The 2009 Scottish League Cup Final was the final match of the

2008–09 Scottish League Cup The 2008–09 Scottish League Cup was the 63rd season of the Scotland's second most prestigious association football, football knockout competition, also known for sponsorship reasons as the Co-operative Insurance Cup. Celtic F.C., Celtic won th ...

, the 62nd season of the

Scottish League Cup The Scottish League Cup (also known as the Viaplay Cup for sponsorship reasons) is a football competition open to all Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) clubs. First held in 1946–47, it is the oldest national League Cup in existen ...

. The match was played at

Hampden Park Hampden Park (Scottish Gaelic: ''Pàirc Hampden''), often referred to as Hampden, is a football stadium in the Mount Florida area of Glasgow, Scotland. The -capacity venue serves as the national stadium of football in Scotland. It is the no ...

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

on 15 March 2009, and was won by

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language * Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Fo ...

, who beat

Old Firm The Old Firm is the collective name for the Scottish football clubs Celtic and Rangers, which are both based in Glasgow. The two clubs are by far the most successful and popular in Scotland, and the rivalry between them has become deeply em ...

rivals and Cup holders, Rangers, 2-0 after extra time. Both teams had to play just three matches to reach the final because teams competing in Europe received a bye into the Third Round. In the semi-finals, Celtic beat

Dundee United Dundee United Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the city of Dundee. The club name is usually abbreviated to Dundee United. Formed in 1909, originally as Dundee Hibernian, the club changed to the present name in 1 ...

11–10 on

penalties Penalty or The Penalty may refer to: Sports * Penalty (golf) * Penalty (gridiron football) * Penalty (ice hockey) * Penalty (rugby) * Penalty (rugby union) * Penalty kick (association football) * Penalty shoot-out (association football) * Penalty ...

after the match ended 0–0 following

extra time Overtime or extra time is an additional period of play specified under the rules of a sport to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played onl ...

. Rangers beat

Falkirk Falkirk ( gd, An Eaglais Bhreac, sco, Fawkirk) is a large town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, historically within the county of Stirlingshire. It lies in the Forth Valley, northwest of Edinburgh and northeast of Glasgow. Falkirk had a ...

3–0 in their Semi-final.

Route to the Final

Celtic

Celtic faced First Division

Livingston Livingston may refer to: Businesses * Livingston Energy Flight, an Italian airline (2003–2010) * Livingston Compagnia Aerea, an Italian airline (2011–2014), also known as Livingston Airline * Livingston International, a North American custom ...

Celtic Park Celtic Park is the home stadium of Celtic Football Club, in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, Scotland. With a capacity of 60,832, it is the largest football stadium in Scotland, and the eighth-largest stadium in the United Kingdom. It is al ...

in their first match, a comfortable 4–0 victory was secured with goals from

Glenn Loovens Glenn Loovens (born 22 September 1983) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. Club career Early career Loovens is the son of Hans Loovens, who played for FC Twente. He also has a brother called Ivo. He signed for ...

Georgios Samaras Georgios Samaras ( el, Γεώργιος Σαμαράς, ; born 21 February 1985) is a Greek former professional footballer who played as a striker. Samaras started his career at OFI Crete, before moving on to Eredivisie side Heerenveen in 200 ...

and

Scott Brown Scott Brown may refer to: Sportsmen *Scott Brown (American football), American college football coach of Kentucky State * Scott Brown (baseball) (born 1956), former Major League Baseball pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds *Scott Brown (footballer, bor ...

. Loovens headed into the net from a cross by

Paul Caddis Paul McLean Caddis (born 19 April 1988) is a Scottish football coach and former professional footballer who played in more than 350 professional matches at club level and represented his country at youth and senior levels. Having predominantly ...

, Samaras added the second with a header from Loovens cross shortly after the hour. Brown added the third with a lob before Samaras got his second from the penalty spot, after Dave MacKay fouled

Shaun Maloney Shaun Richard Maloney (born 24 January 1983) is a Scottish football coach and former player. Maloney played for Celtic, Aston Villa, Wigan Athletic, Chicago Fire, Hull City and the Scotland national team as an attacking midfielder or winger. ...

in the penalty area. Celtic then travelled to

Rugby Park Rugby Park, also known as The BBSP Stadium Rugby Park for sponsorship reasons, is a football stadium situated in the Scottish town of Kilmarnock. It was first used in 1899 and is the home of Kilmarnock F.C. Rugby Park has also been used for co ...

to play

Kilmarnock Kilmarnock (, sco, Kilmaurnock; gd, Cill Mheàrnaig (IPA: ʰʲɪʎˈveaːɾnəkʲ, "Marnock's church") is a large town and former burgh in East Ayrshire, Scotland and is the administrative centre of East Ayrshire, East Ayrshire Council. ...

