Ryan Hardie never lived up to the initial hype at Rangers before leaving the club for Blackpool in July 2019.
But he has now become a Plymouth Argyle hero and etched his name in FA Cup folklore by scoring the match-winning goal in their stunning victory over Liverpool at Home Park.
The former Rangers striker made no mistake from the penalty spot shortly after the interval, and it required an extremely disciplined display from then on to keep the English Premier League leaders at bay.
Hardie isn’t the only Plymouth player that will be familiar to Scottish football fans.
Ex-Rangers defender Nikola Katic featured at centre-back and was a rock as he prevented Liverpool’s star-studded frontline from getting on the score sheet. The Bosnian made an astonishing 17 clearances during the fourth round tie.
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One-time Celtic starlet Conor Hazard was in goals for Plymouth and he made three big saves, including an impressive stop in the ninth minute of second half stoppage time. He can look back on this match fondly with a clean sheet.
Plymouth are currently at the bottom of the English Championship, having won just five of their first 30 league matches.
Now they will hope this cup triumph against one of the country’s top teams can serve as a turning point in their fight to avoid relegation.
"There's obviously a little bit of pressure on it [the penalty]. I've had a bit of practice even just a few days ago I had a pen, so it's just about picking your side. I've practiced it for the past few days and I was committed to it."
Meanwhile, Liverpool boss Arne Slot told ITV: “They deserve all the credit. We were not having a very good day.
“I don’t think I can say the boys didn’t fight. The game was decided by a penalty. In a game like this where two teams have hardly any chances it’s up to one moment, and that moment was for them. Like I said they deserved it.”
