The big story
Twenty-two years since Celtic and Rangers last contested the Scottish Cup Final, the Old Firm rivals meet again at Hampden Park – and if this encounter can come close to the drama of that 2002 encounter, the traditional end to the Scottish season could prove a classic.
Celtic twice took the lead – including John Hartson’s opener – in 2002. Rangers required two minutes to equalise on the first occasion and 19 on the second, then won the game when Peter Lovenkrands’ second goal settled the showdown in the 90th minute.
The most humdrum of wins would particularly suit Rangers right now after a humbling campaign against their arch-rivals, collecting a point from the four games between the dominant teams in the Scottish Premiership.
Ready for the Final.#ScottishCup pic.twitter.com/SA288pHxf3
— Scottish Gas Scottish Cup (@ScottishCup) May 24, 2024
Rangers were top of the league table at the end of February but had a relatively dismal run-in, starting with a 2-1 home defeat to Motherwell as part of a slump comprising four wins in 10 matches.
In one of those games, they conceded within seconds to Celtic and fell 2-0 behind by the break at Ibrox. They proceeded to haul themselves level in the 86th minute, conceded again a minute later and secured a 3-3 draw in the 93rd minute of an epic second half.
That was the only game of their final nine when Celtic did not take maximum points, fully capitalising on Rangers’ rotten run to canter to the title by eight points.
Look back at @CelticFC‘s path to tomorrow’s @scottishgas Men’s Scottish Cup Final ⏪ 🏆#ScottishCup pic.twitter.com/CSD45ZtLNq
— Scottish Gas Scottish Cup (@ScottishCup) May 24, 2024
If Rangers find little cause for confidence on the basis of form, they will surely be fully versed in all of the accepted adages about the one-off unpredictability a final brings, reminding themselves of that ding-dong draw and the fact that all of their defeats in the fixture they want…
Source link : https://www.101greatgoals.com/news/scottish-cup-final-2024-celtic-v-rangers-preview-lineups-how-to-watch-predictions/
Author : Ben Miller
Publish date : 2024-05-24 16:18:55
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