Lenny Boyle
Scottish Cup Preview
13/04/2012
More than likely Celtic will win the Scottish Cup. They enjoyed a twenty match winning streak mid-season to overtake their suffering rivals Rangers and gain first place in the SPL. A lead they have never surrendered.
More than likely they will win, but many observers said the same going into the League Cup Final, a game the Hoops lost 1-0 to Kilmarnock.
Kilmarnock, incidentally, the team they walloped 6-0 to win the SPL by, as it stands, an eighteen point margin.
So Celtic are expected to progress against Hearts in their semi-final on Sunday, to be victorious against the winner of the other semi-final, to be played on Saturday: Aberdeen versus Hibernian. But as we have seen, anything can happen in the crazy cauldron of Scottish football!
Hibs haven’t won a Scottish cup since 1902; 110 years of hurt. Not a bad idea for a song by massive Hibees fans "The Proclaimers". Perhaps no fans around Scotland crave a Scottish Cup more than the outfit from Leith. But they will have a tough time of it against Aberdeen, who have only lost once to Hibernian in their last seven games. They also sit nine points clear of the boys in green in the SPL table.
Aberdeen are coming off a very positive result with Dundee United, they won 3-1 and will be looking to take some of that momentum into the headquarters of the Scottish game; Hampden Park.
It has been a poor season for Hibs. While they may have secured their SPL status with a recent win over Inverness and draw with the high-flying Motherwell. It’s been painful for Hibees fans, but with a possible Scottish Cup final on the horizon and SPL survival likely on the cards? It seems all’s well that ends well.
Celtic go into their semi-final, with the other side of the Edinburgh football divide; oozing confidence. A 6-0 win to secure the league will do that. The attacking triumvirate of Hooper, Stokes and Samaras were simply unstoppable in the game at Rugby Park and if they turn up against Hearts in similar mood; they could wipe the floor with the Jambos.
But that won’t happen if Hearts have anything to say in the matter. And indeed a 2-0 victory over Celtic at Tynecastle earlier in the season will give the Edinburgh side some reason to hope.
More reasons for Hearts fans to hope: they go into this match-up on a scintillating vein of form. Five wins and a draw in their last seven games including an embarrassing defeat for Rangers at Ibrox. A defeat that seemed to plunge the other half of the old-firm into ever deeper depths of misery.
As if more motivation was required for Hearts they have this: 110 years of hurt. They would joyfully see their rivals in green suffer for a few more years without a Scottish Cup, and if they are the team to deprive them of the trophy? All the better for them.
It is always one of the great weekends in the Scottish Football calendar. Scottish Cup Semi-Final weekend. Anything could happen!
Remember you can watch live streaming from both Scottish Cup Semi-Finals on your computer or mobile with SkyGo. Need a UK IP address? Click Here
blog comments powered by