When Dundee won the first Scottish League Challenge Cup trophy as the Centenary Cup in 1990, they had enjoyed a bye in the first round so when the Dark Blues received a bye in the first round again in 2009, the omens were good that The Dee might be able to go all the way again.
Now sponsored by the BBC Gaelic speaking digital channel BBC ALBA and known as the ALBA Challenge Cup, Dundee started the 2009/10 competition in the second round with a trip to Cowdenbeath. Jocky Scott’s side dispatched the Central Park side 3-0 on September 18th but the score line didn’t reflect the closeness of the game.
Dundee needed two late goals from Gary Harkins and Mikael Antoine-Curier to kill the tie after Leigh Griffiths had opened the scoring in the first half but the highlight of the night was an outrageous piece of skill from Gary Harkins.
Harkins picked up the ball and sent the defender the wrong way with a turn of the head before threading a great pass to David Cowan who crossed for Curier to score in the last minute and Harkins’ great start to his Dundee career since joining the club in the summer was rewarded with Irn-Bru Player of the Month for August.
Now in the quarter-finals Dundee were drawn away again, this time at Stirling Albion with the game being played on a Sunday, September 6th, due to Scotland’s World Cup qualifier with Macedonia being played at Hampden on the Saturday.
It was a difficult game at Forthbank with Dundee scraping through 2-1 thanks to a brace from Leigh Griffths. Stirling gave Dundee a major scare, being the better side for most of the match while Dundee gave themselves a scare when at one point it looked like 49-year old goalkeeping coach Bobby Geddes, who was on the bench due to an injury to Rab Douglas, might have to come on when Tony Bullock took a knock and was struggling to carry on.
The semi-final draw was kind to The Dee with not only a home draw but a tie with a Third Division side Annan Athletic who were due to visit Dens on October 4th for the first ever competitive match between the clubs.
This time it was easy for Dundee with goals from Sean Higgins, Pat Clarke and Craig Forsyth giving the Dark Blues a 3-0 win and sending The Dee through to their third ever Challenge Cup Final.
First Division promotion rivals Inverness Caledonian Thistle awaited Dundee at McDiarmid Park on Sunday 22nd November 2009 and just like Dundee’s Centenary Cup triumph in 1990, the Final turned out to be a dramatic five goal thriller.
The team that lined up for Dundee was: Douglas, Paton, Malone, Kerr, McKenzie, Lauchlan, Forsyth, Hart, Griffiths, Higgins, Harkins, Subs: Soutar, Benedictus, Cameron, Clarke, McMenamin – but they were slow out of the blocks and found themselves 2-0 down by half-time.
Adam Rooney gave Caley the lead on seven minutes when he firmly headed a Johnny Hayes cross past Douglas’ outstretched hand and when they doubled their lead just after the half hour, it looked like the trophy was heading back to the Highlands. Dundee were having great trouble handling Thistle’s aerial strength at set pieces, and it was no surprise when the second goal arrived from this source after 32 minutes. Douglas couldn’t get to the corner as it flashed across the crowded six yard box and when the ball was knocked back into the goalmouth, Bulvitis reacted quickest to turn and knock the ball into the net.
When the half time whistle went the Caley Thistle players were cheered off, whilst the Dundee fans sat in stunned silence, punctuated by a few boos. Dundee had threatened Inverness once briefly, in the whole of the first half, when a Higgins header was deflected just wide before Caley Thistle had scored, but the rest of the half had seen a procession of white shirts streaming towards the Dundee goal.
Whatever Jocky Scott said to his troops at half time however must have worked as they came out with renewed vigour and were back in the game almost immediately. Just three minutes into the second half Gary Harkins moved infield, picked up the ball and found Richie Hart in space on the right. Hart’s fierce cross was contested by Higgins and Bulvitis eight yards out, and under pressure the defender headed powerfully past his own keeper.
Dundee were transformed and the match had turned on its head as the roof fell in on Caley Thistle. Dundee completely shackled danger man Johnny Hayes whose crosses had troubled Dundee in the first 45 and they were back on level terms just five minutes after their first.
Dundee made a horrible mess of a free kick on 53 minutes, but Caley Thistle failed to clear. Eric Paton fed the ball through to Craig Forsyth wide on the right and when Fozzy drove the ball low into the goalmouth, Esson could only palm the ball to Gary Harkins who had the simplest of chance to make it 2-2!
Dundee totally dominated now and pushed on in search of the winner and despite all their pressure had to wait until seven minutes from time before they got their reward. Gary Harkins danced past a succession of tackles to the byline and cut the ball back for Craig Forsyth to slam the ball into the net from 10 yards, sending the packed Dees support behind the goal into a frenzy.
When the final whistle went three quarters of the ground erupted to acknowledge Dundee’s remarkable 3-2 win which had seemed so unlikely at half-time. Club captain Robert Douglas and team captain Eric Paton together went up to the podium on the pitch to receive the trophy and the singing and dark blue scarf waving went on well after it was held aloft.
The ALBA Cup victory was the second time Dundee had won the Scottish League Challenge Cup with match winner Craig Forsyth replicating his father Stewart’s success in the Centenary Cup nineteen years earlier.
For Dundee there were a number of firsts with Jocky Scott becoming the first manager to win all three senior Scottish cup competitions, substitute Colin Cameron becoming the first man to win a Football League Trophy winners medal both north and south of the border (having won the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy with MK Dons) and Rab Douglas became the first Dundee player to win two winners’ medals with The Dee since the early Fifties.
The Scottish League Challenge Cup may not be the biggest tournament, but just ask any of the players or supporters how good it felt that to watch Dundee come back and win it on a cold Novembers day in Perth in 2009!
Article by Kenny Ross
