In the replay a week later – also played at Hamilton Crescent – Queen's Park won 2–0 with a double from Highet to seal a hat-trick of cup final victories.
[4] In the competition's early years, the first few rounds were regionalised so Queen's Park began their second consecutive defence of the cup on 16 October 1875 with a home tie against fellow Glasgow side Alexandra Athletic.
[12] That set up a second round tie with Rangers at the same venue on 30 October in which Peter Campbell scored the only goal to give the away side a 1–0 win.
However, as was common at the time, 3rd Lanark protested to the Scottish Football Association that Rangers kick-off in both halves and the result of the match was declared void.
[22][23][24] The second replay at Cathkin Park on 22 January was to prove decisive as 3rd Lanark RV ran out 3–0 winners to reach the final for the first time.
A fine piece of dribbling by Billy MacKinnon on the right resulted in a clever pass for Highet who slotted the ball home.
[28][29] Neither team was particularly praised for their performance in the match however Billy MacKinnon of Queen's Park and William Miller of 3rd Lanark received plaudits for their fast runs and dribbling skills.
[2][28][29] Queen's Park made two changes for the replay as Tom Lawrie and Angus MacKinnon, who had not been fully fit for the original match, were replaced by Andrew Hillcote and T. F.
Highet was instrumental in the game's opening goal before taking the final shot to give Queen's Park the lead for the first time in the tie after 15 minutes.
[2][30] As time went by, Queen's Park took their foot off the gas and almost allowed 3rd Lanark back into the match when Hunter put the ball narrowly over the bar but they held out to claim the trophy for the third year in succession.