For over 153 years, the Scottish Cup has produced some unbelievable results and giant-killings. And with the first round of this year’s competition approaching, here are some of the biggest upsets recorded in its history.
1. Darvel 1 – 0 Aberdeen
Darvel registered one of the biggest upsets in Scottish Cup history after defeating eight-time winners Aberdeen 1-0 in January 2023. It was Jordan Kirkpatrick, who formerly played under Aberdeen manager Jim Goodwin, that sealed the win for the sixth-tier side who sat 56 places below Aberdeen.
Former Darvel manager Mick Kennedy went viral for one of the most iconic pre-match team talks in recent times. A clip from the BBC shows Kennedy standing in the middle of the dressing room delivering a world-class speech. And the historical speech worked a treat as his side came out on top in East Ayrshire.
2. Rangers 0 – 1 Queens Park
Rangers were shocked by Championship side Queens Park in the fifth round of the Scottish Cup in February 2025. Seb Drozd scored the decisive goal to put The Spiders into the next round, after former Rangers captain James Tavernier missed a penalty in the dying moments of the game.
Queens Park were only the second team to win at Ibrox in 18 games after French giants Lyon. And it was ex-boss Philippe Clement’s last chance for silverware at the club, before former legend Barry Ferguson stepped in as interim until the end of the season.
3. Clyde 2 – 1 Celtic
Clyde produced a massive shock in Cumbernauld during the 2005/2006 season, beating Celtic 2-1 in the third round of the Scottish Cup. It was Craig Bryson and Eddie Malone who put the First Division side ahead in the first half. Maciej Zurawski scored late for Celtic, however Clyde held on to record a famous Scottish Cup upset.
Roy Keane also made his debut for Celtic that day, but it was certainly one to forget for the Irish international. It was a strong side that Celtic sent out at the Broadwood Stadium, with the likes of Shunsuke Nakamura, John Hartson and other Celtic stars all involved. However, it wasn’t enough to beat The Bully Wee.
4. Brora Rangers 2 – 1 Hearts
After reaching the previous two Scottish Cup finals and sitting top of the Scottish Championship, Hearts took on Highland League champions Brora Rangers in March 2021, where they were defeated 2-1 before the Premiership teams even entered the competition.
Brora hadn’t played a game for over two months prior to this fixture, as all leagues below the championship were suspended due to Covid. However, that didn’t affect them at all as they shocked Hearts at home.
Brora took the lead early on with Jordan Macrae, before Heats levelled midway through the second half with a stunner from Christophe Berra. But it didn’t stay level for long as Brora took the lead again with Martin Macleans headed effort.
The home side managed to hold on and progressed to the third round of the tournament.
5. Celtic 1 – 3 Inverness Caledonian Thistle
A shock result at Celtic Park saw Inverness pull of a huge upset beating Celtic 3-1 in the 1999/2000 season. The Highland side were certainly the underdogs going into this tie. But it was Paul Sheerin, now assistant coach at Rangers, who sealed the deal from the spot to send Inverness through to the fourth round of the Scottish Cup.
The headline “Super Caley go Ballistic, Celtic are Atrocious“ from the Scottish Sun went viral and summarised how this Scottish Cup tie went. This upset resulted in Celtic manager John Barnes being sacked just days after the match, being replaced by Director of Football, Kenny Dalglish.
6. Rangers 0 v 1 Hamilton Accies
Hamilton stunned Rangers at Ibrox in 1987, when they beat the favourites for the competition 1-0. Rangers were 33 points above Hamilton in the league, but that didn’t stop the South Lanarkshire side from causing an upset.
Adrian Sprott’s blasted effort left Chris Woods with no chance in the 70th minute. And prior to the match, Woods hadn’t conceded a goal in 1196 minutes of competitive football.
Unfortunately for Hamilton, the rest of the season wasn’t so bright. After their stunning win over Rangers, they were then knocked out of the Scottish Cup by rivals Motherwell and later relegated from the top-flight.
However, John Lambie’s side will know that this result will go down in history as one of the biggest upsets in Scottish Cup history.
