The spirit of Celtic was alive and well in Kirkcaldy yesterday as a generation of former Celts turned out for a tribute match to Ronnie Coyle.
Mention the 1994 Coca Cola Cup Final to any Celtic supporter and one of the darkest days in the club’s history comes to mind.
A defeat much much worse and more painful than last week’s Co-Operative Cup defeat to Rangers at Hampden.
That horrible day at Ibrox when Raith lifted the cup will never be forgotten, not by the supporters the players or anyone else associated with the club.
The chance to end a five year trophy drought against a First Division club seemed the perfect launch to the era of Fergus McCann and Tommy Burns, or so it seemed.
With the eagerly awaited share issue about to be launched and a new stadium rising at Celtic Park the 1994 Coca Cola Cup Final presented Celtic with a fantastic opportunity.
Alas it wasn’t to be as an extra-time lead was squandered and penalty shoot-out lost.
No-one felt it more than Paul McStay, no one deserved to be a winner more than the Celtic skipper.
Despite the heartbreak of the day McStay returned from Australia last week to recreate that horrible day- though thankfully not in it’s entireity.
In a game played in great spirit the bhoys of 2011 gained revenge for the misery of 94 with Paul scoring the winning penalty after a 3-3 draw.
Raith have rallied brilliantly behind Coyle who grew up in Govan in a strong Celtic family.
The Celtic Family can become cliched but looking at the pictures from yesterday’s match you see the Celtic family at it’s best.
CLICK HERE for the full selection of pictures from the Raith Rovers website
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a remember that game the maestro hit a 25 yarder of the left post and the rest is history should have won more