Following a season of turmoil, managerial changes and unrest, Celtic are very much expected to end up with a double. Last weekend, late goals from Daizen Maeda and then Callum Osmand saw the Hoops snatch the Premiership title on the final day, beating Hearts, who had been top for so long, in a do or die head-to-head clash.
So now, to conclude this campaign, the Celts will feature in a 62nd Scottish Cup final, following a dramatic road to Hampden. Junior Adamu's 97th minute equaliser against Dundee kept them alive, before a penalty shootout victory over Rangers at Ibrox, in which Tomáš Čvančara converted the winning spot-kick. Even in last month's semi-final, St Mirren forced extra time thanks to Mikael Mandron's 91st minute header, before the Bhoys blitzed the Buddies during the first period of extra time.
Celtic's opponents at the national stadium on Saturday will be Dunfermline Athletic, who have eliminated three top-flight teams, Hibs, Aberdeen and Falkirk, to reach a first final since 2007. It is no small feat for any side from outside the top division to book their spot in the showpiece occasion, but how often does that side actually lift the trophy?
List Scottish Cup finals featuring a non-top division club
Year | Final scoreline |
|---|---|
2023 | Celtic 3-1 Inverness Caledonian Thistle |
2020 | Celtic 3-3 Hearts - Celtic won on pens |
2016 | Hibernian 3-2 Rangers |
2015 | Inverness Caledonian Thistle 2-1 Falkirk |
2010 | Dundee United 2-0 Ross County |
2008 | Rangers 3-2 Queen of the South |
2006 | Hearts 1-1 Gretna - Hearts won on pens |
1997 | Kilmarnock 1-0 Falkirk |
1995 | Celtic 1-0 Airdrieonians |
1938 | East Fife 4-2 Kilmarnock (replay) |
1927 | Celtic 3-1 East Fife |
1900 | Celtic 4-3 Queen's Park |
1898 | Rangers 2-0 Kilmarnock |
1897 | Rangers 5-1 Dumbarton |
1895 | St Bernard's 2-1 Renton |
1893 | Queen's Park 2-1 Celtic (replay) |
Note: Clubs in bold indicates they are from outside the top division.
In total, Dunfermline will become the 18th non-top division club to feature in a Scottish Cup final. Five of these did so before 1900, while Saturday will actually be the eighth final this century to feature such a side. A decade ago, two sides from outside the top division met in a Scottish Cup final for the one and only time, as David Gray's towering header saw Hibernian beat Rangers in the last minute.
Throughout history, there are only two examples of a top-flight outfit losing to lower league opposition in a Scottish Cup final. Queen's Park defeated Celtic in a replay 133 years ago, while East Fife overcame Kilmarnock, also after a replay, in 1938. The eight finals since WWII have all seen the Premiership team prevail, most-recently in 2023 when Ange Postecoglou's farewell to Celtic saw his side beat Inverness Caley Thistle 3-1; Kyōgo Furuhashi, Liel Abada and Jota all scoring.
Thus, were Neil Lennon's Dunfermline to beat Martin O'Neill's Celtic at Hampden this weekend, it would leap to the very top of any list documenting the biggest shocks in Scottish Cup final history. Looking farther afield, when was the last time a team from outside a top division won any major cup final across Europe?
Most-recent cup final triumphs by lower-league clubs
Competition | Year | Final scoreline |
|---|---|---|
FA Cup | 1980 | West Ham 1-0 Arsenal |
EFL Cup | 1991 | Sheffield Wednesday 1-0 Manchester United |
Copa del Rey | 1937 | Levante 1-0 Valencia |
DFB-Pokal | 1992 | Hannover 4-3 Borussia Mönchengladbach on pens |
Coppa Italia | 1962 | Napoli 2-1 SPAL |
Coupe de France | 2009 | Guingamp 2-1 Rennes |
Coupe de la Ligue | 2000 | Gueugnon 2-0 PSG |
KNVB Beker | 1926 | Longa 5-2 De Spartaan |
Taça de Portugal | Never happened | |
Scottish Cup | 2016 | Hibernian 3-2 Rangers |
Scottish League Cup | 1995 | Raith 6-5 Celtic on pens |
Coupe de Belgique | 2019 | Mechelen 2-1 Gent |
Türkiye Kupası | Never happened |
As history all across Europe suggests, it is extremely rare for any club operating outside their respective top division to win the national cup. The most-recent example is Mechelen picking up the Coupe de Belgique in 2019, while Guingamp triumphed in the Coupe de France a decade earlier.
In England, this has not happened since 1980, while you have to go back to 1962 in Italy and 1937 in Spain. Thus, were Dunfermline to beat Celtic on Saturday, it would send shockwaves around the world.
Add us as a preferred source on Google