Over 71,000 supporters packed into Hampden Park to watch Hibs lift the Scottish League Cup for the first time in our history.
After a disappoint defeat in the 1971/72 Scottish Cup final against Celtic earlier in the year, Stanton explains the motivation was high going into the League Cup Final in December.
“We had been there before on Scottish Cup duty and we hadn’t really played well. We had disappointed ourselves and our supporters.
“We saw the final as a chance to give something back to our supporters.”
After a goalless first half, Stanton opened the scoring on the hour mark to send the Hibs fans delirious.
“We got a free kick, Alex Edwards lifted it up and over the wall. I thought I was taking too long to bring the ball down and get a shot away but I just managed it.
“It was tremendous seeing the ball hit the back of the net. It was great, we had been involved in some difficult game before so it felt like we were repaying the fans for their support."
Six minutes later, Jimmy O’Rourke doubled our advantage. Kenny Dalglish pulled one back for Celtic to make for a nervy last 15 minutes, but we held on to claim a famous win.
“We played well that day, the score line was 2-1 but it could have been more”, Pat recalls.
“I scored the first and Jimmy O’Rourke scored the other. We played in the same school team together for Holy Cross. A lot of people don’t realise that, so that was a special moment.
“I remember when the final whistle went we went over to the supporters straight away and we got a real kick out of that. They were there in great numbers and we felt we owed it to them.
“Celtic were a good side, we played well but we could have scored a few more. In the end we did it the Hibs way and kept people on the edge of their seats.”
Hibs legend, Eddie Turnbull, led the team from the sidelines that day, securing his first piece of silverware as a manager – adding to his three league titles he won here as a player.
“Eddie Turnbull was a hard man to please but even he, was delighted. We were pleased for ourselves but it was a pay back to the fans.
“We had a real good side, Alan Gordon, Alex Edwards, Jimmy O’Rourke were all tremendous players in the team. They had some really good players as well, Kenny Dalglish, Jimmy Johnstone, Danny McGrain to name a few.”
On the road to cup glory in 1972, we beat Dundee United and Ayr in the knockout stages. Before overcoming Rangers in the semi-final with a 1-0 win.
“We took it game by game. Finals don’t come along very often. Great players will go through their whole careers without getting to a final or winning a cup – so it was a big thing for me and my proudest moment in a Hibs jersey."
