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2020 Scottish Cup final

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2020 Scottish Cup final
Event2019–20 Scottish Cup
Celtic won 4–3 on penalties[1]
Date20 December 2020 (2020-12-20)
VenueHampden Park, Glasgow
RefereeJohn Beaton
Attendance0
2019
2021

The 2020 Scottish Cup final was the 135th final of the Scottish Cup and the final of the 2019–20 Scottish Cup, the most prestigious knockout football competition in Scotland. Played on 20 December 2020, the final was won by holders Celtic in a penalty shootout to beat Heart of Midlothian after the match ended 3–3 after extra time, claiming an unprecedented fourth successive domestic treble. The same teams had contested the 2019 Scottish Cup Final.[1][2]

Seven-month delay

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The match was originally scheduled to take place at Hampden Park on 9 May 2020,[3] but was postponed before the semi-finals being played with no alternative date proposed at that point, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic in Scotland.[4] On 21 July, the final was rescheduled for 20 December.[5]

European place

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On 1 May 2020, UEFA confirmed that the final would have to be played before the end of the 2019–20 season in early July in order to activate the usual place in the 2020–21 UEFA Europa League for the winners, with the qualification spot instead going to the team finishing fourth in the 2019–20 Scottish Premiership (either with fixtures completed or placings declared). That would adversely impact Heart of Midlothian or Hibernian who were due to meet in one semi-final and had no other route to European football, whereas in the other semi-final Celtic were certain to qualify for Europe from their position at the top of the league table, and fourth-placed Aberdeen had possibilities to do so either if the league continued and they climbed to third, or if Celtic won the Cup and its entry passed to the league.[6] On 22 May, the Scottish Football Association indicated their preference to complete the competition but to wait until such a time as spectators would be allowed to attend, primarily for financial reasons with three large attendances expected at the remaining matches.[7] The Premiership standings at the time of postponement were declared final[8] and three Europa League places, including one for Aberdeen, were duly allocated from the league.

Hosting

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On 9 December 2020, an offer by Inverness Caledonian Thistle Chairman, Scot Gardiner, to host the final at the Caledonian Stadium in then, Tier 1 Restriction, Inverness, in order to allow 150 fans from the Highlands and Moray of either club to attend, was rejected by the SFA on the basis the Scottish Cup has a commitment to be held at Hampden, and that Celtic and Hearts, as well as broadcasters BBC and Premier Sports wouldn't be accepting of the change in venue.[9][10] Had the offer been accepted, it would've been the first time since 2014 that a final had been held outside Hampden, and the first time since 1896 that the tournament's final would've been held outside Glasgow.

Match

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Summary

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Before the game, Hearts announced they would honour their former Cup-winning captain Marius Žaliūkas after his untimely passing by having every player wear his number 26 on their shorts.[11] The match was played behind closed doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic. After a bright start by Hearts, Celtic began to create more opportunities, and in the 19th minute Ryan Christie scored with a curling left-footed shot from outside the penalty area, very similar to the goal he scored against Aberdeen in the semi-final, and occurring at nearly the same time.[12] As in that match, Celtic scored a second goal fairly quickly, via a penalty converted by Odsonne Édouard in a Panenka style, after an accidental but clear handball by Hearts captain Christophe Berra.[2]

Facing a tough task to get back into the contest, the Edinburgh side pulled a goal back early in the second half through Liam Boyce, and pulled level on 67 minutes from another header, this time by Stephen Kingsley; the ball crossed the line in mid-air by a matter of centimetres before being cleared by Christie, and the point was awarded by the referee via his wrist-worn goal detection device.[2]

In the final moments of the first period of extra time, Celtic captain Scott Brown's header was parried at close range by Craig Gordon and Leigh Griffiths turned the ball home to give the Glasgow side the lead again. With nine minutes remaining in the second period, Kingsley sent the ball across the Celtic goalmouth and Josh Ginnelly, who had chances to score earlier, found the net to square the contest at 3–3.[2]

In the penalty shootout, Christie was the first player to fail, veteran goalkeeper Gordon diving to his right to save, but inexperienced counterpart Conor Hazard then stopped attempts from Kingsley and Craig Wighton. Kristoffer Ajer converted the last kick for a 4–3 outcome from the spot, sealing a historic fourth consecutive Scottish Cup and a twelfth domestic trophy in succession for Celtic.[2][1]

All six goals and the shootout took place at the same (west) end of the stadium. The six goals scored tied the highest total since seven were scored in 1991; the two others both involved Hearts: a 5–1 loss to Rangers in 1996 and a victory over Hibernian by the same scoreline in 2012. No losing team had scored three times since Dundee United in 1991. Celtic manager Neil Lennon became the first person to win the domestic treble in Scotland as both a player and coach, having first achieved the feat with the same club in 2000–01.[13] Celtic became the first team to use six substitutions (five under temporary COVID-19 regulations and one additional change in extra time which was widely adopted two years earlier)[14] in a major competition in Scottish football.

