Fair Play for the Underdog

When the draw is made for a cup match and the lower league teams draw a big fish, the excitement level that engulfs the underdog and its town becomes fever pitch. They partake in these games with the hope of causing a big cup shock and hitting the headlines all around the world. It brings huge interest in their club and town. I for one, love a cup upset and all the excitement it brings. Just a few things need to be in place on the day and anything can happen. What is required by the underdog is for them to turn up and give 110% and maybe just catch the favourites on a bad day. One other ingredient is, the big decisions in the game on the day need to go in favour of the lesser side.

Last Sunday I just happened to tune into Glasgow Rangers v Albion Rovers in the Scottish Cup. I have to admit it was not a game I planned to watch, but when Rovers took a shock lead after thirteen minutes from a Ciaran Donnelly shot, I have to admit I decided to stick with it. The ingredients were in the pot & a major cup shock was on the cards. Ally McCoist was surely rattled and tried everything tactically to turn it around. Rovers defended so well for the rest of the game as they truly believed they were going to cause a huge shock. Then with thirteen minutes left, a speculative long high ball in to the Albion box caused me to jump from my seat in disgust at what I had witnessed. Bilel Mohani challenged the Albion Rovers goalkeeper for a high ball and totally bundled the keeper over the line. Surely a foul I thought and looked to the referee for a free kick. Unbelievably referee John Beaton pointed to the half way line for a goal. It was an awful decision by the official. The goalkeeper had been clearly fouled and the referee got it totally wrong. Now I know keepers over the past few years have been over protected by referees but this decision was incredible. I was glad in the end that Rovers kept their heads and held out for a draw because they could have reacted to the referee’s howler and lost concentration. 

So in the big scheme of things it was a great result for the underdog. They will get to play the Ibrox outfit again and as I said earlier it takes everything to fall into place for the minnow to progress in these big competitions. But most of all it requires the referees to get the big decisions correct on the day. John Beaton got it horribly wrong on Sunday and in the end took that glorious moment of triumph from a Rovers side, who in my opinion deserved to win. They took the early lead and defended tremendously up until the point when Rangers equalised.

How many times over the years have we seen the underdog score early and then hang on, when doing more than is required for all the bits to fall into place in a cup shock?