And here’s Ewan Murray’s match report:
OK, going to have to leave you there
I need to scoot off and do some work on the English final now – and if it’s half as good as that game was, I’ll be in a quivering heap by 7.30pm. Congratulations to Hibs, who over the 90 minutes deserved it fully and won it in the most dramatic, devastating fashion. Well worth savouring, even if some parties would rather wring their hands and make the story a non-football one for no real reason. Hibs’ hoodoo is broken after 114 years; Rangers can, at least, content themselves with next season’s top-flight place. Cheerio!
“Does it take the gloss off your victory today?” Alan Stubbs is asked. Just stop it.
“This has completely spoilt the day”, says the Sky commentator. Laying it on thick there. It hasn’t, and it won’t, and it’s been sorted out well by the police. There were one or two idiots about but it’s been sorted out.
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Any trouble that flared up briefly has calmed down. We’ve just been heavily moralised to by the commentary team for a good five minutes there though, and I for one consider myself a better citizen now.
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Scottish fans on the goalposts? Seen that before. And a few scuffles too towards the Rangers end. Not the best of endings.
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The Hampden pitch is swarming with Hibs fans, some of whom are ... errrr ... giving it out to Rangers players. But the majority seem to fancy a celebration, and my word their team has earned it.
Hibs win the Scottish Cup!
What a game! What a fantastic final! And Hibs, in the most dramatic fashion, have won it!
90+5 min: The scenes of celebration there were proper, limbs everywhere, writhing, delirious stuff. They’re seconds away...
Chaos! Bedlam! Amazement! Hibs win a corner after Stokes, again, comes in from the left and cracks a shot in that Foderingham has to turn behind. Another right-sided corner, another superb Stevenson delivery – and Gray gets up to head into the far corner and surely, surely end that 114-year cup hex! Amazing!
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Goal! Rangers 2-3 Hibs (Gray 90+2)
Oh my....!
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90 min: Stevenson seems OK, which is lucky as Hibs have made all three changes. Four minutes’ added time to come...
89 min: McGinn, influential this half, nearly threads Keatings in but it just reaches the alert Foderingham. At the other end, Gunnarsson judges his challenge perfectly to thwart Shiels. Corner to Rangers, but it’s well cleared – and a couple of Hibs men collided, so play is stopped whole Stevenson is treated...
86 min: Holt gets away down the left and is onside – you wonder whether McGeouch is going to bundle him over inside the box but he stands up well and it runs out for a goal kick.
85 min: Any chance of a winner before we enjoy 30 minutes’ extra time? There’s an argument for not wanting this to end.
83 min: Hibs’ latest change is Hanlon off, Niklas Gunnarsson on.
82 min: I’d like to think the update on 79 undid any harm inflicted on Hibs the minute before Halliday’s goal. What a stupendously good game this remains. And rarely seen a striker have a more eventful game than Stokes today, either.
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Goal! Rangers 2-2 Hibs (Stokes 80)
My word! Fyvie wins a corner down the right, greeted by one heck of a roar by the Hibs fans behind the goal. Henderson outswings it, Stokes gets up at the near post ... and nods it into the corner! Stubbs missed it – he’d gone to the toilet!
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79 min: Hibs are just starting to get back into this after the shock of that second goal – ain’t over yet.
77 min: Stokes should do better! A slick Hibs move finds him out on that left-sided perch again, and he cuts inside again, and does the hard work really before lashing a hurried shot over. How many cracks at goal has the guy had today?
75 min: Stokes floats one in for Gray at the back stick, but Gray is a yard offside. And now another change: Waghorn off for Rangers, and Nicky Clark on.
73 min: Rangers have that sense of control now, working the ball neatly and not really giving much else away at the other end. But we’ve seen how lively Hibs can be – don’t write them off yet...
70 min: Henderson, another Celtic loanee, replaces Fontaine for Hibs and they change to a back four.
68 min: Stokes takes on Tavernier and, with options in the box, shoots rashly wide with his left foot. A waste.
68 min: Hibs will be wondering what exactly they need to do to win a cup final at this rate. It was right there for them, this one, and now it looks very far away...
66 min: Unbelievable. And sorry about that previous entry, Hibs fans. Hibs respond by bringing Keatings on for Cummings up front, and then Stokes chips wide from range.
Goal! Rangers 2-1 Hibs (Halliday 64)
What did I just say? Halliday receives the ball 30 yards out, brings it forwards, and with defenders backing off he lashes in a *tremendously* sweet left-footer across the diving Logan. What a superb goal, and the game has turned on its head!
