Match Pictures | 2003 – 2004 | 2003-2004 Pictures
Trivia
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Scottish Cup Final Hampden Park
- Henrik Larsson completed a fairytale ending to his Celtic career as he scored twice to help his side lift the Scottish Cup.
- First cup winners medals for Marshall, Varga, Balde, Petrov, Pearson, Wallace, McGovern and Beattie.
Review
Celtic were first on the attack and Derek Stillie was well positioned to hold Chris Sutton’s shot on the turn inside the first minute. Dunfermline fashioned a chance of their own a few minutes later when Craig Brewster won a free kick 25 yards out, and Gary Dempsey’s effort curled just a foot or so wide. Celtic began to dominate possession and Barry Nicholson had to be alert to prevent Alan Thompson having a tap-in at the back post.
A mix-up between Stillie and Andrius Skerla almost had calamitous results, but though Sutton went down under the defender’s challenge, the referee saw nothing amiss.
Thompson played a one-two with Sutton before side-footing the ball inches wide from the edge of the box. Dunfermline were let off the hook 10 minutes before half time when Celtic had a goal chalked off. Larsson picked up the ball on the right and got the better of Labonte before picking out the unmarked Petrov, who tapped into an empty net, only for the game to be brought back for an infringement by Larsson. Darren Young had a fierce drive deflected wide by Jackie McNamara, but from the resulting corner, Dunfermline took the lead.
Skerla met Dempsey’s delivery with a looping header that Marshall, under pressure from Derek Young, allowed to slip past him into the net.
A Dunfermline corner was cleared for Larsson to break free of Labonte and curl the ball past Stillie and in at the far post. Hampden erupted as the Celtic fans greeted Larsson’s goal.
McNamara saw a powerful effort well saved by Stillie and Lee Bullen produced a goal-saving clearance with Larsson lurking as Celtic continued to press.
The inevitable happened after 71 minutes when Larsson turned Labonte on the edge of the box before tucking the ball past Stillie for what was to be his last ever goal for Celtic.
Thompson saw a goal-bound effort deflected over by Skerla but the third goal arrived in 84 minutes when Petrov slid the ball past Stillie.
Teams
Dunfermline:-
Stillie, Darren Young, Skerla, Byrne (Tod 88), Mason (Grondin 82), Nicholson, Dempsey (Bullen 60), Derek Young, Labonte, Brewster, Crawford.
Subs Not Used:- Scott Thomson, Mehmet.
Goal:- Skerla 40.
Booked:- Brewster, Darren Young.
Celtic:-
Marshall, Varga, Balde, McNamara, Agathe, Lennon, Petrov, Pearson (Wallace 58), Thompson, Larsson, Sutton.
Subs Not Used:- McGovern, Lambert, Mjallby, Beattie.
Goals:- Larsson 58, Larsson 71, Petrov 83.
Booked:- Lennon.
Attendance:- 50,846
Referee:- S Dougal
Articles
- Match Report (see end of page below)
Pictures
Articles
Larsson caps Celtic triumph
BBC
Dunfermline 1-3 Celtic
Henrik Larsson completed a fairytale ending to his Celtic career as he scored twice to help his side lift the Scottish Cup at Dunfermline’s expense.
Andrius Skerla shocked the favourites by putting the Pars ahead on 40 minutes with a looping header.
But Larsson restored parity after 58 minutes when he broke free to curl the ball round Derek Stillie.
Thirteen minutes later he tucked home a second and Stilian Petrov slid a third into the net six minutes from time.
Celtic were first on the attack and Derek Stillie was well positioned to hold Chris Sutton’s shot on the turn inside the first minute.
Dunfermline fashioned a chance of their own a few minutes later when Craig Brewster won a free kick 25 yards out, and Gary Dempsey’s effort curled just a foot or so wide.
Stevie Crawford then passed up a decent opportunity when he blasted the ball wide from a good position inside the box.
Both of Henrik’s goals were magnificent and so important for us
Martin O’Neill
More Celtic reaction
Celtic began to dominate possession and Barry Nicholson had to be alert to prevent Alan Thompson having a tap-in at the back post.
A mix-up between Stillie and Andrius Skerla almost had calamitous results, but though Sutton went down under the defender’s challenge, the referee saw nothing amiss.
The Pars almost took the lead against the run of play after 21 minutes when Brewster collected the ball at the far post, but David Marshall did superbly to block his powerful shot.
At the other end, Thompson played a one-two with Sutton before side-footing the ball inches wide from the edge of the box.
Dunfermline were let off the hook 10 minutes before half time when Celtic had a goal chalked off.
Larsson picked up the ball on the right and got the better of Labonte before picking out the unmarked Petrov, who tapped into an empty net, only for the game to be brought back for an infringement by Larsson.
Darren Young had a fierce drive deflected wide by Jackie McNamara, but from the resulting corner, Dunfermline took the lead.
Skerla met Dempsey’s delivery with a looping header that Marshall, under pressure from Derek Young, allowed to slip past him into the net.
Celtic pushed for the equaliser and the beginning of the second half saw wave after wave of attacks on the Dunfermline goal, Gary Mason clearing off the line at one stage from Bobo
Ironically, Celtic’s equaliser came on the counter-attack.
A Dunfermline corner was cleared via the hand of Balde – an incident unseen by the referee – and the boot of Sutton for Larsson to break free of Labonte and curl the ball past Stillie and in at the far post.