Scott McDonald Scott Douglas McDonald (born 21 August 1983) is an Australian former professional footballer and is the current head coach for National Premier Leagues club Gold Coast Knights. Originally a striker, McDonald could also play as an attacking mid ...

scored the opener after 10 minutes with a header, the matches first effort on goal from either side,

Shunsuke Nakamura is a Japanese former professional footballer. He is the only person to have been named J.League Most Valuable Player more than once, receiving the award in 2000 and 2013. Steve Perryman once remarked that Nakamura "could open a tin of beans wi ...

scored the second with a free-kick. Aiden McGeady ended the scoring from a Scott Brown pass, just 3 minutes after Danny Invincibile had given Kilmarnock a chance. The previous season's losing finalists

were Celtic's opponents in the Semi-final at Hampden, The match ended goalless after extra time and so was decided by a

penalty shootout The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...

. An astonishing climax ensued with all 10 penalties being scored before going to sudden death. Lee Wilkie; who had missed the penalty in the previous season's final which allowed Rangers to win the cup, missed United's ninth penalty, Glenn Loovens therefore had a chance to win the match but could not score either. Another two penalties scored and it was goalkeeper time,

Łukasz Załuska Łukasz Załuska (; born 16 June 1982) is a Polish professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper. After playing for Stomil Olsztyn, Legia Warsaw, Jagiellonia Białystok (on loan) and Korona Kielce in Poland, Załuska continued his career ...

who would join Celtic the following season scored his and

Artur Boruc Artur Boruc (; born 20 February 1980) is a Polish former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He began his career in the Polish third division with hometown club Pogoń Siedlce. He joined Ekstraklasa team Legia Warsaw in 1999 a ...

did likewise, It was back to the first taker

Willo Flood William Robert Flood (born 10 April 1985) is an Irish former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He earned 15 caps for his country at under-20 and under-21 levels. He represented eight clubs in England and Scotland including Ma ...

, who would join Celtic shortly after this match, could not convert and this time Celtic did take their chance to go through with Scott McDonald scoring the winning penalty.

Rangers

As both Rangers and Celtic had been competing in Europe, they entered the competition in the third round. Rangers began their campaign against fellow Glasgow team Partick Thistle from the First Division, the third meeting between the two teams in two seasons. Partick had taken Rangers to a replay following a 1–1 draw at Ibrox in the 2007–08 Scottish Cup quarter-finals, a competition which Rangers went on to win.

Kris Boyd Kris Boyd (born 18 August 1983) is a Scottish former professional footballer who played as a forward. Boyd grew up in the South Ayrshire village of Tarbolton and started his senior career with Kilmarnock. He transferred to Rangers in Januar ...

opened the scoring with a stunning volley, but the lead lasted only eight minutes, with Stephen McKeown equalising for Thistle.

Pedro Mendes Pedro is a masculine given name. Pedro is the Spanish, Portuguese, and Galician name for ''Peter''. Its French equivalent is Pierre while its English and Germanic form is Peter. The counterpart patronymic surname of the name Pedro, meaning ...

scored the winner deep into

following a goalless second half.

Hamilton Academical Hamilton Academical Football Club, often known as Hamilton Accies, or The Accies, is a Scottish association football, football club from Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Hamilton, South Lanarkshire who currently compete in the Scottish Championshi ...

were beaten 2–0 at Ibrox in the quarter-final.

Jean-Claude Darcheville Jean-Claude Jacques Ducan Darcheville (; born 25 July 1975) is a French Guianese former professional footballer who played as a striker. He played for various clubs in France, England, Scotland, and Greece. He represented French Guiana at the ...

found Kris Boyd, who fired past goalkeeper

Tomáš Černý Tomáš Černý (born 10 April 1985) is a Czech retired professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Černý has played football in the Czech Republic, Scotland, Bulgaria and Greece for Sigma Olomouc, Hamilton Academical, CSKA Sofia, Ergot ...

after 25 minutes.

Kyle Lafferty Kyle Joseph George Lafferty (born 16 September 1987) is a Northern Irish professional footballer who currently plays for NIFL Premiership club Linfield and the Northern Ireland national team. Lafferty began his professional career with Engl ...

added the second from a

Steven Davis Steven Davis (born 1 January 1985) is a Northern Irish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Scottish Premiership club Rangers and captains the Northern Ireland national team. Davis made his full international debut in 2005 a ...

cross.

were the next opponents. Two goals from

Nacho Novo Ignacio Javier Gómez Novo (; born 26 March 1979) is a Spanish former association football, footballer who played as a Forward (association football), forward. Novo is currently an assistant coach for USL League One side Lexington SC, as well as ...

and one from Kris Boyd ensured a 3–0 victory at

. After eight minutes,

Madjid Bougherra Madjid Bougherra ( ar, مجيد بوقرة, lit=, links=, translit=; born 7 October 1982) is an Algerian football manager and former player who played as a centre-back. He is the manager of the Algeria A' national team. Bougherra began his p ...

flicked on Pedro Mendes' corner, allowing Novo to finish from close range at the back post. Goalkeeper Dani Mallo was beaten again five minutes from half-time when Steven Davis passed to Novo, who shot low into the corner of the net. Boyd added the third on eight minutes after a mistake by Mallo.

