Celtic 3-1 Dunfermline: Martin O'Neill leads Hoops to Scottish Cup title to complete domestic double
Report as Celtic beat Dunfermline 3-1 to win the Scottish Cup final; Daizen Maeda opened the scoring; Arne Engels doubled the lead; Kelechi Iheanacho made it three; it completes a domestic double for the Hoops in what could be Martin O'Neill's last game in charge
Saturday 23 May 2026 18:55, UK
Celtic eased to Scottish Cup glory in the Hampden sunshine to complete a domestic double under Martin O'Neill.
A week on from snatching the Premiership title from Hearts' grasp, the 74-year-old led them to victory against Dunfermline in what could be the last game of his third spell in charge.
A last-ditch clearance by Liam Scales spared some early Celtic blushes after a defensive mix-up before Daizen Maeda lobbed Pars keeper Aston Oxborough to take the lead.
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Arne Engles doubled the lead with a stunning strike, and Kelechi Iheanacho made it three minutes later, finally getting his goal after seeing an earlier effort ruled out for offside.
The Championship side did pull a goal back through Josh Cooper, but it was too little too late as Celtic lifted the trophy to end a rollercoaster season on a high.
Turbulent season ends with unlikely double
O'Neill returned to Celtic twice this season to steady the ship and somehow turned an unlikely title into a league and cup double.
Celtic started strongly with James Forrest denied by keeper Oxborough early on, but a mistake almost gifted Dunfermline the lead.
Callumn Morrison pounced on a mix-up between Alistair Johnston and Viljami Sinilao, but Scales cleared the ball off the line to deny the Championship side an early goal.
The Hoops did take the lead in the 19th minute. Maeda took advantage of John Tod's missed clearance and lobbed the ball over Oxborough and into the empty net.
Lennon's side were rattled and Celtic took advantage.
McGregor rolled the ball to Engels 30 yards out and the midfielder blasted the ball into the net. The goalkeeper with no chance.
The former Parkhead boss made a triple change at half-time and the addition of Zak Rudden, Shea Kearney and Chris Kane brought some much-needed energy.
Celtic did find their groove again, with Oxborough diving to deny Maeda after a brilliant cross from Engels.
Iheanacho slammed Hyun-Jun Yang's cross into the net soon after coming off the bench, but he was denied by the offside flag.
He did eventually sign off his Hoops stay with a goal. He danced past two defenders before beating Oxborough as the Celtic fans really started the party.
Dunfermline didn't want to bow out with a whimper and Cooper swept the ball into the net with his first touch, seconds after coming on.
It was a season of turmoil for Celtic on and off the pitch, but it ended in domestic glory. Something that seemed unthinkable just a few months ago.
O'Neill coy on future
Martin O'Neill was brought back until the end of the season and admitted he does not know what is next for him or Celtic.
"I don't think I'll ever lose the passion for the game.
"When they're putting the lid on top of me, I think I'll jump up and say, 'what's the score?'
"If you were asking me if I would start back in a week, I genuinely couldn't do that. I would need to have a think.
"In the next week I'll meet up with the owner and see what he's saying. He hasn't said anything to me, I don't know if that's good news or bad news.
"I will genuinely have a wee look at it to see, but I would be thinking for the football club to go forward properly they would probably be looking at someone younger."
Lennon: 'Quality counts'
Dunfermline manager Neil Lennon had no complaints with the outcome.
"Once Celtic scored we got a little bit discombobulated. I don't think we were brave enough on the ball and mentally we sank a little bit in terms of our running.
"We changed it at half-time. You have to play more aggressively and we played particularly well in the second half and deserved a goal.
"But quality counts and the quality was with Celtic.
"We were much better second half and I'm delighted we got the goal because I thought we deserved something from the game. Second half, they really did themselves justice.
"We're a Championship team and we have moved mountains this season and it was just one mountain too many for us."
