Didn't the ref Stu well?

May 25 2008 By Brian Mcginlay

STUART DOUGAL can hold his head up high after turning in an excellent display in what will probably be his last Scottish Cup Final.

He warmed up for yesterday's clash with a near flawless performance in the crunch midweek league game between Dundee United and Celtic.

And Stuart was at his assured best again in a Cup Final that was played in an excellent spirit.

This was his second Hampden showpiece after taking charge of the 2004 match between Celtic and Dunfermline.

And it also looks set to be his last as Stuartwill retire at the end of next season.

Refs are rarely given two finals on the spin and he will be pleased with how yesterday went if it does prove to be his curtain call.

Stuart imposed himself early on by flashing a yellow card at Rangers' Lee McCulloch for a dreadful challenge.

And the players responded well to that show of authority by giving him few problems in the first half.

Stuart likes to talk to people instead of flashing cards and showed that in Thursday's game at Tannadice when he spoke to a number of stars before taking action.

It was the same yesterday and he gave Jim Thomson a lecture when he crashed through Jean-Claude Darcheville.

Stevie Tosh then had a moan about the decision that led to Kris Boyd's free-kick opener but it was a definite foul on DaMarcus Beasley.

The ref's only other big call was the Queens penalty appeal and Stuart was right to say no after Sean O'Connor claimed he was pushed by Steven Whittaker.

It was a half-hearted appeal and TV replays show it was never a penalty.

The first half was probably the easiest 45 minutes of Stuart's career and the game looked to be over as a contest with Rangers 2-0 up.

But Queens came roaring back as Tosh netted before Thomson headed an incredible leveller.

Now we had a game and there were few stoppages as play roared from end to end.

Queens were giving it their all but the tackles were fair and Stuart didn't have any controversy to deal with.

Boyd popped up with the winner and also had one of the worst tackles of the day as he crashed into linesman John Gilmour.

It was almost as reckless as the challenge that earned McCulloch his early booking.

It looked more painful with each viewing but he laughed it off and got on with the game.

Both linesman also had a good final as did fourth official Alan Freeland in what was his last game before retiring.

Match officials have come in for a lot of stick this season and it was nice to see the Cup Final remembered for the football. A lot of that was down to the players who behaved themselves.

They usually try a bit harder to play fair when all eyes are on them.

You always want the big games to pass without any controversy and Stuart will now head off for his summer holiday in a good mood. He'll want to recharge his batteries ahead of a final season in the SPL and it's hard to imagine him retiring.

I remember Stuart as a young official and the years have flown by.

Yesterday was the 123rd Scottish Cup Final and I still vividly recall taking charge of the centenary showpiece.