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64 min: It’s just a little bit snippy and bitty out there currently – compared to the chance-fest that was the first half, anyway.
63 min: First change for Rangers, and ex-Hibee Dean Shiels replaces Zelalem, who hasn’t really been incisive enough,
61 min: Now Cummings, in a decent area, fizzes a cross beyond everyone after more good work from McGinn. Should have done better.
59 min: Including that one from Fyvie on Zelalem, which is about five minutes late and is rewarded by the afternoon’s second yellow card. Zelalem walks gingerly away, but might be coming off soon anyway.
58 min: Stokes gets a warning after catching Halliday late. A few challenges coming in now.
57 min: McKay, who we’re seeing much more of in this half, finds Miller on the left with an outside-of-the-boot pass and Miller’s cross for Waghorn perhaps catches the recipient, who heads over at the back post, by surprise a little bit.
56 min: Kiernan clears the ball straight to Stevenson, who gets to it slightly ahead of Tavernier and is upended in spectacular fashion. Tavernier didn’t mean anything malicious there, but is rightly booked. The free-kick, taken from out on the left, reaches Fontaine ... who flings himself at the ball and heads wide!
54 min: McGinn is a real driving force in that Hibs midfield, but just as he thinks he’s outfought Miller and 36-year-old battles back and wrestles the ball off him. What a tussle, and what energy from the veteran.
52 min: McGinn sprays a fine ball out to Cummings, who tries to nutmeg Wilson and make for goal but comes out second best.
51 min: Slack play from Wilson at the back for Rangers though, giving Hibs a throw in a good position. They spread the ball out to the left and Stokes, with his umpteenth shot, shoots speculatively from 25 yards – and Foderingham has to shovel it behind! Fontaine heads the corner over. Hibs really are a constant threat and Stokes could have scored about six.
49 min: Waghorn again involved, but Rangers are forced back slightly. They are on the front foot in general though and Hibs haven’t really had a touch yet.
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47 min: Faster start from Rangers, Waghorn going to the line and taking a tumble under Stevenson’s challenge ... but never a penalty.
Second half underway!
Can they keep this up?
I was starting to wonder where Simon McMahon was, and he’s composed himself to pen this:
“A cup final for the ages is on the cards here if the second half can keep up this pace and action. Story in the papers up here today about the 106 year old Hibs fan, who has lived through two world wars and was alive when the Titanic went down, looking to see his team win the Scottish Cup for the first time. At 106!”
Half-time: Rangers 1-1 Hibs
Now that was an absolutely brilliant half of cup final football. Relentless, helter-skelter fun. Stokes scored early on and could/should have scored several more, also hitting the post. The latter event came after that man Kenny Miller equalised for a Rangers side that had been very much second best until then. Miller later hit the woodwork too, and if the second half is anything like this then you really won’t want to move a muscle.
45 min: Cummings takes aim from 30 yards, shoots well over. Rangers get the play going again straightaway. The pace of this!
44 min: Zelalem is late on McGinn, who found that rather painful but will take the free-kick 40 yards out. He’ll cross it in. It’s cleared, after Gray wins the first header.
42 min: Close from Stokes again! And again! And for the third or fourth time he cuts in from the left far too easily, Tavernier getting nowhere near him and Foderingham getting down sharply to turn behind for a corner. Rangers have to sort this out. After the flag kick is only half cleared, Foderingham is out sharply to block a Cummings effort, and then the ball is swung in again for Stokes, alone at the far post, to head over. Three fine chances for Hibs!
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40 min: McKay goes on his first real run of the match, outpacing Gray down the left, but the right-back does just enough to deter him and the cross is sliced behind the goal.
38 min: Waghorn tries to score from about 45 yards, and it’s nowhere near.
38 min: That said, we’re having the first real lull now. It’s probably as well for everyone to gather breath.
36 min: It really could be at least 2-2 here. It’s been a belting half.
34 min: Stevenson denies Waghorn, increasingly prominent, as he looks to jink inside. Rangers have definitely improved and this match is incredibly open.
32 min: Waghorn wins a corner despite Zelalem slightly overcooking a slide rule pass down the right. McKay puts it in ... and now Miller hits the woodwork too! Another thumping, crashing header comes back off the bar. It should probably be 2-1. You just cannot take your eyes off this.
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31 min: Rangers fans have set off a flare and the left goal is lightly covered by a red haze.
