Anyone remember 1985?

EIGHTEEN years ago, as a wide-eyed wee boy, I sat in the cowshed and watched and marvelled as Pierce O'Leary's penalty kick sailed into orbit and Hibs knocked Celtic out of the Skol League Cup quarter-finals following a nail-biting penalty shoot-out.

On Thursday night, at the same end of Easter Road, and another wide-eyed young pup by the name of KevinThomson wrote himself into the Hibbie history books with a stunning strike to knock Celtic out of the 2003-2004 League Cup quarter-finals and send the Cabbage heading back to Hampden.

Our opponents there? The same is in 1985 - those forces of darkness from down Govan way, and with the Ginger Judas and his crumbling team currently in disarray, who's to say we can give them the same treatment we did back in those Skol Cup days, and march on to the final.

While at the turn of the month, Bobby once again found himself under the cosh, he has answered his critics - including my humbled self - in perfect fashion with a hard-fought win at Motherwell, followed by an exhillirating night at Easter Road which will be remembered for many a year. Just like the good old days, and there haven't been many of them over the past two decades.

While Bobby deserves his plaudits, the utmost credit must go to the Hibs team of young battlers, who gave a strong Celtic team not a minute's peace and made a mockery of the Parkhead team's sequence of consecutive domestic victories.

To a man the men in green and white were superb, with Thomson just one of a squad of heroes, who displayed belief that many us did not dare to share. I placed my usual bet on the Hibbies to cause an upset more in blind faith than shrewd judgment, but by half-time you could sense that a shock was definitely possible. But who would have thought we had the steel to beat Celtic, having gone a goal behind?

With bright young things like Brown, McManus, Doumbe, Whittaker, O'Connor, Riordan Dobbie et al already making a name for themselves in the Hibs ranks, it was an incredible that another unheralded youngster - Jonathan Baillie - should confidently step in to make his debut in such an important game, coming up against talent like Sutton and Larsson, and give such a flawless performance. Another reason to be cheerful about the future.

It's no understatement to say that this victory may well have saved our season. Europe's not impossible, but unlikely given our current position in the league, and there's nothing like a good cup run to get the flames of passion burning again amongst the Hibbie faithful.

All roads now lead to Hampden, and we have nothing to fear from the Huns that will try and block us returning there for the final. We took care of them in 1985, and again in 1991, and I say that history can repeat itself on the 5th of February.

Bobby Williamson and the Hibs kids - you could be heroes...