Match

Team news

Celtic defender Mark Wilson returned to the squad and was named on the bench but

Barry Robson Barry Gordon George Robson (born 7 November 1978) is a Scottish football coach and former player who currently works for Aberdeen in the Scottish Premiership. Robson played as a midfielder for several clubs in Scotland, England and Canada and r ...

missed out through injury. Strachan started

Gary Caldwell Gary Caldwell (born 12 April 1982) is a Scottish former professional footballer and coach who is the current manager of Exeter City. Caldwell played for Newcastle United, Darlington, Coventry City, Derby County, Hibernian, Celtic, Wigan Ath ...

in midfield alongside

Paul Hartley Paul Hartley (born 19 October 1976) is a Scottish professional football manager and former player who played as a midfielder. He is the manager of Scottish Championship side Cove Rangers. As a player, Hartley won trophies with both Hearts and ...

to replace Robson. Also missing through injury for Celtic were Lee Naylor,

, Paddy McCourt, Koki Mizuno and

who was ineligible, having played for

in the semi-final. A big miss for Rangers was influential defender Madjid Bougherra with a calf injury so manager

Walter Smith Walter Ferguson Smith (24 February 1948 – 26 October 2021) was a Scottish association football player, manager and director, primarily associated with his two spells as manager of Glasgow club Rangers. A defender, Smith's playing car ...

chose to partner

Kirk Broadfoot Kirk John Broadfoot (born 8 August 1984) is a Scottish footballer who plays as a defender for Lowland League club Open Goal Broomhill. Broadfoot started his senior career with St Mirren and he helped the club gain promotion to the Scottish Pr ...

at the back alongside David Weir. The only other absentee was

Kevin Thomson Kevin Thomson (born 14 October 1984) is a Scottish professional football coach and former player. Thomson played as a midfielder for Hibernian (three spells), Rangers, Middlesbrough and Dundee and represented Scotland. Thomson began his c ...

who was ruled out for the rest of the season with knee ligament damage. Celtic's

and Rangers' Pedro Mendes were lining up against each other, having also done so in the previous season's English

FA Cup Final The FA Cup Final, commonly referred to in England as just the Cup Final, is the last match in the FA Cup, Football Association Challenge Cup. It has regularly been one of the List of sports attendance figures, most attended domestic football ev ...

. On that occasion, Loovens was playing for Cardiff City and Mendes for winners

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

Match summary

After a goalless 90 minutes, the tie went to

Darren O'Dea Darren O'Dea (born 4 February 1987) is an Irish retired professional football player, who is currently the coach of Celtic B team. O'Dea has played as a centre back for clubs in Scotland, England, Canada, Ukraine and India, and represented th ...

scored with a header to give Celtic a 1–0 lead, within two minutes of extra time commencing. In the last minute of extra time,

was sent off for a

professional foul In various sports, a professional foul is a deliberate act of foul play intended to bring about an advantage for the perpetrator's team. Professional fouls are usually committed to prevent an opponent from scoring. Various sports contain provisi ...

on Aiden McGeady to give Celtic a

penalty kick A penalty shot or penalty kick is a play used in several sports whereby a goal is attempted during untimed play. Depending on the sport, when a player commits certain types of penalties, the opposition is awarded a penalty shot or kick attempt. ...

, which McGeady scored to confirm the win.

Match details

Statistics

Source
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Media coverage

In the UK the 2009 Scottish League Cup Final was broadcast live on

BBC One Scotland BBC One Scotland is a Scottish free-to-air television channel owned and operated by BBC Scotland and is a Scottish variation of the UK-wide BBC One. For all of the time the channel is referred to on screen as ''BBC One Scotland'', sometimes us ...

on their

Sportscene ''Sportscene'' is the name of a range of Scottish sports television programmes produced by BBC Scotland. History ''Sportscenes predecessors were ''Sports Special from Scotland'' and ''Sportsreel'', which was broadcast every Saturday at around 5 ...

programme, at 14:30 GMT. A highlights package was also broadcast late on 15 March 2009 on

also on

. Coverage of the match on radio was from

BBC Radio Scotland BBC Radio Scotland is a Scottish radio network owned and operated by BBC Scotland, a division of the BBC. It broadcasts a wide variety of programmes. It replaced the Scottish BBC Radio 4 opt-out service of the same name from 23 November 197 ...

BBC Radio nan Gàidheal BBC Radio nan Gàidheal is a Scottish Gaelic language radio station owned and operated by BBC Scotland, a division of the BBC. The station was launched in 1985 and broadcasts Gaelic-language programming with the simulcast of BBC Radio Scotland. ...

and

BBC Radio 5 Live BBC Radio 5 Live is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that broadcasts mainly news, sport, discussion, interviews and phone-ins. It is the principal BBC radio station covering sport in the United Kingdom, broadcast ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scottish League Cup Final 2009

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

Scottish League Cup Final 2009 Scottish League Cup Final 2009 League Cup Final 2000s in Glasgow Old Firm matches