WE now know that Celtic will be in Scottish Cup action against Aberdeen in the delayed semi-final on either Saturday 31 October or Sunday 1 November and if we win we’ll be back at Hampden for a Festive Scottish Cup Final on Sunday 20 December.
We have got used to lifting some silverware on the run-up to Christmas but it’s usually the League Cup that is won and brought back to Celtic Park. That will have to wait until the end of February as the Scottish season re-adjusts after the pandemic shutdown.
Celtic got back from France late last night and preparations are well underway for a behind closed doors friendly on Saturday which will be the against Irish opposition (the club are waiting on getting the green light from the Irish Government re travel for either Dundalk or Derry City). The two defeats and a draw don’t tell the entire story of the three game French trip. For a start, VAR seemed to be used only when it didn’t suit Celtic!
Anyway back to the Scottish Cup. Celtic Historian David Potter is publishing his latest book on Celtic’s very special relationship with the Scottish Cup later this year – just in time for the Scottish Cup final of 2020 in fact.
It’s titled “The Scottish Cup – Celtic’s Favourite Trophy” by David Potter and it will be published by Pitch Publishing on 2 November – just a day or two after the semi-final against Aberdeen!
“This is the story of Celtic’s love affair with the Scottish Cup, a trophy that has formed part of the club’s identity since 1889. Romance, drama and passion are all bound up in Celtic’s annual quest for the cup, involving great players, from the Sandy McMahon era to the days of Scott Brown,” Pitch states.
“David Potter has written over 30 books on Celtic FC, as well as several others on Scottish football in general, and a few on Scottish cricket. He has also written for Celtic’s matchday programme and writes for Celtic fanzines and websites such as The Celt, More Than Ninety Minutes and The Celtic Star. He is a season-ticket holder at Celtic Park, and is usually very upset when family or other circumstances compel him to miss a game.”
We will review David Potter’s new book over the next few weeks and have a chat with him about some of the wonderful stories surrounding Celtic’s joy in the Scottish Cup.
Meanwhile Aberdeen manager Derek McInnes yesterday admitted that he was delighted at the SFA rule change that will allow former Celtic Star Jonny Hayes to play in the semi-final at Hampden against Celtic.
“Having Jonny available for the Scottish Cup tie is great,” McInnes admitted, as reported by Scottish Sun.
“We got wind last week the SFA were hoping to waive the ruling as we’re into a new season — but it’s great to get it ratified.
“It’s a real bonus for us to have Jonny available but what’s more important is seeing those dates pencilled into the fixture list.
“It felt like the day the fixtures for the season are announced this morning when it was made official and having those dates to look forward to is great.”
