Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Daily Record
Daily Record
Sport
Robbie Copeland

Graeme Souness confesses Aberdeen sympathy as 'Darvel disaster' brings back Rangers memory he'd rather forget

Graeme Souness admits he has some sympathy for Aberdeen and Jim Goodwin after their disaster in Darvel.

The Dons crashed out of the Scottish Cup to the sixth tier side in one of the biggest statistical shocks the Scottish Cup has ever seen It's left Goodwin under severe pressure ahead of Saturday's clash with Hibs and former Rangers boss Souness knows just how much damage a cup shocker like that can do.

Back in 1987, he endured one of his worst days as a manager as his Gers side crashed out of the same competition against Hamilton Accies at Ibrox. John Lambie's team were then bottom of the top flight, 33 points behind second-placed Rangers, but came away from Ibrox with a famous 1-0 win that is still celebrated in Lanarkshire today. Souness wrote for the Daily Mail: "The 'Darvel disaster' is what they are calling Aberdeen's 1-0 defeat this week by a West of Scotland League team, five divisions below them, and I can certainly empathise with the beaten team in that Scottish Cup tie.

"It is 36 years this weekend since my Rangers team lost 1-0 to Hamilton Academical in a Cup tie at Ibrox and that result was still being celebrated with 30th anniversary pieces, six years ago! We actually didn't play at all badly but it was just one of those freakish days.

"Their goalkeeper, David McKellar, had an extraordinary game and we even ended up signing him a few years later, when my assistant Walter Smith had become manager. I recall the pitch wasn't at its best in the depths of winter, either. But none of that matters now.

"The day belonged to a lad called Adrian Sprott, who scored their goal and was being paid £50 a week to play at the time. This is why we love cup competitions."

READ NEXT

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.