The 1993 Tennent's Sixes was the tenth and final edition of the original run of the Tennent's Sixes. It was played at the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre (SECC) in Glasgow on 24 and 25 January 1993.

Ten clubs from the 1992–93 Scottish Premier Division took part, with Rangers and Dundee absent. Partick Thistle beat Airdrieonians 4–3 in the final to win the tournament for the first time. Airdrieonians forward Owen Coyle finished as leading scorer with nine goals.

Format The clubs were divided into two groups of five, with the top two in each section progressing to the semi-finals. Group matches were played over two halves of seven and a half minutes; the semi-finals and final used two ten-minute halves.

Goalkeepers could hold the ball for no more than six seconds. Teams were required to keep at least two players in the opposition half, while two yellow lines divided the pitch into thirds. Shots had to be taken from the attacking third and the ball could not be played directly across all three zones. Drawn matches were settled by penalty shoot-outs.

Group stage

Group 1

Team Pld W L GF GA GD Pts Celtic 4 3 1 15 9 +6 9 St Johnstone 4 3 1 9 6 +3 9 Hibernian 4 3 1 13 11 +2 9 Aberdeen 4 1 3 9 13 −4 3 Falkirk 4 0 4 8 15 −7 0

Team Score Team Date Celtic 3–0 St Johnstone 24 January 1993 Celtic 6–4 Aberdeen 24 January 1993 Celtic 5–3 Falkirk 24 January 1993 St Johnstone 3–2 Hibernian 24 January 1993 St Johnstone 3–0 Aberdeen 24 January 1993 Hibernian 4–3 Aberdeen 24 January 1993 Hibernian 5–4 Falkirk 24 January 1993 Aberdeen 2–0 Falkirk 24 January 1993 Hibernian 2–1 Celtic 25 January 1993 St Johnstone 3–1 Falkirk 25 January 1993

Celtic, St Johnstone and Hibernian each finished with nine points. Celtic and St Johnstone qualified on goal difference.

Group 2

Team Pld W L GF GA GD Pts Partick Thistle 4 3 1 12 5 +7 9 Airdrieonians 4 3 1 11 8 +3 9 Heart of Midlothian 4 3 1 14 13 +1 9 Motherwell 4 1 3 15 17 −2 3 Dundee United 4 0 4 8 17 −9 0

Team Score Team Date Partick Thistle 2–0 Airdrieonians 24 January 1993 Heart of Midlothian 2–2Hearts won 3–2 on penalties Partick Thistle 24 January 1993 Partick Thistle 4–0 Dundee United 24 January 1993 Airdrieonians 3–1 Motherwell 24 January 1993 Airdrieonians 5–3 Dundee United 24 January 1993 Heart of Midlothian 7–6 Motherwell 24 January 1993 Heart of Midlothian 3–2 Dundee United 24 January 1993 Motherwell 5–3 Dundee United 24 January 1993 Partick Thistle 4–3 Motherwell 25 January 1993 Airdrieonians 3–2 Heart of Midlothian 25 January 1993

Partick Thistle and Airdrieonians qualified ahead of Hearts on goal difference.

Knockout stage

Semi-finals

Team Score Team Date Partick Thistle 4–3 St Johnstone 25 January 1993 Airdrieonians 4–3 Celtic 25 January 1993

Final

Team Score Team Date Partick Thistle 4–3 Airdrieonians 25 January 1993

Davie Irons scored once for Partick Thistle and Paul McLaughlin scored three times. Airdrieonians' goals came from Owen Coyle, who scored twice, and Jimmy Boyle.

The final attendance was 5,200.

Milestones and incidents Irons was voted Player of the Tournament.

Darren Jackson's goal for Hibernian against Aberdeen was recorded as the 900th goal in Tennent's Sixes history.

Tosh McKinlay's goal for Hearts against Airdrieonians was recorded as the tournament's 1,000th. McKinlay and Davie Cooper, who had scored the first goal of the inaugural tournament in 1984, were later presented with commemorative quaichs.

Hearts' 7–6 victory over Motherwell produced 13 goals. The previous article described this as equalling the tournament's highest-scoring match, but no reliable source for that record claim has yet been identified.

Hibernian's elimination from Group 1 led to controversy over a late decision in their 2–1 win against Celtic. With Hibs leading 2–0, referee Bill Crombie penalised them for time-wasting. Hibernian disputed the decision, arguing that they were in possession and still had two players in the Celtic half. Celtic subsequently scored, leaving St Johnstone ahead of Hibernian on goal difference. The Daily Record later reported that the Scottish Football Association was to examine the incident.

Prize money Each club received £13,500 for taking part. Airdrieonians received an additional £2,000 as runners-up and Partick Thistle £4,000 as winners, taking Thistle's main tournament payment to £17,500. A £15,000 goalscoring fund was shared among clubs according to goals scored, with a further £2,000 Fair Play award.

Challenge match Huntly, holders of the Highland League Cup, played Vale of Leithen of the East of Scotland Football League in a pre-final exhibition match. Vale of Leithen won 10–5.

Sponsorship and discontinuation By the 1993 tournament, Tennent Caledonian's total expenditure on the Sixes since the competition began had exceeded £3 million.

The tournament was discontinued after the 1993 edition when Tennent Caledonian withdrew its sponsorship. A revival of the competition was announced in August 2026.

References

External links Tennent's Soccer Sixes at the Scottish Football Historical Archive Tennent's Sixes 1993: video highlights, part one at STV, archived by the Wayback Machine Tennent's Sixes 1993: video highlights, part two at STV, archived by the Wayback Machine