The route to the 1969 Scottish Cup Final saw Rangers dispose of Hibernian, Hearts and Airdrieonians before meeting Aberdeen in the semi-final. In the final, with Stein suspended, White opted to play Alex Ferguson rather than Sandy Jardine, purely because of the aerial threat of Billy McNeill at corners. Ferguson was blamed for a goal that Rangers conceded only two minutes into the match in which he was designated to mark goalscorer McNeill. Two horrendous mistakes from Örjan Persson and Norrie Martin minutes before the interval, were both seized upon by the 20-year-old George Connolly, resulted in two goals to give Celtic a 3–0 lead at half-time. Rangers lost the game 0–4 and Ferguson was subsequently forced to play for the club's junior side.