Mason, who had scored both goals in a 2-1 win in the League Cup final, was substituted midway through extra time and was spared the pressure of being one of the penalty takers.
The first Scottish Cup final to be decided on penalties turned out to be a marathon shootout with the Dons eventually prevailing 9-8 when goalkeeper Theo Snelders kept out Anton Rogan’s effort and Irvine scored the winner.
Mason said: “Part of me wanted to be there and take one but it happened so quickly. I think I’d rather have been there but it wasn’t so bad because I didn’t have the pressure. Nobody wants to be the player who takes a penalty and misses it.
“I was sitting on the bench watching all the players in the centre circle. The first five had taken theirs and then the other players were getting further and further back.
“Brian was nearly in our own goal. I couldn’t stop laughing at that, but he was the hero in the end.
“It was a good save from Theo. Brian was the unsung hero of the team so it was a good moment for him. I don’t think I fancied him to score. In penalties anything can happen but he tucked it away quite well. He didn’t want to take one at all.
“It made a heck of a difference that Celtic had missed first so Brian didn’t have to score.
“If you’ve got a penalty to win the cup rather than stay in the cup it makes a big difference in terms of confidence.”
Celtic will start as overwhelming favourites for Saturday’s Scottish Cup final at Hampden as they bid to complete a clean sweep of the three main domestic trophies.
The Dons have been Celtic’s closest challengers in the Scottish Premiership this season but finished well behind Brendan Rodgers’ side.
Things were much different ahead of the 1990 Scottish Cup final – the last time the Dons won the trophy. Aberdeen finished second to Rangers in the league, while Celtic missed out on European football after coming fifth. Mason said: “The final was 50-50. We were confident. We weren’t overawed by Celtic at all. We finished about 10 points above them in the league and we felt we could go down to Glasgow and beat them on their own patch. Over the years we regularly went down to Glasgow and got a result against Celtic or Rangers. We weren’t scared of them.
“In my day, we were very fit and we had a team full of international players, except for myself. We had 10 international players in the team so it was a very strong squad.”
Mason remains a keen follower of his former club and believes manager Derek McInnes’ side possesses enough quality to give Celtic a run for their money at the national stadium.
He added: “I always watch them when they are on television and I have been up two or three times over the last couple of years.
“I keep tabs on who is playing. They are well drilled and organised.”
“We finished about 10 points above them in the league”