celtic's unlikely hero seals the double

Gregor Kyle
JEAN-JOEL Perrier-Doumbe proved to be the unlikely hero at Hampden as his 85th minute strike sealed a domestic league and cup double for Gordon Strachan’s Celts.

It is often said that cup finals rarely make for entertaining encounters and that proved to be the case this afternoon as both sides laboured during the course of a closely contested 90 minutes.

But as the game entered the closing stages, the Cameroon internationalist, who joined the club on-loan from Rennes in January and has been forced to wait for his chance in the first team, popped up inside the penalty to steer home the only goal of the match.

The opening minutes of this match were actually an indicator of what was to follow as the game kicked-off with a series of meaty challenges on Neil Lennon, Paul Hartley, Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink and Lee Naylor as Dunfermline set-out to impose themselves right from the outset.

The Fifers had adopted a similarly physical approach in their last meeting with Celtic back in March with little success, but today they enjoyed the better of the opening 20 minutes, pushing Celtic back and causing a number of scares in the penalty box.

During this period they also had the first real chance in the game, with former Celt Mark Burchill dragging his shot wide of Artur Boruc’s goal. But then, in the 21st minute, Celtic succeeded in getting the ball in the back of the net, only for Shunsuke Nakamura’s side-footed finish to be disallowed for a foul on the goalkeeper.

With Dunfermline chasing and harrying and striker Jim McIntyre winning his aerial battle with Steven Pressley, this war of attrition continued throughout the remainder of the first half.

Tempers were also becoming frayed as the challenges continued and Aiden McGeady was booked for a late challenge on Greg Shields, before Burchill flew-in recklessly on Jean-Joel Perrier-Doumbe and provoked a retaliation that earned both men yellow cards.

Although Dunfermline may have shaded the closing exchanges, there was just one other outstanding opportunity in this half and it fell for the champions, with Vennegoor of Hesselink somehow heading wide after being found at the back post by an excellent ball from Kenny Miller.

Within five minutes of the restart the Scotland striker then enjoyed a great opportunity of his own, but similarly failed to test Dorus De Vries with a weak header at goal and it was during this exchange that Miller was hurt by a heavy challenge that forced his withdrawal for fellow striker, Craig Beattie.

Full-back Lee Naylor then came close with a volley after a lovely one-two with Vennegoor of Hesselink on the edge of the penalty box and by the 70th minute, Dunfermline looked to be showing signs of tiredness having defended and counter-attacked in numbers.

However, when Beattie fired wide after breaking in behind a static back four with 10 minutes remaining, the game looked to be destined for a stalemate and the inevitable half hour of extra time. That was until Perrier-Doumbe broke forward on the right flank.

After picking up the ball some 40 yards out the Cameroon internationalist rolled a pass out to Beattie and hared forward in pursuit of the return. Then, as the ball broke inside the box, the full-back stuck out a foot and steered his shot past De Vries and into the bottom corner.

It was in many respects a fairytale end to the match for a player whose future at Celtic Park is still undecided and his emotion was plain to see as he sprinted to the main stand in celebration.

The full-back was also hailed with one of the loudest of cheers as he stepped up to receive the trophy afterwards, as was club captain Neil Lennon, who was making his final appearance in the Hoops.

The Scottish Cup has this season contained some of Celtic’s finest performances and after a long campaign, in where they have produced heroics at home and abroad, this was the final celebration that both the players and supporters deserved.