Scottish Cup 2023: A tale of upsets, second chances and kick-off controversy ahead of final

Darvel completed one of the biggest cup-shocks not only this season, but in the history of the Scottish Cup when the Ayrshire club defeated Premiership side Aberdeen 1-0

There's been three Prime Ministers, two First Ministers and a new monarch since this season's Scottish Cup kicked off on 26 August, 2022.

Two hundred and eighty one days after Syngenta and Threave Rovers kicked off the 2023 staging, we have finally reached the climax. And it's been a rather extraordinary ride.

From students to shocks, rows over kick-off times to reprieves, and with a sprinkling of VAR for the first time, too, the 138th edition of the most prestigious cup competition in the country has not disappointed.

As we prepare for Celtic and Inverness Caledonian Thistle to write the final chapter in this year's book - titled either "Sealing the treble" or "The biggest cup final shock in history" - BBC Sport Scotland takes a look back at what's gone before.

When David defeated Goliath

When we're telling the grandkids of games "back in our day", the marvel of Darvel will no doubt get a mention.

Mick Kennedy's sixth-tier "soldiers of love" shocked not only Aberdeen and Scottish football, but enchanted onlookers from around the globe on that famous Monday in the little Ayrshire town in January.

Backed by a champion baker and led by a manager who works in the world of spicy chicken, they cooked up a recipe to devour the Scottish Premiership heavyweights, with Jordan Kirkpatrick's first-half strike the only goal of the game.

The then-West of Scotland League Premier Division champions etched their name into Scottish football folklore while delivering the most devastating defeat in Aberdeen's impressive history. Manager Jim Goodwin didn't last much longer.

Falkirk came to town in the next round, with Darvel this time dispatched in a more predictable fashion with a 5-1 defeat.

Whether or not this is the greatest Scottish Cup shock to date will be debated for years to come, but this feels like something more than just a case of recency bias.

Inverness CT's reprieve

There's something fairly unique about one of this season's finalists - they've already been knocked out.

Up until now, they've made the most of their second chance. Back in the fourth round, Inverness CT were beaten 2-0 by Queen's Park in the Highland capital.

However, it soon transpired Owen Coyle's side had fielded an ineligible player.

Striker Euan Henderson joined on loan from Hearts after the initial tie was postponed, with Scottish FA rules stating that only those registered before the initial date are allowed to play.

The victory was wiped, and Billy Dodds' men progressed before consecutive wins against top-flight Livingston and Kilmarnock set up a semi-final against League 1 Falkirk.

That brought back memories of one of the most unlikely finals and it was deja vu with Inverness triumphant again.

What time's kick-off?

That semi-final stroll set up this Saturday's showpiece final against Ange Postecoglou's treble-hunting Celtic.

Traditionally, battle would commence at 15:00 BST, but both sides have said they are "disappointed" at the decision to kick-off at 17:30 to avoid clashing with the FA Cup final. And there has been a significant backlash.

First time for everything...

History is forever being forged in this magical competition.

Take the bunch of university students taking to the Tannadice turf to face Dundee United. Chris Geddes' University of Stirling reached the fourth round and, while United proved an assignment too tough, the visitors got top marks for effort.

And speaking of being awarded, video assistant referee (VAR) was in use for the first - but certainly not last - time this year, although only at live TV games at top-flight grounds and other Premiership clubs if the teams wanted to pay for it.

Celtic were given a penalty to open the scoring against Greenock Morton in the fourth round thanks to VAR's intervention, but it was not in operation in Darvel when an Aberdeen effort which was flagged for offside in the same round. Small margins.

While VAR has had a crucial say for most of this campaign, will it be Celtic or Inverness having the last word of the season on Saturday?

• How was Wales' first serial killer unmasked? The inside story of the police investigation into the 1973 murders of three teenage girls

• Why did Jimmy Carr start his career all over again? He reveals all to Steven Bartlett in The Diary of a CEO