Celtic ended their season with the Scottish Cup and a domestic double after beating Dunfermline Athletic 2-0 at Hampden on Saturday, a year after Aberdeen had denied them the trophy. The final was settled before half-time, with Daizen Maeda striking after John Tod miscued a clearance and Arne Engels following with a 25-yard finish that left Celtic in command.
The scoreline reflected a match that opened with a warning for Celtic, when Callumn Morrison saw an early effort cleared off the goalline by Liam Scales, while Alfons Amade later sent a long-range shot narrowly wide of Viljami Sinisalo’s right-hand post. Dunfermline, a second-tier side managed by Neil Lennon, never recovered from Celtic’s first-half burst, and the cup stayed with the club as they paraded it in the Hampden sun after the final whistle.
For Martin O’Neill, the afternoon carried a different weight. He said, “If the season was to start tomorrow, I couldn’t do it,” before adding, “But the season doesn’t start tomorrow. The Scottish season does start quickly though and I’m getting old.” O’Neill will hold talks with Dermot Desmond in the coming days, a reminder that the celebrations at Hampden sit beside questions about what comes next.
The buildup to the final had been dominated by fallout from the end of the Premiership season, but Celtic finished with silverware on back-to-back weekends and a sense of relief after the disappointment of losing the Scottish Cup to Aberdeen a year ago. Their second goal underlined the gap in class on the day, and the early chance for Dunfermline became the closest they came to changing the shape of the final.
Lennon also had his own moment in the sun as Celtic fans chanted his name during the game. He called the reception “That was nice,” and added, “They weren’t singing that five years ago.” For a manager leading a second-tier side against the champions, the noise from the stands was a reminder of how quickly football can redraw loyalties, even on a day when Celtic did exactly what was expected of them.
The result leaves Celtic with the domestic double and Dunfermline with little consolation beyond a first-half spell that briefly stirred belief. The trophy is back where Celtic wanted it, and O’Neill’s future, if not the club’s, is now the next story to follow.
