Neil Lennon Leads Dunfermline Into Scottish Cup Final Pursuit

Celtic and Dunfermline Athletic meet in the scottish cup final on Saturday. Dunfermline are chasing a 58-year wait for the trophy, while Celtic are chasing an unlikely double after Martin O'Neill won the Scottish Premiership title last weekend.

Neil Lennon and Martin O'Neill

Neil Lennon is guiding Dunfermline into the final after taking them through the cup run. He also brings a long Celtic connection into the tie: O'Neill signed him for Leicester City, and they won the League Cup twice together there.

Lennon later won seven major honours under O'Neill at Celtic and became the club's manager in 2010. Now he goes against his former side with Dunfermline one win from ending a wait that has stretched across 58 years.

Celtic's route to Hampden

Celtic began with a 2-0 win over Auchinleck Talbot, with Johnny Kenny and Sebastian Tounekti scoring. The run then tightened in the fifth round when Dundee forced extra time after Junior Adamu's 97th-minute equaliser on his debut, before Tounekti settled it for Celtic.

The quarter-final carried more pressure. Celtic drew 0-0 with Rangers in 120 minutes at Ibrox, then won 4-2 on penalties. In the semi-final, they beat St Mirren after four goals in six minutes in extra time.

Dunfermline's road to the final

Dunfermline opened with a 2-1 win over Queen of the South, with Chris Kane scoring twice. They then beat Hibernian after an own goal from Miguel Chaiwa, before moving past Kelty Hearts 2-0 in the fifth round.

Their march to Hampden continued with a 3-0 win over Aberdeen, then a 4-2 penalty shootout win over Falkirk after a goalless 120 minutes in the semi-final at Hampden. That path leaves them 90 minutes from a first Scottish Cup in 58 years, with Celtic standing in the way.