Queen's Park & Davidson stand tall amid Ibrox bedlam
Queen's Park manager Callum Davidson rocked back in his chair in the Ibrox press box, pulled his jacket hood over his face, and pulled the toggles in anguish.He had just watched the big screen at Ibrox flicker with a fresh message. The officials were examining whether his heroic goalkeeper Calum Ferrie had moved off his line in saving James Tavernier's 97th-minute penalty.Moments later, he was celebrating after his team pulled off one of the most seismic shocks in Scottish Cup history.Davidson went through every single emotion from the moment he woke up at 01:30 in a cold sweat at having only four fit defenders, to the referee finally blowing the full-time whistle after about eight minutes of stoppage-time bedlam.
He had to do it all away from the dugout due to a touchline ban, too. Instead he was giving fevered instructions on his phone at half-time, at one point standing up and gesturing to his staff furiously, all while sitting a couple of seats along from the BBC commentary team.The odds could hardly have been more stacked against Queen's Park given all those obstacles in their way."I couldn't believe it at the end to be honest," Davidson told BBC Scotland"Our captain [Ferrie] pulled us out of trouble. It's actually a good penalty, it's just a wonderful save. Calum performed at a top level."Davidson's suffering through the drama was the perfect reflection of his team, who emptied everything they had, but emerged still standing and triumphant.
Unlikely heroes become Scottish Cup legends
The names of Ferrie and match-winner Seb Drozd will now go down in the annals of the Scottish Cup, one of sport's oldest competitions.Ferrie was a colossus, making eight other brilliant saves as well as the critical penalty to keep Rangers at bay.Tavernier - who has scored 69 penalties for Rangers - will have hit worse and scored. But Ferrie simply would not be beaten.He and the Queen's Park coaches had analysed where the Rangers captain likes to hit them, but in the end it came down to raw gut instinct."I changed my mind at the last minute," Ferrie told BBC Scotland. "It was a good penalty and I've just got lucky that I've gone the right way.
"I'm ecstatic. You'd struggle to write a script like that. The boys in there, the whole squad, boys who were even injured today, have been fantastic all week."We've prepared right, we've believed we can get a result out of this game. Nobody's invincible, we've said that all week. It's worked well for us."Ferrie's modesty matched the modest reputation of Drozd, who arrived after his release by Milwall in October.Before that he had been playing for Uxbridge in the Isthmian League. He had scored one goal all season.Now, he is immortal in Scottish football history after selling a dummy to Jefte, opening his body up, and slotting into the bottom corner like prime Thierry Henry. But there were so many heroes in black and white.Centre-backs Nikola Ujdur and Will Tizzard were towering presences in the middle of the box, with six of their fellow defenders unavailable for Queen's Park.Sean Welsh and Louis Longridge could barely move by stoppage time after running themselves into the ground in midfield.To a man, they were magnificent. All of them found their legs at the end, though, as they sprinted towards the corner of Ibrox housing the delirious Queen's Park fans.
Can Davidson do it again?
Davidson has already performed cup heroics in his short career as a manager. He won the Scottish Cup and League Cup in the same campaign at St Johnstone, four years ago, knocking Rangers out in the quarter-finals in the former.Doing it again with Queen's Park would be of a whole other order. The Glasgow side are currently fifth in the Championship, closer to the bottom than the top.He will want to improve on that position as well as continue their dream Scottish Cup run. With fellow second-tier side Livingston the only non top-flight side in the draw for the next round, it is a tough ask.But after becoming the first Scottish side to win at Ibrox since March, not much else should faze them.Asked if he can now kick back and enjoy Monday's draw, Davidson cracked a smile."I'll be playing squash," said the hugely accomplished golfer and tennis player.
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