Details

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Celtic3–3 (a.e.t.)Heart of Midlothian
Report
Penalties
4–3
Attendance: 0
Referee: John Beaton
Celtic
Heart of Midlothian
GK 65 Northern Ireland Conor Hazard
RB 35 Norway Kristoffer Ajer Yellow card 91'
CB 2 France Christopher Jullien Yellow card 116'
CB 4 Republic of Ireland Shane Duffy downward-facing red arrow 90'
LB 3 Scotland Greg Taylor downward-facing red arrow 83'
CM 8 Scotland Scott Brown downward-facing red arrow 105'
CM 42 Scotland Callum McGregor Yellow card 107'
RW 17 Scotland Ryan Christie Yellow card 65'
AM 14 Scotland David Turnbull downward-facing red arrow 68'
LW 27 Norway Mohamed Elyounoussi Yellow card 71' downward-facing red arrow 83'
CF 22 France Odsonne Édouard downward-facing red arrow 97'
Substitutes:
GK 1 Greece Vasilis Barkas
MF 6 Israel Nir Bitton
FW 9 Scotland Leigh Griffiths upward-facing green arrow 97'
FW 11 Poland Patryk Klimala
MF 12 Ivory Coast Ismaila Soro upward-facing green arrow 105'
MF 18 Australia Tom Rogic upward-facing green arrow 68'
MF 19 Scotland Mikey Johnston upward-facing green arrow 90'
DF 30 Netherlands Jeremie Frimpong upward-facing green arrow 83'
DF 93 Uruguay Diego Laxalt upward-facing green arrow 83'
Manager:
Northern Ireland Neil Lennon
GK 1 Scotland Craig Gordon Yellow card 29'
RB 2 Northern Ireland Michael Smith
CB 26 Scotland Craig Halkett
CB 6 Scotland Christophe Berra
LB 21 Scotland Stephen Kingsley
CM 19 Scotland Andy Irving downward-facing red arrow 109'
CM 16 Scotland Andy Halliday Yellow card 33' downward-facing red arrow 90'
RW 7 Scotland Jamie Walker Yellow card 51' downward-facing red arrow 57'
AM 14 Scotland Steven Naismith Yellow card 62'
LW 3 Republic of Ireland Aidy White downward-facing red arrow 82'
CF 10 Northern Ireland Liam Boyce downward-facing red arrow 70'
Substitutes:
GK 13 Scotland Ross Stewart
MF 5 Austria Peter Haring upward-facing green arrow 90'
MF 8 England Olly Lee upward-facing green arrow 82'
MF 11 England Jordan Roberts
FW 15 Scotland Craig Wighton Yellow card 88' upward-facing green arrow 70'
MF 24 England Elliott Frear upward-facing green arrow 109'
DF 28 Romania Mihai Popescu
MF 30 England Josh Ginnelly upward-facing green arrow 57'
FW 31 Scotland Euan Henderson
Manager:
Scotland Robbie Neilson

Match rules

  • 90 minutes
  • 30 minutes of extra time if necessary
  • Penalty shoot-out if scores still level
  • Nine named substitutes
  • Maximum of five substitutions in normal time (a sixth substitute is permitted in extra time)

Media coverage

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BBC Scotland and Premier Sports had the rights to broadcast the final, in what was the second season of a six-year deal in the United Kingdom to broadcast Scottish Cup matches from the fourth round onward.[15]

See also

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Finals played between same clubs:

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Celtic 3-3 Hearts". BBC Sport. 20 December 2020. Archived from the original on 19 December 2020. Retrieved 20 December 2020.
  2. ^ a b c d e Celtic win fourth straight Scottish Cup as Hazard's shootout saves break Hearts Archived 20 December 2020 at the Wayback Machine, Ewan Murray, The Guardian, 20 December 2020
  3. ^ "2019-20 William Hill Scottish Cup Dates Confirmed | Scottish Cup | News". Archived from the original on 3 July 2019. Retrieved 2 March 2020.
  4. ^ SFA update fans on Scottish Cup and Nations League play-offs after Uefa call Archived 29 March 2020 at the Wayback Machine, The Courier, 16 March 2020
  5. ^ Scottish Cup: 2019-20 final scheduled for 20 December Archived 21 July 2020 at the Wayback Machine, BBC Sport, 21 July 2020
  6. ^ Hibs and Hearts dealt Europa League blow as UEFA inform SFA of European placings procedure Archived 10 May 2020 at the Wayback Machine, Daily Record, 2 May 2020
  7. ^ When Celtic, Aberdeen, Hearts and Hibs could finish the 2020 Scottish Cup Archived 9 June 2020 at the Wayback Machine, The Scotsman, 22 May 2020
  8. ^ "Celtic champions & Hearts relegated after SPFL ends season". BBC Sport. 18 May 2020. Archived from the original on 6 October 2020. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
  9. ^ "Caley Thistle offered to host Scottish Cup final between Celtic and Hearts". Inverness Courier. 10 December 2020. Retrieved 13 March 2021.
  10. ^ "Bold Inverness offer to host Scottish Cup Final rejected by SFA". Not The Old Firm. 9 December 2020. Retrieved 13 March 2021.
  11. ^ "Hearts to honour Marius at Hampden". heartsfc.co.uk. 15 December 2020. Retrieved 23 December 2020.
  12. ^ Ryan Christie Goals v Aberdeen and Hearts, Scottish Cup official YouTube channel, 21 December 2020; retrieved 29 March 2021
  13. ^ Celtic: Neil Lennon thanks board as he becomes first to win treble as player and manager Archived 22 December 2020 at the Wayback Machine, BBC Sport, 20 December 2020
  14. ^ The significant change to substitutions which could impact Scottish football Archived 21 December 2020 at the Wayback Machine, Joel Sked, The Scotsman, 8 July 2020
  15. ^ "Scottish FA Announce Scottish Cup Broadcasting Deals". Scottish Football Association. 12 November 2018. Archived from the original on 26 April 2019. Retrieved 2 March 2020.