It was a semi final for the ages and Clark – now chasing promotion with Queen of the South – went through every emotion as Mark Warburton’s Championship side eventually prevailed.
12:00, 19 Apr 2026
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It was a dream that quickly turned to a nightmare before taking Nicky Clark to the realms of euphoria.
And all in the space of 60 manic minutes.
Ten years ago this weekend the striker jumped on the emotional rollercoaster of a Scottish Cup semi final for the ages as Rangers – then in the Championship – held their nerve to dump Celtic on penalty kicks at Hampden.
It’s a game that has gone down in Ibrox folklore coming just a week after promotion back to the Premiership had been secured to end four years of hell in the lower leagues.
Clark is still banging the goals in as he attempts to take another club close to his heart – Queen of the South – back to a position he feels they belong in the Championship.
But a decade ago it was the top flight calling. And while the striker never got to represent his boyhood heroes in the Premiership, the knowledge he played a part in their journey back to the top is a source of immense pride.
According to Clark that afternoon at Hampden was a huge marker
A statement that the Ibrox club, battered and bruised from fighting back from their financial implosion, were ready to challenge again. To the point Celtic went straight out and appointed Brendan Rodgers.
Yet football’s fine margins almost flipped the script in Mount Florida – and particularly for Clark.
Having replaced Kenny Miller heading into extra time and with the sides locked at 2-2 after 120 minutes he was among the first to thrust his hand up for spot kicks.
Unfortunately for Clark, Celtic keeper Craig Gordon was just as quick throwing up his left palm to divert his penalty onto the bar and over.
Suddenly the horror of becoming the Old Firm Hampden fall guy washed over the Gers man. Yet barely 30 seconds later Wes Foderingham flopped down to save Scott Brown’s effort to restore parity.
And by the time Tom Rogic skied through Hoops’ eighth kick Clark and his team mates were in dreamland.
Looking back this week, the 34-year-old told Mail Sport: “I’ve won league titles with Rangers, Dundee United and Queen of the South but that game is still one of the highlights of my career – despite missing the penalty!
“It was an incredible game. Most people remember it for Barrie McKay’s stunning goal.
“It’s a bit different for me. It’s a horrible feeling any time you miss a penalty. But in a game of that magnitude was horrendous.
“To make it even worse it was at the Celtic end of Hampden. At that precise moment I wanted the ground to swallow me up.
“Thinking you’ve cost your team the game by missing a penalty. To be fair it was a great save by Craig Gordon.
“Thankfully my teammates managed to pull us out of the hole and Scott Brown missed one straight after me, so that kind of let me off the hook.
“It’s all a blur after that until the celebrations in the dressing room. It was absolutely incredible.
“We were in the division below at the time, and I don’t think anyone fancied us.
“Obviously beating Celtic and competing with them throughout the 120 minutes was a bit of a statement.
“We were showing that we were getting back to our best and we were able to compete with the best in the country.
“Celtic must have seen that as well because they went and got Brendan Rodgers that summer. They must have had a wee feeling that Rangers were coming back.
“We definitely took a lot of confidence for that game. It gave us belief that we could go and compete.”
There would be no winners’ medal after that Hampden high was followed by a career low a month later when Mark Warburton’s side lost the final to Hibs.
That spelled the end of Clark’s Gers career and, a decade on, he still grimaces at the missed opportunity to have left on a high.
But his match worn shirt from that semi final is still a cherished memento in the Clark household, alongside his father Sandy’s Hampden jersey from 32 years earlier.
He said: “That was kind of a dream growing up, knowing my dad had played for the club.
“I’ve actually still got that semi final shirt at my parents’ house. It’s with my dad’s 1984 League Cup Final one. I think Ally McCoist scored a hat-trick for Rangers in that game when they beat Celtic.
“To be signed by Ally more than 30 years later, knowing what he means to that club, was extra special.
“The objective when I signed was to get the club back to where it belonged. I take a lot of pride in helping do that.
“But from the high of that semi final win, the final was probably the lowest point of my career. Along with getting relegated with St Johnstone last season.
“We felt we had a real opportunity to win the cup but turned in probably the worst performance of the season.
“It was my last appearance for Rangers which made it hurt that bit more. I spoke to Warburton about my future. I liked him, he was the first coach I’d had who played that way, building from the back.
“But it was clear I wasn’t going to get regular game time. So at 24 that was what I needed.”
(Image: SNS Group)
Clark was in good company among the spot kick sinners that day at Hampden. A certain James Tavernier also missed from 12 yards.
But a decade on, Clark isn’t surprised to see the skipper still at the forefront.
He said: “Not in the slightest. I saw the quality he had from the first day he walked in the door at Rangers.
“The amount of goals, assists and games he’s played, taking Rangers to the Europa League final, winning the golden boot in Europe from right back is absolutely extraordinary.
“Some of the stick that he gets isn’t fair but I suppose when you’re carrying the weight of that armband then he’s probably the one who gets going to get it the most.
“But I know what kind of guy he is. He can handle that. That’ll be the thing that’ll annoy him most, that he’s not been able to bring more trophies back to Ibrox.
“Maybe that will change in the coming weeks. If it’s not Rangers then I’d love to see Lawrence Shankland do it for Hearts and get his spot in the World Cup squad.
“Playing beside Shanks at Dundee United was brilliant. He’s always been a top striker, a goalscorer. But he’s grown into a real leader too.”
Clark will always be indebted to Queen of the South for helping fulfil a childhood dream.
Now he’s returned to Palmerston he is desperate to repay the Doonhamers by firing them back into the Championship.
After a bizarre first half of the season that saw the frontman sign for Ross County and go through three managers in four months as the Staggies plunged to the bottom of the Championship, the 34-year-old made the 250-mile move from Dingwall to Dumfries on deadline day in February.
Back to the club where he banged in 41 goals in the 2012-13 season to help Queens win League One – and himself a bumper move to Rangers.
Three goals since his return to Palmerston have helped Peter Murphy’s side to the verge of the play-offs.
And Clark is determined to finish the job – and prove there’s plenty of life in the legs yet.
He said: “It never worked out at Ross County. I never really got a sniff and the turnover of managers made it a strange time.
“It just never worked despite having some really good players and bags of experience in the dressing room.
“I’d put everything into it. I’d moved up there after just having my second child and was keen to give it a go.
“But I came to an agreement in January to get back down the road.
“And I’m absolutely delighted to be back at Queens.
“The goal is to get the club back into the Championship.
“This is where it all really kicked off for me. That season we won the league under Allan Johnston was superb.
“I was surrounded by good players like Derek Lyle, guys that helped me along, and now I’m sort of in that position trying to help the young ones coming through now.
“I’m signed until the end of the season and don’t want to look any further at the moment. It’s all about trying to get this club back into the Championship.
“Doing that might open things up in the summer.
“I’m feeling really good. The stats that you see now, I’m covering the most distances in the games that I’ve played since I came to Queen of the South.
“So that shows that I look after myself and keep my fitness at a really good level. So I’m not feeling really good, definitely got another couple of years left in me, that’s for sure.”