Celtic sealed the Scottish Cup with a commanding 3-1 victory over Dunfermline on Saturday, completing a domestic double just a week after their dramatic Scottish Premiership title triumph.
Martin O’Neill’s side took control of the final at Hampden Park with first-half goals from Daizen Maeda and Arne Engels before Kelechi Iheanacho added a third after the break to put the result beyond doubt. Josh Cooper pulled one back late on for Dunfermline, but it proved little more than a consolation.
The victory marked Celtic’s ninth consecutive win in all competitions and capped a remarkable resurgence under interim manager O’Neill.
Celtic’s 43rd Scottish Cup title also extended O’Neill’s glittering managerial legacy at the club. The 74-year-old has now won nine major honours with Celtic across two spells spanning 26 years.
The triumph secured Celtic’s 14th league and Scottish Cup double and came amid uncertainty over O’Neill’s future, with the veteran coach yet to confirm whether he will remain beyond the current campaign.
Adding further intrigue to the occasion was the presence of Dunfermline manager Neil Lennon, a former player under O’Neill at both Celtic and Leicester City.
Celtic entered the final on the back of a dramatic final-day league victory over Hearts, where late goals from Maeda and Callum Osmand secured a 3-1 comeback win and the Premiership title by two points.
Unlike the tense title race, however, the Scottish Cup final was largely one-sided.
Celtic opened the scoring in the 19th minute when Alistair Johnston’s pass found Maeda, who calmly lobbed the ball over goalkeeper Aston Oxborough.
Engels doubled the lead in the 36th minute with a powerful long-range strike that left Oxborough rooted to the spot.
Iheanacho effectively ended the contest in the 72nd minute, weaving past three defenders before finishing clinically from Benjamin Nygren’s through ball.
Cooper reduced the deficit seven minutes later after reacting quickest to Charlie Gilmour’s blocked effort, but Celtic comfortably saw out the remainder of the match to lift the trophy.
AFP
