Source: FOOTYMAD
Memory game: Hibs v 'Well as Cooper lost the fight
Another anniversary of the passing of Davie Cooper is with us. Motherwell played Hibs in a surreal atmosphere at Easter Road as he lay dangerously ill in hospital. Here is a memory of that game. Easter Road was undergoing redevelopment in 1995 and the stands now behind both goals were under construction. There were no floodlights at the ground and the game kicked off at the scheduled time of 3.30pm on Wednesday 22 March. Despite the afternoon kick off in midweek almost 5,500 fans turned up for the game. Motherwell fans were housed in the main stand but the unusual circumstances at the stadium were merely a background to the issue in our minds. Davie Cooper remembered at the Ten Year cup celebration News had broken that one of our favourites had collapsed while filming a training video and that he had been rushed to hospital. As the crowd settled for the match word spread that Davie had suffered a brain haemorrhage and that the outlook was poor. There was a hush as fans of both teams listened to an announcement on the public address system that underlined how gravely ill he was. The game went through the formalities but as it progressed the outcome seemed irrelevant. The players (of both teams) did a remarkable job. Although Cooper had left Fir Park a few years earlier his close links with former team-mates (for Motherwell and Scotland) meant that they would have found it difficult to concentrate on the job in hand. As it happened we lost the game 2-0 with Keith Wright scoring both goals. The win moved Hibs into third place and we stayed in second, positions the teams held till the end of the season. News that Cooper had lost his fight came the following day. The goalmouth at what is now the Cooper Stand end of Fir Park filled with flowers and scarves and fans paid tribute. Motherwell: Woods; May, McMillan, Krivokapic, Martin, Philliben (Coyne, 46), Lambert, Dolan, Burns, Arnott (Shannon, 63), Davies. Substitutes not used: Howie Hibernian: Leighton; Miller, Millen (McGraw, 86), McGinlay, Tweed, Hunter, Harper (Weir, 80), Tortolano, Wright, Jackson, O'Neill. Substitutes not used: Reid Cooper remembered from GLF April 1995 Cooper’s ‘Well shirt for sale October 2005
