Scottish Cup 2019-20: A tale of goals, shocks and familiar faces
- Published
Celtic beat Sunday's opponents, Hearts, to win the 2019 Scottish Cup final
Scottish Cup final: Celtic v Heart of Midlothian | |
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Venue: Hampden Park, Glasgow Date: Sunday, 20 December Time: 14:15 GMT | |
Coverage: Watch live on BBC One Scotland & online, live radio coverage on Radio Scotland & text commentary on the BBC Sport website & app |
The 2019-20 Scottish Cup started in August of last year. This weekend, we finally reach its unique climax. You will, though, be forgiven for still having a sense of deja vu.
Sixteen months will have elapsed by the time of Sunday's final, making it the longest-ever Scottish Cup to be played to a conclusion - and one that, for holders Celtic, could have an even more historic conclusion.
After all that time, all those games, we are back to the same two sides who competed the last final, when Celtic edged it 2-1 against Heart of Midlothian on 25 May 2019, and with Neil Lennon's side on the brink of another historic first - a quadruple treble.
As we prepare for the re-match, let's remind ourselves of what has gone on in the competition since.
Goals galore
From the preliminary round on 10 August 2019, when Jeanfield Swifts hammered East of Scotland League rivals Coldstream 9-1 away from home and Girvan and Lochee United each scored seven, the competition has been brimming with goals.
Take the fifth-round replay between Motherwell and St Mirren, where the latter let slip a 4-1 half-time lead only to hold their nerve better in the penalty shootout.
The following evening was even more nail-biting as semi-finalists Aberdeen scored in stoppage time at the end of 90 minutes and at the same stage in extra time to secure a 4-3 replay win at Kilmarnock.
Overall, there have been 404 goals in 114 games - 54 more than the whole competition last time round - with the average goals per game rising to 3.54 from 3.33 the previous season.
Early shocks but most big guns progress
BBC Scotland's live coverage started in the first round, as Auchinleck Talbot swept aside future Lowland League champions Kelty Hearts 3-0 to set the trend of mini-shocks in the early stages.
The Junior Cup holders would go on to take the scalp of Cove Rangers - the eventual League 2 winners - and give Championship side Arbroath a scare before exiting after a replay.
Meanwhile, two teams from the sixth-tier East of Scotland League humiliated League 2 sides 3-0, as Penicuik Athletic dumped out Stenhousemuir and Broxburn Athletic got the better of Cowdenbeath, albeit after a replay.
That narrowing gap was again emphasised in the third round as Lowland League teams ousted sides chasing a promotion play-off place in League 1. Bonnyrigg Rose edged out Montrose 2-1, while BSC Glasgow recorded a 4-3 victory at East Fife.
Championship side Queen of the South were stunned 2-1 at home by League 2 amateurs Queen's Park, but once the Premiership sides joined the fray in the fourth round, the upsets quickly dried up.
BSC beat Lowland League rivals East Kilbride but were one of only five sides from outside the top flight to reach the last 16.
How did the finalists reach Hampden?
Hearts: They started the competition in the Premiership under Daniel Stendel but take to the field in the final in the second tier under Robbie Neilson.
A 5-0 thumping of Airdrieonians was their first win on German Stendel's watch and was followed by a 1-0 grind away to another League 1 side, Falkirk. Then came perhaps the highlight of a disappointing season as the now-departed Oliver Bozanic scored the only goal in a win over Rangers.
Now in the second tier following relegation after Covid-19 halted the last campaign, and with their season having started later than city rivals Hibs, Hearts went into the semi-final as big underdogs.
However, although Christian Doidge cancelled out Craig Wighton's 60th-minute opener, Hearts won the Edinburgh derby in dramatic style through Liam Boyce's extra-time penalty kick.
Celtic: It was like an old-style Glasgow Cup in the early rounds for Neil Lennon's holders. First, they eased aside Championship hosts Partick Thistle 2-1, then doused League 1 side Clyde's hopes of repeating the upset of 13 years earlier with a 3-0 success in Cumbernauld.
Quarter-final hosts St Johnstone proved more stubborn until Ryan Christie's late free-kick in Perth, but Aberdeen were eased aside at Hampden as first-half goals by Christie and Mohamed Elyounoussi ensured Celtic's 35th consecutive domestic cup win.
What's at stake?
'If there was no pandemic, I wouldn't be here'
Having completed a historic treble treble of domestic trophies, Celtic can go one better should they lift the Scottish Cup for the 40th time.
They have not lost a Scottish Cup tie since 2016, but manager Neil Lennon held on to his job by his fingertips during a five-game run without a win, during which he himself confessed he could be dismissed as his side slipped 13 points behind Rangers in the league.
Fan protests calling for his sacking have diminished after a dismal Europa League group campaign ended with victory over Lille, followed by a league defeat of Kilmarnock, and they head to Hampden again as strong favourites.
Much has happened to Hearts since they lost the 2019 final to Celtic. Two managers later, they have been relegated to the second tier but travel to Glasgow four points clear at the top of their own table and having lost only twice in 13 matches this season.
The latest was a 1-0 League Cup defeat by part-timers Alloa Athletic, but they have bounced back with two comfortable league wins and thumped Queen of the South 6-1 on Saturday.
Eight is the magic figure for Hearts, being the number of times they have lifted the cup, the number of years since their last victory in the final and the number of successive defeats they have suffered against Celtic - conceding an average of three goals per game and scoring just four. The odds are in favour of a ninth straight defeat by the Glasgow side and against a ninth cup win for the Edinburgh outfit.
One record out of reach?
Penicuik Athletic winger Sean Stewart is the competition's top scorer with six goals, if you count the preliminary rounds. From the first round proper, the honour is shared between Hibernian striker Doidge, Inverurie Loco Works midfielder Christopher Angus and Broxburn Athletic forward Alexander Miller with five each.
So someone will have to bang in some amount of goals at Hampden to match Queen of the South striker Stephen Dobbie's seven the previous season considering Christie is Celtic's top scorer with three, while Hearts' top cup marksman is Sean Clare, with two, now with Oxford United.