1997 Scottish Challenge Cup final

April 2013 March 2023 1997 Scottish Challenge Cup final 1997–98 Scottish Challenge Cup Falkirk 1 Queen of the South 0 2 November 1997 Fir Park Motherwell R. T. Tait (East Kilbride) 9,735 1996 1999 The 1997 Scottish Challenge Cup final was an association football match between Falkirk and Queen of the South on 2 November 1997 at Fir Park in Motherwell.https://www.rsssf.org/tabless/scotchcuphist.html Scottish League Challenge Cup Finals Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation 27 May 2013 It was the eighth final of the Scottish Challenge Cup since it was first organised in 1990 to celebrate the centenary of the Scottish Football League. The tournament was contested by clubs below the Scottish Premier Division; Falkirk from the First Division and Queen of the South from the Second Division. The match was Falkirk's first national cup final in only six months since contesting the final of the Scottish Cup the previous season in May. It was also the club's second appearance in the Scottish Challenge Cup Final since winning in 1993.Bell's Cup, scottishfootballleague.com. Scottish Football League. 2 November 2005. Retrieved 27 May 2013. The match was Queen of the South's first national cup final in its 78-year history. David Hagen scored the only goal, which was enough for Falkirk to win the match 1–0 and the tournament for the second time. Route to the final 1997–98 Scottish Challenge Cup Round Opposition Score First round Dumbarton (a) 2–0 Second round Forfar Athletic (h) 3–1 Quarter-final Stranraer (h) 3–0 Semi-final Hamilton Academical (a) 2–1 Falkirk Falkirk were drawn against Dumbarton away from home in the first round and produced a 2–0 victory over The Sons. The second round saw Forfar Athletic travel to Brockville Park and be beaten 3–1. Another home game for Falkirk was drawn in the quarter-finals against Stranraer which saw The Bairns triumph 3–0 winners to progress to the semi-finals. The opposition provided was Hamilton Academical which saw Falkirk win with a 2–1 victory and send the club to a Scottish Challenge Cup final for the second time in its history. Queen of the South Round Opposition Score First round Inverness Caledonian Thistle (a) 2–0 Second round Stirling Albion (h) 2–0 Quarter-final Airdrieonians (a) 3–2 Semi-final Greenock Morton (a) 2–0 Queen of the South faced a long trip to Inverness Caledonian Thistle in the first round which saw the team emerge 2–0 winners. The second round was a home game with the visitors in the form of Stirling Albion with The Doonhamers producing a second consecutive 2–0 victory. A trip to Airdrieonians was the reward for reaching the quarter-finals with Queen of the South edging the opposition out to win 3–2. Morton provided the opposition for the Dumfries club in the semi-finals with the team producing their third 2–0 victory of the tournament. Queen of the South reached the Scottish Challenge Cup final for the first time. Pre-match Analysis Before the final, after four games played each, both Falkirk and Queen of the South had only conceded four goals between them. Queen of the South earned three clean sheets bettering Falkirk's two. At the other end Falkirk had scored ten goals to Queen of the South's nine. Match summary Queens performed creditably against the Falkirk side who at the time were playing in a higher division of the Scottish football set up, cheered on noisily by the QoS supporters witnessing their team in their first national cup final since the Scottish Qualifying Cup win of 1923/24."Club History" www.qosfc.com The decisive moment of the game was when Falkirk's David Hagen scored in the sixty fifth minute. Queens' had a late opportunity to equalise when Tommy Bryce teed up Derek Townsley in a good shooting position just outside the Falkirk penalty area. Townsley's shot however failed to trouble Paul Mathers in the Falkirk goal as the ball went over the cross bar. Hagen's goal was enough to separate the sides with Bryce taking the man of the match award.http://qosfc.com/new_legendsview.aspx?playerid=1045 "Tommy Bryce" on Queens Legends on www.qosfc.com 25 December 2011 2 April 2012 https://web.archive.org/web/20120402033832/http://qosfc.com/new_legendsview.aspx?playerid=1045 dead Match statistics 2 November 1997 15:00 Falkirk 1–0 Report Queen of the South Hagen 65 Fir Park, Motherwell R Tait 9,735 Teams FALKIRK: GK 1SCO Paul MathersDF 2SCO Martyn Corrigan DF 3ENG Jamie McGowan MF 4SCO Scott MacKenzie DF 5SCO Kevin JamesDF 6SCO Neil Berry MF 7SCO Kevin McAllister MF 8SCO Albert Craig FW 9SCO Paul McGrillen 74MF 10ENG David Moss FW 11SCO David HagenSubstitutes:DF 12SCO Neil OliverMF 14SCO Brian HamiltonFW 15SCO Marino Keith 74Manager:SCO Alex TottenQUEEN OF THE SOUTH: GK 1SCO David MathiesonDF 2SCO David Kennedy DF 3SCO Andy Aitken DF 4SCO George Rowe DF 5SCO Jim Thomson MF 6ENG Derek Townsley MF 7SCO Marc Cleeland 74MF 8SCO Tommy Bryce FW 9SCO Stevie Mallan FW 10SCO Ken Eadie 48MF 11SCO Des McKeown 83Substitutes:MF 12SCO Craig Irving 74DF 14SCO Jamie McAllister 83FW 15SCO Craig Flannigan 48Manager:SCO Rowan Alexander References 1997 Category:Falkirk F.C. matches Category:Queen of the South F.C. matches Final Category:November 1997 sports events in the United Kingdom Category:Sport in Motherwell Category:Football in North Lanarkshire