Ivan Sproule wanted to go wild '“ but he was in Rangers end

It was all he could do to stop himself jumping to his feet as he watched Jamie Maclaren sweep home Hibs' winner at Ibrox.
Jamie Maclaren celebrates scoring the winner for Hibs at IbroxJamie Maclaren celebrates scoring the winner for Hibs at Ibrox
Jamie Maclaren celebrates scoring the winner for Hibs at Ibrox

But, surrounded by thousands of Rangers fans, former Easter Road winger Ivan Sproule thought better of it.

Nevertheless, the sight of Maclaren wheeling away to race towards the travelling support just as he had done all those years ago brought the memories flooding back.

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There was, of course, the stunning second-half hat-trick in 2005 which has become part of Easter Road folklore, quickly followed by another 3-0 win as Hibs returned to clock up back-to-back wins in Govan as they knocked Rangers out of the Scottish Cup.

Ivan Sproule rounds Rangers goalkeeper Ronald Waterreus to complete his hat-trick in August 2005Ivan Sproule rounds Rangers goalkeeper Ronald Waterreus to complete his hat-trick in August 2005
Ivan Sproule rounds Rangers goalkeeper Ronald Waterreus to complete his hat-trick in August 2005

Neil Lennon’s players have now not only emulated that achievement of 12 years ago, but became the first Hibs side ever to record successive away wins over the Glasgow 
outfit in the top flight.

And Sproule, now boss of Ardstaw FC back in Northern Ireland, insisted their 2-1 win was fully merited, revealing he’d been hugely impressed by Lennon’s side, particularly in the wake of an eventful transfer deadline day which had seen Anthony Stokes, among others, move on.

“My son Sam’s side had been invited over to play Rangers Academy so I came over as one of their leaders. There was a group of 60 or 70 of us from the club, Killen Rangers, but I was probably the only one who came out of Saturday’s match with the right result.

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“It was a great experience to go back to Ibrox but I was sitting in among the Rangers support and, although I tried to keep my head down, a few 
recognised me.

Tennents Scottish Cup - Rangers V Hibernian, Ibrox Stadium, Glasgow - Ivan Sproule celebrates his goal, and earneda booking for removing his shirt - Hibs won 3-0 .... Picture by Donald MacLeod 04.2.06Tennents Scottish Cup - Rangers V Hibernian, Ibrox Stadium, Glasgow - Ivan Sproule celebrates his goal, and earneda booking for removing his shirt - Hibs won 3-0 .... Picture by Donald MacLeod 04.2.06
Tennents Scottish Cup - Rangers V Hibernian, Ibrox Stadium, Glasgow - Ivan Sproule celebrates his goal, and earneda booking for removing his shirt - Hibs won 3-0 .... Picture by Donald MacLeod 04.2.06

“I wasn’t brave enough to wear a Hibs top, but I did make sure I had my green trainers on. Just walking to the stadium with Sam, who is ten, asking me questions and stepping through that front door again – you never lose that buzz.”

And Sproule was certainly buzzing when, after Sean Goss had cancelled out John McGinn’s first-half opener, Maclaren took full advantage of a foolish push by James Tavernier on Scott Allan to fire home the winner from the spot.

He said: “I wanted to jump up and celebrate but with all those Rangers fans around me in the Broomloan Stand that wouldn’t have been a good idea.

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“Hibs were a bit patched up with Lewis Stevenson playing centre half but I thorugh their all-round performance was terrific. Lenny had them really well organised and you have to say the best team were Hibs.

Ivan Sproule rounds Rangers goalkeeper Ronald Waterreus to complete his hat-trick in August 2005Ivan Sproule rounds Rangers goalkeeper Ronald Waterreus to complete his hat-trick in August 2005
Ivan Sproule rounds Rangers goalkeeper Ronald Waterreus to complete his hat-trick in August 2005

“It was my first look at John McGinn. I’d heard all the chat about him moving on to bigger things and he didn’t disappoint. It was great – as a winger myself – to see Martin Boyle running at people and putting in great crosses while Scott Allan was also very good.

“And then there was Lewis, Mr Dependable. I watched him when McGinn scored. Everyone was running to celebrate but Lewy, wearing the captain’s armband, was standing in his own half ready for kick-off.

“Was I worried when I saw him, not the biggest of guys, lining up at centre-half? No. Lewy is that dependable I’d happily play him in goals if I had to. There’s not a day that’s passed that Lewy has let anyone down. He’s a model professional and it was great to be able to have a word with him afterwards.

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“I’m fighting a hard battle with Sam because all his pals are Rangers fans but it was a fantastic experience for the boys who were then given a tour of Ibrox the following day when I was telling them how their players tried to intimidate you when you walked into the tunnel.”

Tennents Scottish Cup - Rangers V Hibernian, Ibrox Stadium, Glasgow - Ivan Sproule celebrates his goal, and earneda booking for removing his shirt - Hibs won 3-0 .... Picture by Donald MacLeod 04.2.06Tennents Scottish Cup - Rangers V Hibernian, Ibrox Stadium, Glasgow - Ivan Sproule celebrates his goal, and earneda booking for removing his shirt - Hibs won 3-0 .... Picture by Donald MacLeod 04.2.06
Tennents Scottish Cup - Rangers V Hibernian, Ibrox Stadium, Glasgow - Ivan Sproule celebrates his goal, and earneda booking for removing his shirt - Hibs won 3-0 .... Picture by Donald MacLeod 04.2.06

Although adamant his days as a player are but a distant memory, Sproule admitted he still misses them but has those memories to cherish, revealing his favourite moment at Ibrox wasn’t that hat-trick but the cup win which was to follow four months later. He said: “No disrespect to Rangers, but I think the team we played back then was a lot stronger, full of players such as Dado Prso, Fernando Ricksen, Thomas Buffel and Barry Ferguson.

“Because of the scoreline, when I hit my hat-trick people assume we’d given them a bit of a doing when, in fact, they’d actually had us under the cosh.”

Sproule replaced a less-than-pleased Garry O’Connor and swung the match as, inspired by Scott Brown in the middle of the park, they hit on the break resulting in him becoming the first Hibs player to score a hat-trick at Ibrox in a century.

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He recalled: “I remember Garry asking Tony Mowbray when I came on ‘what the **** is he going to do?’

“Fair enough, you have to earn your stripes. I wasn’t long at the club and up to then I’d only scored one goal against Celtic while Garry had got plenty of goals and become a regular with Scotland.

“I’ve said 100 times, you have to prove yourself and throughout my career I had to prove myself although I always believed in my ability.

“My favourite day at Ibrox, however, was the next match that season simply because there were so many more Hibs fans with it being the cup. But, yes, they are magical memories – watching Maclaren run to the Hibs fans in that corner reminded me of doing just that after my goals – which are always going to follow me around, supporters will never let me forget.

“It’s strange, but I scored four goals against Rangers in the SPL and five against Celtic, but no-one ever seems to 
mention them!”