Former Queen of the South chairman Davie Rae has been reliving the glory run of 2008 this week.
He remembers clearly hitting the road to Peterhead in the South’s opening tie before taking the long and winding road to the Scottish Cup final.
That terrific season would ultimately end in Europe and for Rae it was the pinnacle of his time at Palmerston.
Davie said: “It was such a great time for everyone connected to the club and the town.
“I remember starting off away to Peterhead. We had the long road up north and won 5-0.
“We weren’t expecting to win like that.”
The drubbing of Peterhead was followed by a 4-0 win over Linlithgow Rose at Palmerston before the Doonhamers won 2-0 away to Morton. Those games set up a clash with Dundee in the quarter finals.
Even all these years later fans still remember “that” goal from Ryan McCann and how far out he was.
That 2-0 victory sent Queens to their first Scottish Cup semi final since 1950.
Davie added: “Everyone remembers that goal and it being 84 yards out. I remember we went out and measured it afterwards. That was such a pivotal game because it took us to Hampden.
“That was to put us into our second ever Scottish Cup semi final.
“The final was a special day but the semi final victory was the most exciting game as chairman.
“I’d been going to watch Queens since I was 11-years-old and that is without a doubt the most exciting game I’ve seen Queens play in.”
Queens took the lead four times in the classic game with the Dons responding quickly on three occasions. Amazingly the scoring stopped on the hour mark after John Stewart stuck away the winner.
Davie, 82, said: “I couldn’t believe there was still 30 minutes to go! Aberdeen hit the post and the crossbar so we definitely had more than a wee bit of luck on the day.
“I think about it a lot. It’s definitely the most exciting game I’ve seen.”
The cup final, which took place 12 years ago last Sunday, saw Queens put up a spirited effort but they just fell short to Rangers as they lost 3-2.
Davie added: “We weren’t at the races in the first half and we were 2-0 down but we came out with a new lease of life in the second half and got it back to 2-2.
“It wasn’t to be but nevertheless it was a great time for the club and the fans.
“I remember the parade through the town and I wondered if many people would come out.
“But there were thousands of them that lined the streets throughout the town.”
Despite the defeat Queens qualified for Europe and travelled to Denmark to play Nordsjaelland.
“That whole season clearly lives with people as every year we talk about it and it never gets old. It was a brilliant time for everyone.”
