Hearts v Celtic: Scottish Cup final – live!

25 May 2019 13:53
Scottish Cup final updates from Hampden, 3pm BST kick-offLive scoreboard: the latest from Saturday’s other gamesAnd you can email Scott here with your thoughts 2.52pm BST Should Celtic hold onto the famous old trophy this afternoon, it’ll be the 39th time they’ll have won the competition. They’re already well clear of Rangers. Hearts would be lifting the cup for the ninth time, and that would nudge them closer to Victorian amateur sensations Queen’s Park.38: Celtic33: Rangers10: Queen’s Park8: Heart of Midlothian7: Aberdeen3: Vale of Leven, Clyde, St Mirren, Kilmarnock, Hibernian2: Renton, Third Lanark, Falkirk, Dunfermline Athletic, Motherwell, Dundee United1: Dumbarton, St Bernard’s, Dundee, Partick Thistle, Greenock Morton, Airdrieonians, East Fife, St Johnstone, Inverness Caledonian Thistle 2.40pm BST And now it’s Neil Lennon’s turn. “I think this is a great place to be, on the cusp of something very special. So the players need to forget about what comes afterwards, and enjoy the game. Obviously it’s a great occasion but we have to play.” Was Kieran Tierney close to fitness? “Yes and no. He felt OK, but the longer the session went on he began to struggle. So it’s a real shame for him because he’s given us everything again. He’s an important player obviously, but we’ve got a great deputy in Johnny Hayes to fill in. Mikey Johnston is a great talent and he showed all his talent last week. We want him to do that again. He’s a goal threat, he can break the lines, and he’s got good pace about him.” And will young Dembele get a run-out if things are going well? “We’re not here for sentiment, we’re here to win a cup final. But we’ll see how the game goes.” 2.28pm BST Hearts boss Craig Levein speaks. “Aaron Hickey has had a really good season, culminating in coming off the bench against Aberdeen and then starting at Celtic Park last week. In both of those games he was unflappable and I was really impressed by his composure. There’s no doubt he’s in the team because Ben Garuccio is injured - he’s probably out until November and obviously we’re desperately disappointed for Ben - but when one door closes another opens, and Aaron has an opportunity. Uche Ikpeazu is injury free, but he’s not done a lot of training. And the way he plays the game is 100 miles an hour from the moment he puts his foot on the grass! So I didn’t want to have him in the team, see him do well, then have to take him off after 45 minutes or so. I think he’ll have a bigger impact coming off the bench, but we shall see. The incentive for us is to win a trophy. Whether that stops Celtic or not is irrelevant. The intention today is to go home to Edinburgh with the cup.” 2.15pm BST A tale of two 16-year-olds here at Hampden today. Hearts name Aaron Hickey at left-back; he’ll be up against the Scottish player of the year James Forrest. Meanwhile on the Celtic bench: young Karamoko Dembele. The diminutive winger - he’s only five foot three - made his debut for the Hoops last weekend in the league against Hearts, so he’s already picked up one title-winners’ medal. By contrast, Hearts manager Craig Levein, in the game since 1981, hasn’t won a single piece of silverware in his entire career, either as a player or manager. Life’s not meant to be fair, is it. 2.06pm BST Hearts: Zlamal, Michael Smith, Souttar, Berra, Hickey, Haring, Djoum, Edwards, Clare, MacLean, Mulraney.Subs: Shaughnessy, Bozanic, Doyle, Wighton, Ikpeazu, Cochrane, Burns. Celtic: Bain, Lustig, Simunovic, Ajer, Hayes, Brown, McGregor, Forrest, Rogic, Johnston, Edouard.Subs: Toljan, Bitton, Sinclair, Ntcham, De Vries, Benkovic, Dembele. 1.10pm BST Heart of Midlothian and Celtic last met each other in the Scottish Cup final 63 years ago. Celtic sent out an unfamiliar team at Hampden Park that day in April 1956, without the injured Jock Stein and Bobby Collins. Hearts by contrast were in fine fettle, and could name the famous attacking Terrible Trio of Alfie Conn, Willie Bauld and Jimmy Wardhaugh, plus Dave Mackay at the back, middle and everywhere, and the Golden Vision of Alex Young on the wing. They ran out easy 3-1 winners, Ian Crawford scoring two and Conn the third, and were paraded around Edinburgh on an open-top Scottish Omnibus emblazoned with the bespoke logo Hearts Are Trumps. And Hearts were trumps back then. The 1956 Scottish Cup win came at the start of a golden age during the late fifties and early sixties in which the Jambos won the League twice, came runner up twice, and lifted the League Cup on four occasions. Continue reading......read full article

Source: TheGuardian