In the first of our anniversary articles on Caley Thistle’s surge to Scottish Cup glory 10 years ago, we speak to manager John Hughes and player Ross Draper about seeing off Partick Thistle 2-1 at Firhill on February 7, 2015, to reach the quarter-finals.
Goals from Marley Watkins and Greg Tansey had the Highlanders 2-0 ahead inside half an hour of the fifth round clash, before Lyle Taylor’s second half response gave Thistle hope.
But ICT held on to book a last-eight home tie against Raith Rovers.
John Hughes: Partick were Caley Thistle’s bogey team
Ex-Caley Jags boss Hughes insists getting past Partick was never going to be an easy task, as that season alone, the Maryhill Jags had won 3-1 in Glasgow and 4-0 in Inverness. Alan Archibald’s men would have had high hopes.
Hughes said: “Every time we played Partick Thistle, they were our bogey team – we could never beat them.
“They had the jinx over us, but we overcame it that day.
“I remember the breakaway goal scored by Greg Tansey to put us 2-0 up after Marley Watkins had put us ahead.
“It was just nice to do the business and get through.
“I thought: ‘Here we go, into the quarter-finals’. It was fantastic.
“We just thought: ‘Let’s just take what comes’.
‘Down and out’ ICT had swept past St Mirren after 1-1 draw
Hughes added: “Before we reached the fifth round, we were down and out against St Mirren when Josh Meekings got us level at 1-1 in Paisley.
“I remember sitting on the bench and I said to Kells (Scott Kellacher) that I would take a draw and take them back up to Inverness.
“Tommy Craig – a fantastic coach – was in charge of St Mirren at the time. I thought they would have come up the following week, but they came up the following Tuesday and we battered them 4-0.
“St Mirren had a great team, with the likes of (now Scotland regulars) John McGinn and Kenny McLean in their side.
“But we had big characters in our dressing room and we got through the replay without any issues.”
Draper: League Cup agony played into Scottish Cup run in 2015
In 2014, the previous season, Caley Thistle had lost the League Cup final against Aberdeen on penalties after a tense 0-0 draw at Celtic Park.
Ross Draper believes the pain laid the foundations for their Scottish Cup triumph.
He said: “After losing the League Cup final on penalties, it could have gone one of two ways.
“You can wilt away and feel sorry for yourself after losing a final in such a cruel way, or you can stick your chest out and go again the next year.
“Although it was a different competition, it was good that we managed to go one step further and go on to win the Scottish Cup.”
Draper says he began dreaming of Hampden as soon as they dismissed St Mirren, knowing two more wins would take them to the national stadium.
He added: “We had a tough run at that point in the cup, having to overcome two Premiership sides in St Mirren and Partick Thistle.
“We then had to get past Raith Rovers from the Championship, who are always tough opponents.
“You always have a target of reaching the quarters and then you are just one game away from a Hampden semi-final.
“We always had decent success in cup competitions, even by reaching quarter-finals and semi-finals.
“It showed the confidence we had, to go to places like St Mirren and Partick and come through it, to get ourselves on the ladder towards the final.”
Tansey’s vital goal lodged in Draper’s memory
Although memories of the Partick match itself are sketchy, Draper does recall the crucial goal from Greg Tansey.
He said: “I don’t recall too much about the Partick game – other than Greg scoring a good goal to make it 2-0.
“He found himself higher up the park than he would normally be. He dropped the shoulder to go past two or three players to slot it in.
“To get the win at Firhill was really good. It was always a tough venue and Partick always were a decent side.”
Draper: ‘A bit crazy’ for decade to have passed
Former Ross County and Cove player Draper, who stars for League Two promotion contenders Elgin City, cannot believe it has (almost) been a decade since Caley Thistle’s historic Scottish Cup success.
He said: “It’s always nice to look back on.
“In some ways, it doesn’t feel like 10 years ago, yet in other ways it does feel closer, but so much has happened since then, individually and as a club for Caley Thistle.
“To think that it’s now 10 years on… it does feel a bit crazy.”
For more Caley Thistle news and updates visit our dedicated page and join our Facebook group.
Conversation