The 2004 Scottish Challenge Cup final, also known as the Bell's Cup final for sponsorship reasons, was an association football match between Falkirk and Ross County on 7 November 2004 at McDiarmid Park in Perth. It was the 14th final of the Scottish Challenge Cup since it was first organised in 1990 to celebrate the centenary of the Scottish Football League.

Falkirk emerged winners after defeating Ross County 2–1 with goals from Neil Scally and Darryl DuffyFalkirk 2-1 Ross County, BBC Sport. 2004-11-07. Retrieved 2009-12-31. to win the tournament for a third time after winning the 1993 and 1997 finals.

Route to the final

Falkirk Round Opposition Score First round Ayr United (a) 3–0 Second round Stirling Albion (h) 5–3 Quarter-final Gretna (h) 3–0 Semi-final St Johnstone (a) 2–1

The first round draw paired The Bairns with Ayr United at Somerset Park with the home team emerging 3–0 victors.Scottish League Challenge Cup round 1 Results – 2004/05 , ESPN Soccernet. Retrieved 2011-06-13. The second round was a home game against neighbours Stirling Albion for Falkirk at Ochilview Park producing a high scoring 5–3 winScottish League Challenge Cup round 2 Results – 2004/05 , ESPN Soccernet. Retrieved 2011-06-13. to progress to the quarter-finals. The opponents drawn were Gretna at home in the quarter-finals and Falkirk won with their second 3–0 victory of the tournament.Scottish League Challenge Cup round 3 Results – 2004/05, ESPN Soccernet. Retrieved 2011-06-13. The reward for reaching the semi-final was an away game at St. Johnstone with Falkirk edging out the opponents to win 2–1 to book a place in the final.Scottish League Challenge Cup Semi-finals Results – 2004/05, ESPN Soccernet. Retrieved 2011-06-13. Falkirk reached the Scottish Challenge Cup final for the third time, since winning the 1993 final against St Mirren and defeating Queen of the South in the 1997 final.

Ross County Round Opposition Score First round St Mirren (h) 2–1 Second round Peterhead (a) 2–1 Quarter-final Partick Thistle (h) 1–1 (a.e.t.)(5–3 pen.) Semi-final Forfar Athletic (h) 5–2 Ross County were drawn against St. Mirren at home in the first round and County produced a 2–1 victory over the club. The second round draw saw The Staggies drawn against Peterhead away from home with Ross County emerging 2–1 winners for the second consecutive game. The quarter-final draw brought with Partick Thistle all the way to Victoria Park which saw Ross County edging out a 5–3 win on penalties after a 1–1 draw after extra time to progress to the semi-finals. The opposition provided in the semi-final draw was Forfar Athletic and another home game which saw the Dingwall outfit triumph with a 5–2 victory to proceed to the Scottish Challenge Cup final for the first time in the club's history.

Pre-match

Analysis Falkirk had played two games at their shared home of Ochilview Park and two away in the games preceding the final with Ross County playing a total of three games at Victoria Park and one away from home. In the process Falkirk amassed a total of thirteen goals scored and a mere four goals conceded whilst keeping two clean sheets. Ross County scored ten goals before the final and conceded a total of five, managing to keep no clean sheets. Falkirk progressed winners through all four games in 90 minutes of play, whereas it took penalties before Ross County emerged as winners over Partick Thistle in the quarter-final. This was Falkirk's third time competing in the Scottish Challenge Cup final, whilst holding a 100% record after winning both the 1993 and 1997 finals. Ross County were appearing in the final for the first time in the club's history.

Match

Teams Falkirk: GK 1 Allan Ferguson RB 2 Andy Lawrie LB 3 Craig McPherson CM 4 Scott MacKenzie CB 5 Mark Campbell CB 6 Kevin James (c) RM 7 John O'Neil LM 8 David Nicholls CF 9 Andy Thomson CM 10 Russell Latapy CF 11 Darryl Duffy Substitutes:FW 12 Pedro Moutinho MF 14 Neil Scally FW 15 Daniel McBreen MF 16 Kieran McAnespie GK 17 Darren Hill Manager: John HughesRoss County: GK 1 Stuart Garden RB 2 John Robertson LB 3 Mark McCulloch CM 4 Jamie McCunnie CB 5 Martin Canning CB 6 Jim Lauchlan (c) CM 7 Don Cowie LM 8 Charlie Adam CF 9 Sean Higgins RM 10 John Rankin CF 11 David Winters Substitutes:DF 12 Stuart Malcolm MF 14 Sean Kilgannon FW 15 Steven McGarry FW 16 Gary McSwegan GK 17 Colin Stewart Manager: Alex Smith MATCH RULES 90 minutes 30 minutes of extra time if necessary Penalty shootout if scores still level Five named substitutes Maximum of 3 substitutions

References