After the special BBC Scotland screening of the 2002 Scottish Cup Final, it’s had lots of Rangers fans reminiscing about the good old days, not least Craig Moore.
In one of the most memorable Scottish Cup Finals of the modern era, the Gers ran out 3-2 winners against Celtic as two star-studded XIs locked horns in the national stadium.
Craig Moore partnered Lorenzo Amoruso at the heart of the Rangers defence that day and the wily defender and his teammates left everything on the park in an impassioned, typical Rangers display.
Speaking to Rangers News, the former Aussie centre-half has pinpointed the exact moment where Alex McLeish’s side felt they had taken a tight match away from Celtic.
And low and behold it’s that man Neil McCann at the heart of it.
“I’ve spoken to wee Neil McCann a couple of times and in this particular game, there’s one moment which is one of my real memories from this match,” Moore told Rangers News.
“For me it was a turning point within the match.
“I’m not sure what minute it was, we were still chasing the game, but Didier Agathe and Neil McCann have a battle where Agathe travels with the ball and McCann has shown that resilience and desire to win it back.
“It went on for what felt like 20 or 30 seconds, and Neil McCann wins that battle by taking the ball.
“That moment, as funny as it might sound, for me on the football field playing and for a lot of the team, that gave us a huge lift and was a massive turning point in the game.
“From there, there was a feeling of ‘we’re going to go on and win this football match’.
“We believed then that we were going to be able to run the game better than what Celtic were going to.
“We went from strength-to-strength and Neil McCann was excellent in that game, Peter Lovenkrands obviously with a couple of goals and Barry Ferguson with a great free-kick.”
Social media has been awash with Rangers fan commenting on the famous Scottish Cup Final and it’s been a chance to reflect on the changes that have happened in Scottish football since then.
Both Rangers and Celtic XIs were strewn with big names with the likes of Ronald de Boer, Barry Ferguson, Henrik Larsson and Paul Lambert on the field.
Moore – who would later go on to captain the club – discussed the immense talent on show that day and how he believes Peter Lovenkrands’ late winner was an apt end to an epic Old Firm battle.
“It was just a really fantastic finish to what I think was a great football match,” said Moore.
“There was two very good teams, both clubs had very strong teams out and very strong squads.
“It was a great game to be involved in and that was certainly one we got to enjoy on that particular day.
“We worked hard, the squad was very close and certainly back then you could let your hair down and have a couple of beers after an achievement.
“So we returned back to Ibrox for a dinner and a couple of beers with family and friends, they were good times.”
Craig Moore spent 12 years at Ibrox between 1993 and 2005, playing over 150 times for the Gers and winning 12 major trophies with the club.
He would go on to have spells with Borussia Monchengladbach in Germany and Newcastle United down south before finishing his career with spells in Australia and Greece.
Moore has worked in a range of roles across football since retiring as a player and recently joined the world of football agency working closely with global leaders the John Viola Academy.
Moore is part of the world’s first online football agency course, where anyone can learn the skills required to work in the business of the beautiful game.