Man-of-the-match celebrated with fish and chips before I was carried into a nightclub: Gordon Dalziel on Raith Rovers' 1994 League Cup party!

In front of a crowd of 45,384 who witnessed Tommy Burns’ Glasgow giants humbled 6-5 on penalties by Jimmy Nicholl’s shock troops following a 2-2 draw after extra-time, the vast experience of former Dundee United and Scotland centre-back Narey – who was 38 at the time – shone out like a beacon.

"Narey thoroughly deserved his man-of-the-match award,” Dalziel, 62, who scored 202 goals for Raith in 378 appearances between 1987 and ’95, told the Fife Free Press. “He was everything we needed, especially at the back.

"David Sinclair was always 100 miles an hour, big Shaun Dennis was a big solid centre-half and they needed guidance, especially against quality players like Charlie Nicholas.

"David was brilliant at telling them when to move into positions. I had played against David in the League Cup final when he played with Dundee United and I knew how good a defender he was.

"With his experience he got better and better and that day he was pivotal to what we did. He just sat there and he organised and it was the only time you heard David talk. Off the park I never heard him open his mouth.”

Dalziel said that Narey’s reserved style was evidenced by his post-final conduct.

"You can imagine what it was like after that game,” Dalziel said. “We were on that team bus and we were partying like it was the Bonkers Bus going to a night out!

"But I'll never forget it, David Narey and Ian Redford went up the road, stopped at a chip shop and had a fish and chips!

"That was just the way David was. When we went to hotels you only saw David at eating times and meetings.

"The rest of the time he'd be in his room, talking to his wife or relaxing. He was very quiet but he was a great leader for the younger players, a great example as well.

"It could have been the strict way he was brought up by Jim McLean at Dundee United.”

On the celebrations at the Dean Park Hotel and Jackie O’s nightclub in Kirkcaldy which were enjoyed that night by some members of the Raith squad, Dalziel added: “We arrived at Dean Park and me, Ally Graham, David Kirkwood and another couple of us were standing there going: ‘It’s a Sunday night in Kirkcaldy, are we going to go out for a bevvy?’ We were hyper!

"Big Ally was saying: ‘We’ll go to the nightclub but it will be dead’.

“But my God, I had never seen scenes like this in my life before.

"We got carried in and I eventually had to stand up in a nightclub and do a speech.

"That’s how it hit home how much it meant to these people that had followed Raith Rovers all around the country through no big times.

"When I had gone there they were in the second division, then it was first division.

"I played in Scottish Cup finals with Rangers, I played in League Cup finals, I’ve scored in an Old Firm game after five minutes with Rangers.

"But for what that final with Raith Rovers was, I would probably say it was the best day I ever had in my career.

"We were underdogs, I was the captain, I scored, I saw what it meant to the supporters, young players and guys who hadn’t achieved cup finals before.

Dalziel and several of his team-mates will catch up with Rovers fans at a commemorative 30th anniversary cup winning lunch at Dean Park Hotel this Sunday, which starts at 1pm.

"I can’t wait to see all the boys on Sunday,” the former striker added. We will talk the same nonsense, we’ll talk the same stories but it’s great to do it.

"A big percentage of the boys are going. Obviously David Narey will not go and we lost Ian Redford (who died 10 years ago aged 53) but the majority of the boys will go.

"Steve McAnespie is over in America and Julian Broddle is in Spain but we all sort of keep in touch.”