Tosh: ‘We weren’t a gang in strips. We were a proper team’
Queen of the South’s return to the Scottish Cup spotlight in tomorrow night’s tie against Hibs has rekindled memories of the Doonhamers’ startling run to the 2008 final.
Back then, Gordon Chisholm’s men went down by the odd goal in five to a Rangers side that had competed in the UEFA Cup showpiece 10 days earlier.
That fairytale might not have had a happy ending.
But as Steve Tosh – who scored his side’s opener against the Glasgow club – recalled, their run to Hampden would have done Hans Christian Andersen proud.
“Every man who helped take the club to the Scottish Cup Final deserves to be a legend in Dumfries because it was a tremendous achievement,” he said.
“To go from where we were at the start of the competition to where we ended up was a real journey.
“Listen, before were went up to Peterhead for the first game, there was a fair expectation we would get knocked out.
“We hadn’t been going well in the league and Gordon Chisholm, our manager, was under a bit of pressure.
“Defeat could have cost him his job. As it was, we played really well and won 5-0.
“It was a key moment, both for the team and for myself personally.
“Before it, I had been playing out wide and not really enjoying my football.
“But the shift into the middle of midfield really helped.
“I struck up a good partnership with Neil MacFarlane, which worked for us all season. And having started well in the competition, we really kicked on.
“We beat Linlithgow Rose 4-0 in the next round, and then went to Cappielow – a ground everyone always hates going to in these situations – and beat Morton 2-0.
“When we put Dundee out in the quarter-final by the same score, we knew we were really on a roll.”
What happened next is part of cup folklore, with Queens getting the best of Jimmy Calderwood’s Aberdeen 4-3 in an absolute classic.
Tosh’s opener was the first of four times the First Division underdogs took the lead in the match, the last being the only one they were able to hold.
“The semi-final was really our Final,” said the 47-year-old.
“The fact we took 10,000 supporters from Dumfries up to Glasgow tells you that.
“I remember thinking it was an occasion to really relish because Queens are not the biggest club.
“It hurts me that Aberdeen fans to this day speak about the game being an absolute disaster of a result for them.
“I was at the club, so I know they have had some bad results over the years.
“In 2008, they also lost 4-1 to Dundee United in the League Cup semi-final. But you don’t hear much about that game from them do you ?
“Aberdeen were on the TV against Falkirk on the Monday night before our semi, and after it Gordon Chisholm got us together and said: ‘I am not telling you that you will beat them. But I what I can say is you will never have a better chance to beat them’.
“Most of us had watched the game, and we really bought into that message. Even though they kept pulling us back, we never stopped believing we could do it.
“It is true we had great camaraderie
– we have a WhatsApp group together even now – but we were not just a gang in strips, we were a proper football team.
“If you looked at our team, we had guys who had played at a high level, or would go on to play at a high level, in every position.
“We didn’t get there by accident, and the fact we finished fourth in what is now the Championship shows you we were decent.
“Rangers in the final was just a bridge too far for us, despite all the talk of their UEFA Cup run and the toll a fixture pile-up had taken on them.
“People speak about the romance of the Cup.
“Well, we definitely had it that year – in spades!”