2003 Scottish Challenge Cup final
Event2003–04 Scottish Challenge Cup
Inverness
Caledonian Thistle		 Airdrie
United
2 0
Date26 October 2003
VenueMcDiarmid Park, Perth
RefereeWillie Young
Attendance5,428

The 2003 Scottish Challenge Cup final was played on 26 October 2003, at McDiarmid Park in Perth and was the 13th staging of the final in the history of the tournament. It was played between Inverness Caledonian Thistle of the First Division and Airdrie United of the Second Division. Inverness Caledonian Thistle emerged winners after defeating Airdrie United 2–0 to win the competition for the first time.

Route to the final

Inverness Caledonian Thistle

Round Opposition Score
First round Gretna (a) 5–0
Second round Peterhead (a) 2–1
Quarter-final Ross County (h) 1–0
Semi-final Raith Rovers (a) 4–0

The first round draw saw Inverness Caledonian Thistle travel to Raydale Park to face Gretna with Caley Thistle emerging 5–0 victors.[1] The second round was another away game with Peterhead providing the opposition, Inverness won 2–1 to progress to the quarter-finals.[2] A home game at the Caledonian Stadium against rivals Ross County was the reward for reaching the quarter-finals, with the home side edging out the opposition to win 1–0.[3] The semi-final draw paired the club with Raith Rovers away from home at Stark's Park. Inverness Caledonian Thistle triumphed to win 4–0[4] and book a place in the Scottish Challenge Cup final for the second time after losing the 1999 final to Alloa Athletic.

Airdrie United

Round Opposition Score
First round Montrose (h) 2–0
Second round Greenock Morton (a) 2–1
Quarter-final Forfar Athletic (a) 2–0
Semi-final Brechin City (a) 2–1 (a.e.t.)

Airdrie United were drawn against Montrose at home in the first round and produced a 2–0 victory over the club.[1] The second round saw United drawn against Greenock Morton away from home at Cappielow and produced 2–1 win to progress to the quarter-finals.[2] Another away game awaited Airdrie United in the quarter-finals as they were drawn against Forfar Athletic which saw the club produce a 2–0 win and a second clean sheet of the tournament to progress to the semi-finals.[3] The opposition provided was Brechin City at Glebe Park, again away from home with Airdrie United emerging 2–1 winners after extra time.[4] Airdrie United reached the Scottish Challenge Cup final for the first time in the club's history.

Pre-match

Analysis

Inverness Caledonian Thistle scored a total of twelve goals in the rounds preceding the final whilst conceding only one goal in the process. Compared with Airdrie United who scored eight goals in total and conceded two, although only managing two clean sheets compared to Inverness Caledonian Thistle's three. Both teams played three games away from their respective homes of Caledonian Stadium and New Broomfield, whilst only playing one home game each. Inverness Caledonian Thistle reached the Scottish Challenge Cup final for the second time in its history after losing on penalties in the 1999 final to Alloa Athletic after a 4–4 draw after extra time, whereas it was Airdrie United's first time in the final under their new identity.

Match details

Inverness Caledonian Thistle2 – 0Airdrie United
Bingham 79'
Hislop 89'		 Report
Attendance: 5,428
Referee: Willie Young
INVERNESS CALEDONIAN THISTLE:
GK1Scotland Mark Brown
DF2Scotland Ross Tokely
DF3Scotland Stuart Golabek
DF4Scotland Bobby Mann (c)
DF5Scotland Stuart McCaffrey
MF6Scotland Russell Duncan
MF7Scotland Barry Wilson
MF8Scotland Richie Hartdownward-facing red arrow 86'
FW9Scotland Paul Ritchiedownward-facing red arrow 58'
MF10Scotland Roy McBain
FW11Scotland David Binghamdownward-facing red arrow 90'
Substitutes:
DF12Scotland Grant Munro
MF14Scotland Darran Thomsonupward-facing green arrow 90'
FW15Scotland Steven Hislopupward-facing green arrow 58'
FW16Scotland Liam Keoghupward-facing green arrow 86'
GK17Scotland Michael Fraser
Manager:
Scotland John Robertson
AIRDRIE UNITED:
GK1Scotland Mark McGeown
DF2Scotland Stephen Docherty (c)downward-facing red arrow 64'
DF3Scotland Sandy Stewart
DF4Scotland Scott Wilsondownward-facing red arrow 73'
DF5Scotland Allan McManus
MF6Scotland Willie Wilson
FW7France Jerome Vareilledownward-facing red arrow 83'
MF8Scotland Marvyn Wilson
FW9Scotland Mark Roberts
MF10Scotland David Dunn
MF11Scotland Alan Gow
Substitutes:
FW12Scotland Paul Ronaldupward-facing green arrow 73'
DF14Benin Felicien Singboupward-facing green arrow 64'
MF15Scotland Stephen McKeownupward-facing green arrow 83'
FW16Scotland Martin Glancy
GK17Scotland Lee Hollis
Manager:
Scotland Sandy Stewart

MATCH RULES

  • 90 minutes
  • 30 minutes of extra time if necessary
  • Penalty shootout if scores still level
  • Five named substitutes
  • Maximum of 3 substitutions

References

  1. 1 2 Scottish League Challenge Cup round 1 Results - 2003/04 Archived 26 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine, ESPN Soccernet. Retrieved 2011-06-12.
  2. 1 2 Scottish League Challenge Cup round 2 Results - 2003/04 Archived 26 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine, ESPN Soccernet. Retrieved 2011-06-12.
  3. 1 2 Scottish League Challenge Cup round 3 Results - 2003/04, ESPN Soccernet. Retrieved 2011-06-12.
  4. 1 2 Scottish League Challenge Cup Semi-finals Results - 2003/04, ESPN Soccernet. Retrieved 2011-06-12.
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