Russell Duncan felt something special was in the air the night Caley Thistle delivered a second Scottish Cup knockout blow to Martin O’Neill’s UEFA Cup finalists in 2003.
The former midfield star is the fourth-highest ranked appearance holder at the club along with Barry Wilson on 353 games, behind Richard Hastings (366), Grant Munro (367) and Ross Tokely (589).
The 42-year-old spent a decade at the club from 2001, winning two First Division titles and playing in the top-flight for five seasons.
Unfortunately, an injury suffered in a derby defeat to Ross County earlier that month in 2003 put Duncan out of the team and into the stands for the visit of O’Neill’s side.
Celtic went on to be pipped to the SPL title on goal difference by Rangers, who also knocked them out of the League Cup seven days before the Inverness quarter-final clash.
Four days before visiting the Highlands, they knocked Liverpool out of the UEFA Cup thanks to Alan Thompson and John Hartson goals in a 2-0 Merseyside triumph.
They would go on to defeat Boavista in the semis before losing the final to Jose Mourinho’s Porto 3-2 after extra-time in Seville.
Celtic in 2003 had top quality squad
O’Neill took full responsibility for the defeat after making eight changes for the trip to Inverness, but given the quality of their squad, Duncan reckons ICT’s stunning win which put them into a semi-final against Dundee, which they lost 1-0 at the national stadium, merited more credit.
John Barnes’ Hoops of 2000 were in disarray and Steve ‘Pele’ Paterson’s brilliantly drilled Highlanders picked them apart in a 3-1 Celtic Park success, sparking the Scottish Sun’s ‘Caley Thistle go ballistic Celtic are atrocious’ famous headline.
The side which visited the Caledonian Stadium three years later, though dramatically changed from their triumph at Liverpool, still included stars Henrik Larsson, Neil Lennon, Jackie McNamara and Shaun Maloney, with John Hartson pitched into action in the second half to try and rescue the tie.
Mark Brown shut out Larsson and co
Duncan, a mainstay in the ICT team at the time, explained how he lost his battle to be fit for the game, but was thrilled to see Dennis Wyness score the only goal just before the interval.
He said: “I was injured at the time and watched from the stand. I picked up an injury against Ross County in a 5-1 defeat and missed a couple of games.
“I tried training (to be ready for Celtic), but John Robertson decided I wasn’t fit enough to play, so that was that.
“That game was just a few days after Celtic had won at Anfield. They maybe thought they would come up here and walk it, but the boys showed what can happen if you dig in deep, are well organised, and you have a game plan. If you can then hit them on the counter, you never know.
“That season, although Celtic finished trophyless, they reached the final of the UEFA Cup – they had some team.
“They rested a few guys against us, but they still had players such as Henrik Larsson, Neil Lennon and Shaun Maloney. They had an unbelievable squad.
“(Goalkeeper) Mark Brown was man-of-the-match, and everyone played their part. It was one of those special nights where you just knew something was going to happen. There was such a great atmosphere at the stadium.”
Pele’s heroes put Inverness on map
While Duncan acknowledges the magnificent shock in the first meeting between these sides, he feels the quality was higher within O’Neill’s Euro-glory-chasing stars.
He said: “No one had heard of Caley Thistle before the win in 2000 and that result put them on the map.
“Not many people talk about that game in 2003 – it’s usually all about the “go ballistic” tie at Parkhead in 2000.
“That was seen as a bigger upset, but in hindsight, when you compare the two Celtic teams, the side who came up to Inverness was probably better than the one at Parkhead three years earlier.”
Belief key ingredient for Dodds’ aces
The current Caley Thistle team, which finished sixth in the Championship this season, is preparing to tackle Ange Postecoglou’s treble-chasers in the Scottish Cup final on Saturday.
Looking ahead to the Hampden showdown, Duncan stressed there’s no reason for Billy Dodds’ men to doubt they can add another famous win to the list.
He added: “You must go there believing you can win it. There’s no point going into it thinking you don’t have a chance.
“There could be a sending off, as there was in 2015 when (Celtic goalkeeper) Craig Gordon was red-carded and that can change the game.
“That semi-final was at Hampden as well, so why can’t they go and try to do the same thing? They are in it. They have a chance.
“I’m sure Doddsy will have them well organised. They looked well organised against Falkirk in the semi-final last month. I know Falkirk had a couple of chances, but Inverness were very comfortable in their 3-0 win.
“If they can go there, with the same positive attitude as they did in the semi-final then they will give themselves a good chance.”
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