McNamara saw a powerful effort well saved by Stillie and Lee Bullen produced a goal-saving clearance with Larsson lurking as Celtic continued to press.
The inevitable happened after 71 minutes when Larsson turned Labonte on the edge of the box before tucking the ball past Stillie.
Thompson saw a goal-bound effort deflected over by Skerla but the third goal arrived in 84 minutes when Petrov slid the ball past Stillie after Ross Wallace took advantage of a Bullen mistake.
Dunfermline: Stillie, Darren Young, Skerla, Byrne (Tod 88), Mason (Grondin 82), Nicholson, Dempsey (Bullen 60), Derek Young, Labonte, Brewster, Crawford.
Subs Not Used: Scott Y Thomson, Mehmet.
Booked: Brewster, Darren Young.
Celtic: Marshall, Varga, Balde, McNamara, Agathe, Lennon, Petrov, Pearson (Wallace 58), Thompson, Larsson, Sutton.
Subs Not Used: McGovern, Lambert, Mjallby, Beattie.
Booked: Lennon.
Attendance: 50,846
Referee: S Dougal (Scotland).
O’Neill leads Larsson praise
BBC
It was great to get the two goals to end a fantastic seven years here
Henrik Larsson
Our man at Hampden:
Larsson’s parting gift
Celtic manager Martin O’Neill and his players lined up to pay tribute to Henrik Larsson after the Swede scored twice as Celtic won the Scottish Cup.
O’Neill led the praise for the striker, who was playing his last competitive game for the club.
“Both of his goals were magnificent and so important for us,” said O’Neill.
“I thought we did well in the first half and were in control, but you still have to score and that’s where Henrik made the difference.”
Larsson typically played his individual role down but admitted he was delighted to have finished his Celtic career on such a high note.
“Winning this final means everything. I didn’t want to leave as a loser in the cup final because I’ve done it twice before,” he said.
“It was great to get the two goals to end a fantastic seven years here. I never dreamt this could happen when I signed.”
Alan Thompson was the first of Larsson’s team-mates to try to explain the striker’s importance to the team.
“This shows what a loss he’s going to be for us – he’s a genius,” said the midfielder.
“I’m delighted for him. He deserves everything he gets.”
Neil Lennon was equally full of praise.
“He was tremendous. It’s a fitting way to end his time here,” said Lennon.
“He’s a great loss as a friend and as a team-mate.”
Larsson’s parting gift
By Clive Lindsay
BBC Sport at Hampden Park
Hollywood, even Henrik Larsson himself, could not have dreamt up a more fitting script.
The Swede, in his final competitive game for Celtic, scored twice to haul his side back from a goal behind to Dunfermline Athletic – and to win the Scottish Cup for the 32nd time in his club’s history.
It was the green light for the party the East End of Glasgow, two-thirds of Hampden Park, much of Ireland and a fair chunk of Scotland had wanted to see.
But, while those bedecked in the famous Hoops came to say farewell to a legend, those wearing black and white will remember coming mightily close to leaving the city having witnessed the birth of 11 new ones of their own.
More than 15,000 had travelled from Fife, some arriving seven hours before kick-off, to make sure they did not miss a minute of such a rare occasion – the Pars in a Scottish Cup final.
The picnic hampers, snaps taken in front of the famous steps of the National Stadium and Fife buses packing the car park long before 3pm gave the game away that this was their first such opportunity for 36 years.
By kick-off, they were to be outnumbered nearly three to one by those who travelled far and wide to pack the opposing stands but who could be forgiven for being more blasé about such an occasion.
Player ratings: Marks out of 10 for both sides
Celtic arrived as strong favourites to complete the league and cup double in a season from which they have emerged head and shoulders above all their rivals in Scotland.
It looked like dreams of matching Dunfermline’s cup-winning sides of 1961, when Celtic were their victims, and 1968 would be dashed in double-quick time as Chris Sutton sent a rasping shot into the arms of Derek Stillie only 50 seconds after the referee’s first whistle.
Jimmy Calderwood’s decision to pick a side full of footballers instead of trying to match Celtic’s physical presence appeared to have backfired.
But these Pars were not here just to make up numbers and, despite Celtic dominating possession, created the better first-half chances, culminating in Andrius Skerla’s opening goal made controversial by Derek Young’s goalline challenge on goalkeeper David Marshall.
Dunfermline’s Derek Young is in despair at the final whistle
Dunfermline thought they were on the way to victory
Big Country’s “Fields of Fire” and The Skids’ “Into the Valley” boomed out to fuel the half-time joy of those from the famous rock duo’s home town.
But the Pars, their new strip being minus their traditional stripes, were soon to succumb to Celtic’s stars in their shiny green away kit.
A missed hand ball in the Bhoys’ box by Bobo Balde, two mistakes by 20-year-old former Newcastle United defender Aaron Labonte and Larsson’s typically clinical finishing all but made sure Celtic would repeat their 1965 comeback to defeat Dunfermline.
The relief could be heard from Tyrone to Tiree, Stilian Petrov’s third goal being no more than icing on the cake against a side that had by then seemed resigned to the bitter taste of defeat.
“Henrik Larsson, king of kings” went up the chant as the striker ended seven magnificent years with Celtic with the man of the match award and a joint lifting of the cup with captain Jackie McNamara.
And, as the Fifers trooped home wondering what might have been, Larsson’s 40th and 41st goals of the season served only to emphasise to Celtic – players, manager and fans et al – how difficult such an exceptional footballer is going to be to replace.
