Hibs 0-2 Livingston, CIS League Cup Final, 14 March 2004

I think I’m right in saying that no team has ever beaten both Celtic and Rangers on the way to Hampden and succeeded in lifting the trophy. Hibs beat both of them in winning the 1972 League Cup, but Celtic were beaten in the final itself. Aberdeen repeated that feat in 1989 by beating Celtic in the semis and Rangers in the final. But putting out both of them before the final seems to be a sure fire way of losing the most important fixture. Hibs did it in 1985, emptying the Old Firm in the quarters and semis in spectacular fashion before losing to Aberdeen. And so it was no different here against Livingston.

CIS League Cup Final, 14 March 2004, match programme

A selection of the Hibs-focused pages from the match programme for the 2004 League Cup Final. A fairly handsome production, it was A4 in size, glossy and full colour, with a decent quantity of worthwhile reading material inside.

It never struck me before regarding Livingston, but having Intelligent Finance as your shirt sponsor when your club is in administration is one of life’s delicious little ironies, is it not?

 

CIS League Cup Final Preview, 8 March 2004

The Evening News produced a tabloid supplement the week before the final, filled with the usual profiles, retrospectives and ‘road to Hampden’ recaps. Basically an excuse to pull in some extra advertising, its print quality is distinctly average and the contents mostly predictable and cliched sports blather. I haven’t scanned all of it, but what there is provides a little half-decent reading, particularly John Gibson’s interview with Bobby Williamson and Stuart Lovell’s token Livi perspective piece.

Rangers 1-1 Hibs (3-4 on penalties), League Cup semi-final, 5 February 2004

The Glasgow rain hosed down for virtually the entirety of this much extended match, reducing its aesthetic appeal, unless you were an aficionado of 20-yard sliding tackles and overhit passes skidding off into touch. Nevertheless it was a fairly gripping encounter in all but a literal sense as the rain made it impossible to get a grip on anything.

Rangers v Hibs, League Cup semi-final preview, 5 February 2004

“Stand up and be counted” was the name of the campaign launched by Hibs to try and encourage more fans through the turnstiles following their withdrawl from the Straiton plan in the autumn of 2003. In response to which Grumpy Gibby the East Stand Hibby, in characteristically cynical style, launched the counter campaign “Sit doon and get c*nted”.

A night of dismal February weather was forecast for Hampden but even before this the Hibs fans had not exactly been standing up to be counted in great numbers with barely 6000 tickets bought from Easter Road. Most fans once again opted for the Grumpy Gibby posture, watching from the pub with a supply of beer on tap with which to celebrate or drown the sorrows.