2020 – Celtic 3-3 Hearts (4-3 penalties)
The 2020 Scottish Cup Final took place under incredibly unusual circumstances; it was in an empty Hampden Park, months after the 2019-20 season was supposed to have ended.
Early in 2020, normal life came to an end. The spread of COVID around the world led to an international shutdown, with billions before forced to stay at home. Football was of course affected by this. The 2019-20 season was curtailed, and Celtic were declared Champions, having already won the League Cup.
Leigh Griffiths with the Scottish Cup, December 2020. Photo Celtic FC
However, the Scottish Cup was only at the semi-final stage. Once football began to be played again – but without crowds – these games went ahead. In November 2020, Celtic beat Aberdeen, the day after Hearts won the Edinburgh derby to set up a final showdown.
The 2020 Scottish Cup Final took place on 20 December 2020. Despite there being no fans present at Hampden, it was still a remarkable game. Thanks to Ryan Christie and Odsonne Edouard, the Celts were two ahead within half an hour. It looked to be over, but Hearts fought back, taking the game to extra time.
Once again, the Celts took the lead, with Leigh Griffiths scoring, but another Hearts strike made it 3-3. A very exciting game, and also the final score. Penalty kicks were needed, and this was ominous for Celtic. The Bhoys had lost their two previous domestic cup final penalty shootouts, falling to Aberdeen in the 1990 Scottish Cup and Raith Rovers in the 1994 League Cup.
However, this time it was different. Hearts’ final two kicks were saved by Conor Hazard in the Celtic goal, and Kristofer Ajer scored the decisive penalty. Celtic had won again, and best of all, this match completed an unprecedented Quadruple Treble for Celtic. They had won all major Scottish domestic trophies from season 2016-17 to 2019-20. Fans could celebrate, but only whilst in their homes.
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