Memories of Inverness Caley Thistle win over Celtic in Scottish Cup show quality Highland League produced for defender Stuart Golabek
Stuart Golabek may well be digging through his old momentos to mark 25 years since Inverness Caledonian Thistle sprung a surprise on Celtic in the Scottish Cup.
The former defender played all 90 minutes in Glasgow as a club less than six years old knocked the Scottish football giants out of the competition.
At times it was a backs to the wall display, with Golabek and all of his teammates needing to be on top form to see off even an under-performing Celtic side.
While it was the kind of result that continues to be talked about 25 years later, the 50-year-old has his own haul of memorabilia from his playing days that can help stir memories.
“I didn’t realise time had passed so quickly, but it is a long time ago,” Golabek said.
“The clock doesn’t stop ticking, but it’s all memories that we can relive.
“My better half was always asking me to take programmes home, so that was something I got into around about that time.
“I have programmes from every game I played since then, so it’s good to look at them now and again and remember the bigger games I was fortunate enough to play in. It gives you a bit of pride.”
With international pedigree from the likes of Mark Viduka, Lubo Moravcik and Ian Wright among several others littering the Celtic line-up, it was a David v Goliath battle even with only a single division separating the clubs.
It may have felt like a bigger gap on paper for the neutral, with the vast majority of the Caley Thistle squad having played in the Highland League on their way to the old First Division with Inverness.
However, Golabek believes ICT’s triumph on the night was vindication for the level of ability that was on show in the Highland League for so long.
“There was myself, Charlie Christie, Mike Teasdale, Mark McCulloch, Barry Wilson, Ross Tokely, Jim Calder – we had all played in the Highland League at some stage,” Golabek recalled.
“Those players had the ability to go and play in games like that, so it was a true reflection of how far the club had come that night.
“In years gone by, a lot of the guys up north probably didn’t get the credit they deserved.
“There were always good quality players in and around Inverness, and I think that’s still the case now but back then the Highland League was really competitive. There were so many players that could have played at a higher level.
“The class of player was on show that night against Celtic, so as much as it was a shock result – nobody gave us a chance – the players in the dressing room had a belief in ourselves.
“I don’t know if it’s different for young players now in how they think, or if the quality isn’t there, but back then the quality in the Highland League was fantastic.
“There were top teams with Ross County, Caledonian and Thistle, and most of the guys in the Celtic team played for those clubs.”
That night in Glasgow is often referred to as the moment that put Inverness Caledonian Thistle on the footballing map.
Golabek does not dispute that, even if he feels other career highlights would go on to rival the 3-1 win over Celtic in February 2000.
He feels that, so early in the club’s existence, it was a marker of momentum that the Caley Jags would go on to keep capitalising on for years to come.
“From the club’s point of view, with the squad we had that season, there was a bit of belief within us,” Golabek recalled.
“We were sitting mid-table in our first season in the First Division, just starting to find our feet.
“That was the 1999/2000 season, and when you look at what happened after that there started to be a lot of achievements. We won the league in 2003/2004, and that was a short time frame to go from beating Celtic in 2000 to knocking on the door of the top league.
“It was obviously a fantastic result, nobody will dispute that, but in the nine or 10 years I was at Caley Thistle there were a lot of moments that rank alongside it.
“Caley Thistle won the last game of the season against St Johnstone to go up to the Premier League. There was another game against Celtic on a Sunday night in Inverness, which some people argue was a bigger result because of where Celtic were at that point.
“That result in 99/00 gave us the momentum to trigger everything else that happened over the years, and we went on to achieve great things for the football club.”
