Richard Hastings could be forgiven for feeling a sense of deja vu as Canadian football flourishes in the build up to Caley Thistle’s Scottish Cup final against Celtic.
Canadian defender Hastings was part of Steve Paterson’s then First Division side which famously defeated Celtic 3-1 at Parkhead in 2000.
It was a result which sparked wild celebrations among Inverness’ squad, and prompted nationwide media coverage.
Despite playing the full 90 minutes, Hastings had to watch the jubilation from afar.
Immediately after the full-time whistle, his focus immediately changed to international duty as he got set to travel in order to represent his country in the Gold Cup.
It was a competition which Canada would go on to win, with Hastings netting the golden goal in the quarter-final victory over Mexico.
After defeating Colombia 2-0 in the final, Hastings was named rookie of the tournament.
It was the triumphant night in Glasgow’s east end which proved to be the starting point for a memorable month for the then 22-year-old Hastings.
He said: “I only know the celebrations after the Celtic game from seeing the newspaper clippings, because I had to go to Glasgow airport and stay the night there as I had an early flight to LA.
“I ended up watching the game back on the Sportscene highlights. I was sitting in the room, elated as you could imagine, but with nobody to celebrate with.
“Even the next morning when I was waiting to get on the flight, I was looking at people reading the papers.
“You are so proud of yourself, you kind of want to lean on their shoulders and say ‘I played in that.’”
Canadian football enjoying another strong period
The upcoming final between Inverness and Celtic comes at a time when Canadian football is enjoying another period of success.
Last year, John Herdman’s side reached the World Cup for the first time since 1986. They are already guaranteed a spot at the next finals in three years’ time, as they are co-hosting the tournament along with United States and Mexico.
The Gold Cup win of 2000 remains Canada’s last silverware, however Hastings was once again unable to take part in the celebrations due to his club commitments.
As a result of defeating Celtic, Caley Jags set up a last-16 tie against Aberdeen which went to a replay following a 1-1 draw at Caledonian Stadium.
Hastings travelled back over the Atlantic to play in the return match at Pittodrie, and despite another stellar individual performance he was unable to prevent the Dons running out 1-0 winners.
Nevertheless, it is a month which Hastings regards as a standout high point of his career.
He added: “It was an amazing feeling to go and play in the Gold Cup with Canada. I was only a young player at the time, breaking into the national team.
“I was very much a squad player and hadn’t really had a chance to prove myself under the new manager [Holger Osieck].
“After I got my opportunity in the first game, he kept me in the team for the rest of the tournament.
“I managed to score the golden goal in the quarter-finals against Mexico.
“To go on and win it, and get the young player of the tournament, it was just a crazy month.
Quick trip home for another tilt at Scottish Cup glory
“Very similar to the Celtic game, I wasn’t able to celebrate that win because I had to get on an overnight flight back to play in the Aberdeen replay in the Scottish Cup.
“I flew in for that, and played at Pittodrie on who knows how many hours’ sleep and how many espressos later.
“I got a man of the match performance in that game, but unfortunately we lost it 1-0.
“It was a special time I always look back on, both for club and country.
“When I look back, that is definitely the best month of my career.”
Although Hastings left Caley Jags to join rivals Ross County 12 months later, he returned for a second spell at the club under John Robertson in 2004.
He would also go on to play under Craig Brewster on two occasions, along with Charlie Christie and Terry Butcher during his time at Caledonian Stadium.
Hastings, who was recently manager of Inverurie Locos, feels the traits instilled in the teams he was involved with still burn through the club to this day.
‘We did not know what our ceiling was’
The 46-year-old added: “It was a special time and over the years since, Caley Thistle just seem to always pop up and surprise people.
“Even the story to this with the ineligible Queen’s Park player, they were reinstated into the cup and have now gone on to the final. It’s all part of the story.
“We did have success in terms of climbing up through the leagues. There was just a mindset about the club – I don’t think we really knew what our ceiling was.
“We just kept ploughing through challenge after challenge. It’s not to say we won every single game we competed in, but we certainly went out with a belief we could compete with teams no matter what division they were in.
“It was a changing room full of guys who didn’t know when they were beaten.
“We knew each other’s game inside out, and knew each other’s qualities.
“On top of that we had managers we played under that just wanted us to go out and express ourselves, and gave us confidence and belief in ourselves.
“There was never a game when we went in saying ‘let’s keep the score down’.
“It was always an opportunity for us to go and see what we could do.”
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