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Today is the 119th Scottish Cup football final taking place in the city of Hampden, where the champions of the Scottish "Premier" league, Glasgow, meet the eleventh-placed team. These matches are important for both teams. Winning the cup would mean everything for the capital footballers in their country. Additionally, it would be a great gift from the team to Henrik Larsson, arguably the best player in the entire Scottish league, who is leaving.
On the other hand, these matches are equally important for the Dunfermline team, who are eager to win their third such trophy in the entire history of the football club. This desire is even stronger considering that the last time the Dunfermline team won the Scottish "Tennents" Cup (the official name of the cup) was in 1968. The first time they won such a trophy was in 1961. They were beaten by the same "Celtic" club in the final, who have celebrated with this prize even 31 times.
These matches are very important for Lithuanian football as well. A Lithuanian player has been playing for the Dunfermline team since the year 2000. The player from Lithuania has already become a symbol of the club and one of the best players on the team. After spending just one year at the club, he was voted the club's Player of the Year. On the official club website, Andrius Skerla is regarded as one of the best signings of all time for the club.
This month, Skerla's team managed to beat the "Celtic" team and ended the season with a draw. Therefore, it will be a tough fight for the Glasgow footballers. However, the situation for Dunfermline is made even more difficult by injuries to Scott Thomson, Scott Wilson, and Greg Shields. The fans and the team's coach Jimmy Calderwood hope that Stevie Crawford and Craig Brewster will compensate for this by returning to the lineup.
But Glasgow also has losses - John Hartson, Shaun Maloney, and John Kennedy have long been unable to represent the team due to injuries. Rab Douglas will also be unavailable.
The Road to Hampden
Stage Three
Celtic 2 Ross County 0
Dunfermline 3 Dundee United 1
Stage Four
Hearts 0 Celtic 3
Clyde 0 Dunfermline 3
Stage Five
Celtic 1 Rangers 0
Partick 0 Dunfermline 3
Semifinal
Celtic 3 Livingston 1
Dunfermline 3 Inverness 2 (replayed)
EuroFootball.com portal will attempt to report on the conclusion of these matches as quickly as possible!
