Scottish Cup final
Hampden, Glasgow
December 20, 2020

CELTIC…3
(Christie 18, Edouard 29, Griffiths 105)

HEARTS…3
(Boyce 48, Kingsley 68, Ginnelly 111)

Celtic win 4-3 on penalties

Celtic clinched a historic Quadruple Treble after defeating Hearts in a dramatic penalty shoot-out at Hampden in the Scottish Cup final. The triumph also sees Celtic become the first team to ever win four consecutive Scottish Cups.

Ryan Christie opened the scoring with a wonderful curling effort from the edge of the area and Odsonne Edouard made it 2-0 from the penalty spot in the first half. Liam Boyce clawed a goal back for Hearts early in the second half and Stephen Kingsley equalised for his side 20 minutes later. Griffiths restored Celtic’s lead in extra-time but Josh Ginnelly made it 3-3 with four minutes remaining.

Celtic won 4-3 on penalties, with Conor Hazard saving two and Kristoffer Ajer scoring the decisive spot-kick.

Chances were at a premium in the early stages with both sides defending well, but Celtic looked in control from the off and began threatening Hearts with good deliveries into the box.

A Hearts counter-attack gave Celtic another scare inside the first 10 minutes. Hazard came out to clear a long ball over the top and Steven Naismith slid in to get a touch on the edge of the area but the ball roll wide of the post. The close call seemed to jolt Celtic into action and their dominance began to show as they increased the pressure on their opponents.

The breakthrough came in 18th minute when Christie gave Celtic the lead. Kristoffer Ajer’s chipped pass for Edouard took a deflection off Aidy White and fell to Christie on the edge of the penalty area. Christie teed himself up with an excellent first touch and curled a sensational strike into the far top corner from 20 yards.

Celtic pinned Hearts inside their own half following the goal and looked determined to quickly increase their advantage. Scott Brown nearly found the back of the net with a drilled effort from the edge of the area that flashed just of the far post.

Hearts eventually buckled under the pressure just before the half-hour mark when Shane Duffy’s header came off Berra’s hand, resulting in a penalty. Edouard made it 2-0 from the spot-kick with cool dink down the middle that left Craig Gordon no chance as he dived to his right.

The Edinburgh side started the second half well, though, and managed to secure a lifeline for themselves with a goal shortly after the restart. Andy Halliday’s cross from the left found Boyce between two Celtic defenders and he directed his header low into the corner.

Celtic responded instantly and nearly increased their lead after cutting Hearts open with some excellent build-up play. Christie and David Turnbull linked-up on the half-way line and Christie switched the play out to Greg Taylor. The Hoops defender drove forward and zipped a cross perfectly into the path of Edouard but his first-time effort was too close to Gordon.

Elyounoussi tested his former team-mate moments later when he ran on to a great lofted pass from Turnbull but the Norwegian couldn’t squeeze his shot beyond Gordon from a tight angle.

Hearts grew in confidence following their goal and threatened Celtic with quick counter-attacks. Hazard pulled off a great save to deny Josh Ginnelly an equaliser after the Hearts substitute had a clean run at goal.

Robbie Neilson’s side managed to draw level from a corner with just over 20 minutes remaining. Josh Kingsley's back post header initially looked to have been cleared off the line but the goal-line technology confirmed the ball crossed the line.

Celtic responded to conceding in the same way they had to Hearts’ first goal and quickly fashioned an opportunity in front of goal. Taylor provided another good cross from the left for Edouard but the Frenchman’s volley was high and wide. As the 90 minutes drew to a close Celtic pressed for a winner but Hearts defended well and gave Celtic no space to work with in the final third.

Neil Lennon made his fifth substitute at the start of extra-time, bringing Mikey Johnston on for Shane Duffy. The 21-year-old added more energy into Celtic’s attacks and delivered a good cross into the box which was cleared by the Hearts defence.

Leigh Griffiths replaced Edouard towards the end of the first period of extra-time and the Celtic striker managed to restore Celtic’s lead shortly after his introduction. Brown bulleted a header straight at Gordon from a corner and Griffiths side-footed in the rebound inside the six-yard box.

Celtic’s lead was shot lived, though, as Hearts made it 3-3 with around four minutes remaining. Kingsley headed a Hearts free-kick back across goal and Ginnelly was in position to finish from close range. Time ran out before Celtic could restore their lead and the referee signalled the start of the penalty shoot-out.

Griffiths and McGregor scored Celtic’s first two but Christie saw his effort saved. Hazard came to Celtic’s rescue to save Kingsley and Criag Wighton’s penalties with Johnston scoring Celtic’s fourth in-between those. That left the responsibility of the decisive penalty on the shoulders of Ajer. The Norwegian stepped up and hammered the ball down the middle to win it for Celtic and clinch the Quadruple Treble.

CELTIC: Hazard, Jullien, Taylor (Laxalt 82), Duffy (Johnston 90), Brown (Soro 105), Turnbull (Rogic 68), Christie, Edouard (Griffiths 95), Elyounoussi (Frimpong 82), Ajer, McGregor.
Subs: Barkas, Bitton, Klimala.

HEARTS: Gordon, M Smith, Halkett, Berra, Kingsley, Walker (Ginnelly 57), Halliday (Haring 90), Irving (Frear 108), White (Lee 81), Naismith, Boyce (Wighton 69).
Subs: Stewart, Roberts, Popescu, Henderson.

Website Man of the Match: Kristoffer Ajer

Scottish Cup penalty shoot-out drama as Celts secure Quadruple Treble