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Daily Record
Daily Record
Sport
Will Lancaster

The Celtic and Rangers Scottish Cup semi final warnings that prove lower league sides don't always follow the script

Darvel's capitulation against Falkirk on Monday evening killed off any idea that the sixth-tier side could reach the Scottish Cup semi-finals - though one non-top flight side will have their day at Hampden after the quarter-final draw.

Ayr United were nearly on the wrong end of a shock themselves, levelling against League Two Elgin City in the last minute. Their class showed in extra-time however, and they ran out 4-1 winners to book a spot in the last eight. The draw prior to the Bairns' meeting with the cup shock kings of the fourth round meant they knew a win would pit them against The Honest Men, led by former Falkirk favourite Lee Bullen.

Celtic being handed a trip to Tynecastle means one of the three favourites to lift the trophy will be eliminated. Rangers are expected to take care of Raith Rovers at Ibrox, while Kilmarnock have been warned about Inverness CT's capabilities after they grabbed their second chance following reinstatement with a convincing win over Livingston.

Regardless of who goes through, they'll all be secretly hoping to draw the winners of the Falkirk vs Ayr United tie in order to give themselves the best chance - on paper - of making the final.

But we know that it doesn't always work out that way when the lower league representatives make the last four. Record Sport takes a look at success stories of old.

Hibs vs Dundee United & Rangers vs Celtic, 2015

Of course, this duo make up two of the biggest teams in the Scottish Premiership at present, that is clear for everybody to see. But back in 2015, we had the pleasure of seeing the giant pair create history - by making it the first Scottish Cup final to feature two teams outside of the top-flight. Hibs survived Jason Cummings' failed Panenka penalty to beat Dundee United on penalties. The following day, Rangers shocked Celtic from the spot after a 2-2 draw over 120 minutes.

(Daily Record)

Rangers were on their road to recovery after being demoted to the fourth tier in 2012, and having finished third in the Championship the year previous - behind Edinburgh rivals Hearts and Hibs. They had stormed to the title by 11 points ahead of the Easter Road side, who failed to earn promotion after losing out to Falkirk in the promotion play-offs.

Yet they had the final laugh at Hampden. An Anthony Stokes opener was cancelled out by Kenny Miller and Andy Halliday before Stokes levelled. Then David Gray's infamous late header gave Hibs their first Scottish Cup in 114 years, produced arguably the strongest rendition of 'Sunshine on Leith' of all time, and gave Hibs the pleasure of becoming the first team outside of the top flight to win the Scottish Cup in 78 years.

Ross County vs Celtic, 2010

Ross County fans would never have dreamt about what was to come in 2010 as they reached their first ever Scottish Cup final. What started with a 5-1 win over Berwick Rangers in front of just 819 fans in Dingwall in the third round would become a fairytale.

They were handed a relatively easy tie against Inverurie Loco Works in the following round, attracting just 19 more fans than the previous tie, before an incredible 9-0 win over Stirling Albion left them just one game away from Hampden Park. The then-second tier side, who had only been promoted just two seasons before, were pitted against Hibs in what looked like the end of the road - but after forcing a replay with a 2-2 draw at Easter Road, a last-minute Scott Boyd winner in the return gave them a glamour tie against Celtic.

Most had accepted the presumption that Celtic were to breeze past their opponents, but when Steven Craig nodded them in front just before the hour mark, the Staggies dared to dream. They battled on for the next half hour, and with time almost up Martin Scott put the game to bed to give County arguably their most famous ever result at the time. A 3-0 loss to Dundee United followed, but they created memories for a lifetime for fans of the Highland outfit.

Queen of the South vs Aberdeen, 2008

Queen of the South's story arguably betters County's. Beginning with a 5-0 win over Peterhead in the third round in front of just 695 fans, they carried that on with a 4-0 home win over Linlithgow Rose to set up a clash against Greenock Morton in the last 16. Winning 2-0 at Cappielow, a win over Dundee at home would have put them into the semi-finals for the first time in 58 years. Stephen Dobbie and Ryan McCann were the heroes at Palmerston Park, producing a Hampden Park date with Aberdeen.

A dream start saw Steven Tosh put them 1-0 up, though that was cancelled out by And Considine to head into the break even. Then, arguably the maddest 15 minutes in football followed; from 1-1 at the break, Queen of the South found themselves 4-3 up on th hour mark after an 11-minute triple salvo outweighed Aberdeen's two efforts. They held on - just one game from glory.

And how close they came. Facing Rangers in front of 50,000 fans, Kris Boyd and DaMarcus Beasley put Rangers 2-0 up at the break; though Tosh and James Thomson scored two in two minutes to miraculously level the scores. Boyd won the game with 15 to go, but Queen of the South captured the hearts of a nation and even qualified for Europe.

Queens players celebrate the semi-final win over Aberdeen. (Getty Images)

Dunfermline vs Hibs, 2007

A 3-2 win over Rangers in the third round set the tone for this cup run. Having knocked out one of the stronger sides in the country, they did so again with a last-minute winner over Hearts at East End Park, and once more in the quarter-finals with a home win over Partick Thistle.

Hibs awaited in the semis, and a 0-0 draw saw the old format of a replay at Hampden just nine days later - where another last-minute winner from James McIntyre gave them a chance at silverware vs Celtic. However, for all of their late endeavours, it came back to bite them hard with Jean-Joel Perrier-Doumbe scoring in the 84th minute to give the Hoops victory in the harshest of circumstances.

Gretna vs Dundee, 2006

All the way from the first round, Gretna almost did the unthinkable back in 2006.

A 6-2 win over Preston Athletic, a 6-1 win over Cove Rangers and an impressive 1-0 win over St Johnstone saw third-tier Gretna reach the fourth round with ease - and after disposing of Clyde in a 4-0 replay win, a quarter-final date against St Mirren was nigh.

That became a formality with a 1-0 win - a Hampden trip in just their fourth season in Scottish football became quite the feat, especially as a third-tier team. They travelled to Hampden with defiance against Hearts, and forced extra-time with a Ryan McGuffie strike before penalties. The heartbreak started there; Hearts may have won 4-2, but they stole the love of a nation. Two promotions followed before administration saw the club dissolve just over two years after their Hampden heroics.

Airdrie vs Hearts 1992 & 1996

Not only one cup run from the same team, but Airdrie did it TWICE in the 1990's.

A cup run in 1995 saw them produce wins over Stirling Albion, Dunfermline and Raith Rovers to drag them to the semi-finals - where they beat Hearts after a Steve Cooper strike on the half hour mark. Alex MacDonald's men even ran Celtic close in the final, though a Pierre van Hooijdonk winner spoiled the script.

The first run in 1992 saw them suffer a similar fate; Stranraer, Huntly and Hibs were put to the sword, before a penalty shootout win over Hearts in the semi-final replay saw them take on Rangers at Hampden. However, Mark Hateley and Ally McCoist did what they do best to make sure that Andy Smith's late consolation counted for nothing.

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