In a game with few open chances Celtic won the first Old Firm Scottish Cup final since 2002.
A crowd of some 51000 saw how Celtic controlled the possession at Hampden Park early on. A dangerous cross from Daizen Maeda onto fellow Japanese international Kyogo Furuhashi caused a first threat in front of Rangers’ goal. The defence of the men in blue could narrowly keep the attacker from getting a clean shot on target. The ball ended up several feet wide.
In the second quarter Celtic kept the upper hand in terms of possession and forward threat. The pressure resulted in a powerful shot by Rio Hatate at Rangers’ goal from outside the box. To the relief of Rangers the ball stayed out after hitting the crossbar.
Not much later Todd Cantwell got a cross into Celtic’s box. The cross landed in the feet of striker Cyriel Dessers, whose shot on target got cracked by the Celtic defence. It was the biggest threat from Rangers in the game thus far.
Fouls on both ends of the pitch made the game stop and start repeatedly. Just before half time James Tavernier made Celtic’s goalkeeper work the first time, curling the ball on target through a corner. By half time the score remained stalemate.
Second half
After the break neither side gained the upper hand. Just like in the first half, a number of fouls stopped the match flowing. Neither side managed to create a clear cut chance in the final third.
In the 58th minute a corner by Tavernier landed in front of the second post. With his knee Abdallah Sima hit the back of the net. But Rangers could not celebrate for long. VAR intervened. Joe Hart got pushed. Goal disallowed.
In the last ten minutes of normal time Rangers gained some momentum. It resulted in a header on target by Sima. Joe Hart had no problem grabbing the powerless attempt. Several minutes later Sima was also the final station of a Rangers counter, but again the attacker could not get much power behind his goalbound effort, resulting in another easy save for Hart.
In the final minute of normal time Celtic finally turned the game towards them. Celtic top scorer O’Riley made a powerful long distance effort at goal. The Rangers goalkeeper could not deal with the shot, resulting in a rebound opportunity for Celtic’s Norwich City loanee Adam Idah. The striker did not fail in front of goal and gave his side the lead: 1-0. The goal turned out to be the winner of the afternoon.
Celtic has lifted the Scottish Cup trophy for the second season in a row. The win also means Joe Hart ends his illustrious football career on a high, with a final trophy for his honours list.
