It may be Celtic in the leading role, but the supporting cast of Scottish football deserve recognition as well.
The glitz and glam of the Oscars will be on full display in Hollywood tonight, but give us shorts and socks over tuxes and frocks any day of the week. The Premiership is being upstaged by the Scottish Cup this weekend, but so far only Celtic have followed the script by beating Hearts after Inverness CT provided a Friday night twist to dump Kilmarnock.
The cinch is always box office though. It may not be packed with A-listers or be as visually enticing as its bigger budget rivals, but the storylines and dialogue are second to none. There’s a new villain every week depending on your perspective and time in the director’s chair is limited if you oversee too many successive flops or not enough entertainment for demanding audiences who are desperate to see a hit featuring their favourite stars.
Record Sport reveals our own winners in each category form the past year in Scottish football.
Best story
As cup shocks go, Darvel’s win over Aberdeen will be hard to beat. It was going to take something special to overshadow Brora dumping Hearts out a couple of years ago, but Jim Goodwin’s team fluffed their lines massively in Ayrshire when they went down 1-0 to the West of Scotland Premier Division outfit.
They may be big spenders at their own level, but that’s no excuse for the dismal Dons who will have to live with this one until eventually, someone else is the victim of a Scottish Cup horror.
Best director
He has another gong in the bag after the Viaplay Cup final win over Rangers, and now Ange Postecoglou has a Treble in his sights. Nine points clear at the top of the table, his Celtic stars are on course for a blockbuster season.
The fear is that at some point, Postecoglou will get his big break down south or abroad, but for now, he seems content to get on with making a successful Celtic sequel.
Best drama
It’s not an original twist, but you can’t deny that Rangers scoring twice in stoppage time makes for an exciting ending. Michael Beale’s men were trailing 2-1 at Pittodrie (this season has not been the best viewing for the Dandies) and heading for a first defeat.
Scott Arfield’s cameo had the travelling fans not only on the edge of their seats, but up out of them celebrating as he saved the day just before the credits rolled in the North East.
Best foreign film
There was no shortage of European duds screened by our clubs in Europe this season. Dundee United fans watched from behind the sofa as AZ Alkmaar wreaked their revenge for a 1-0 Tannadice win by slamming seven past the Tangerines in the Netherlands. Celtic didn’t exactly phone it in, but returns were less than hoped for.
Rangers’ Champions League campaign was a straight to a DVD affair (which non one will buy) while Hearts were outshone by the big names. They did manage a couple of hits though, and their 2-0 away win over Latvians RFS was a rare overseas triumph.
Best original score
No matter what happens between now and the curtain coming down on the season, Stephen Humphries is the standout nomination for this.
The on-loan Hearts striker stole the show against Dundee United last month with his finale, sending a shot from his own half over Mark Birighitti and in to ensure a happy ending for Robbie Neilson that afternoon.
Best breakthrough act
Ryan Porteous had been in Scotland squads before, but he was thrust into his Scotland debut in the midst of a defensive injury crisis for Steve Clarke.
The former Hibs defender produced a performance that belied his lack of previous caps against Ukraine, as Scotland got the point they needed to finish top of their Nations League group and secure an invite to their first ever appearance amongst the big boys when it next opens.
Best comedy
Okay so it’s not a cinch production, but Harry Kane ballooning his penalty over the bar against France to send England crashing out of the World Cup was always going to be a smash hit north of the border.
If we can’t be part of the ensemble, then at least we can get a good laugh at our near neighbours failing to backup their own reviews.
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