BIG DAY BLUES BUT PARS STAND PROUD

Saturday 23rd May 2026

SCOTTISH FA CUP FINAL

Hampden Park, Glasgow

CELTIC 3-1 DUNFERMLINE ATHLETIC

Rolling back to the weekend before last, I was there in the black and white sea of nearly 16,000 Dunfermline Athletic fans that filled the South Stand at Hampden Park. Up against the might of Celtic, a comparative ocean of over 32,000 green and white Glaswegians enveloped the North, East and West sections of the stadium. This was always a David and Goliath contest and unfortunately unlike the mythical tale, Goliath triumphed without too much fuss.
It was a gallant effort from The Pars though and an extraordinary achievement to get there really. Despite the underlying disappointment of defeat, there was still a sort of unbelievable hazy happiness they had got to the final at all and that you were there to witness it.
I met Lesley and her fellow Dunfermliner friend Debbie in Glasgow. We had a few pre-match drinks, then pushed on towards Hampden and found myself in a wine bar eating olives and cornichons with a cocktail stick at the same time as having a nostalgic hark back to the good old days as a football supporter. An amusing little paradox there. We were obliged to get the olives as it wasn't strictly a drinking establishment, but even so, you had to laugh.
Seemingly we spent too much time in there, for the queues to enter the stadium were seriously backed up with still half an hour to go until kick off. It was a bit disappointing not to see the teams come out and we only just found our seats in time for the start.
The Pars started quite lively and a toe poked effort from Morrison was only just cleared off the line in time. But Celtic's movement and comfort on the ball was clearly a notch or two above and Dunfermline's plucky young side were starting to chase shadows. Celtic's two first half goals seemed to come from nothing though with the first a speculative ball over the top and a slip from Pars' last man at the back and it sat up nicely for Maeda to lob the goalkeeper. Then Engels seemed to have far too much time to cue up a twenty yard strike with keeper Oxborough caught on the wrong foot.
Manager Neil Lennon changed things at half time and put Kane and Rudden up front. Two old fashioned style strikers who you could barely tell apart from a distance with their shiny bald heads. These two gave us some presence up front and the rest of the team came back out more assertive and less afraid, culminating in a really good second half show. Celtic's well configured third goal from Iheanacho seemed against the run of play, but they were always dangerous going forward and had already had one cancelled out for a marginal offside. However Athletic didn't let their heads sink and continued to probe for something. Lennon brought on young Josh Cooper and it was inspired as less than a minute later Cooper was on the end of a good move to score with his very first touch. A second goal wouldn't come but not for the want of trying. A decent show in the end against the team crowned Premier Division Champions a week earlier.
For me, watching Dunfermline in a Scottish Cup Final was a real privilege. A very unexpected one this season and although not the fairytale ending - unfortunately the team also lost out in the second stages of the promotion play-offs just a week earlier - I think all Pars fans have been filled with pride.