30 min: That salvo aside, how will the goal affect Hibs? They had been so, so good for 27 minutes and should probably have scored a second but really switched off there, both in allowing the cross and the header for a goal from nothing. It’s not the most mentally strong team on these big occasions...
29 min: Stokes hits the post! He drives into the half within moments of the restart, cuts onto his right foot and thuds a low 25-yarder onto the inside of the frame! What a cup final we have here.
Goal! Rangers 1-1 Hibs (Miller 27)
They put something together now! A Tavernier cross from the right – unprevented, for once – is attacked brilliantly by that man Miller, who thuds his header into the net!
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26 min: Mainly bogged down in midfield at the moment. Rangers still can’t put anything together though, and Cummings tries to get in behind for Hibs but is judged offside.
23 min: Fine play from Hibs’ McGinn, who wins a crunching tackle 30 yards out, sashays towards the box and floats an effort onto the top of the net. Hibs have been outstanding so far.
21 min: This three at the back is working very well for Hibs so far. Every time a Rangers forward receives the ball anywhere near the box he has two men on him and is absolutely smothered out.
20 min: Plenty of Rangers possession but they just can’t create any meaningful sight of goal. Hibs looks compact and are springing quickly on the counter ... from which they get another glimpse as a Wallace error almost lets in the omnipresent Stokes on the right of the area, only for the left-back to recover and block the shot.
17 min: And Stokes, again, gets away on the left. Kiernan, again, backs off! But eventually he does enough to force Stokes inside and the danger passes. The defender really doesn’t look comfortable in those one-on-ones though. Hard to see Hibs not scoring again at current rate of knots.
16 min: Half-chance for Stokes after some indecision in the Rangers back line, but he hurries things rather and a tame left-foot effort is straight at Foderingham. And yet again we go straight back to the other end, Waghorn forcing a corner which is worked short before Halliday daisycuts a 30-yarder wide.
14 min: What we have now is Rangers really trying to force things and Hibs looking a potent threat on the counter. Hibs seem that bit sharper with the ball too. A lot of blue passes going astray. This could not be set up much better...
13 min: Halliday’s free-kick is right into the wall. A real waste.
12 min: And Wilson thwarts Cummings again! A wonderful first-time ball from Stokes springs his strike partner free ... if he can outdo the Rangers centre-back. He can’t, as Wilson positions himself very cleverly and gets his body in the way. At the other end, Hanlon fouls Holt just outside the area...
10 min: Hibs defender Hanlon is in really well to prevent a Miller ball from reaching Zelalem. Hibs counter and Cummings latches onto a Kiernan error, finding himself in a similar position to that from which Stokes scored ... but Wilson dives in to block superbly! Stokes’ rebound is deflected wide and the subsequent corner is cleared. Could have been two!
8 min: Gedion Zelalem, the young midfielder on loan from Arsenal, has seen a bit of the ball early on for Rangers. He’s a marvellous young talent and they might need his ball-playing ability to thread through Hibs’ defence if the pattern stays like this.
7 min: Cummings drives towards goal and tries to get a shot away, but it’s charged down and bounces into the hands of Foderingham. The tempo is relentless so far.
6 min: Rangers had enjoyed the early territory and that was quite the sucker punch. How do they respond now?
Well! A super finish but a bit strange too. Stokes receives the ball wide on the left, about 40 yards out, and there’s no immediate danger. But he makes towards goal and Kiernan keeps backing off, backing off, and Stokes has the encouragement to open his body up and slide a cute, angled finish around Foderingham – whose positioning might be questioned a little. But there we go – the Celtic loan man puts Hibs in front against Rangers!
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Goal! Rangers 0-1 Hibs (Stokes 3)
A solo goal from Stokes! What a start!
2 min: Tavernier tries to bring the ball down the right for Rangers but slips over. Skiddy surface?
1 min: Anthony Stokes “Lets Jason Holt Know He’s There” with a rather deliberately late challenge as Rangers try to play the ball about early on.
Peeeeeeeep! They're off!
Rangers, left to right, get us underway. It is loud in there!
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The camera pans in on Kenny Miller, now 36 and leading the line for Rangers. Twenty goals for him this season – what a remarkable striker he has been, and still is.
The teams are in the tunnel ... and after a long wait for Alan Stubbs here they come, to a wonderful, raucous, colourful reception of blues and greens ...
The Proclaimers – big Hibs fans of course – are apparently not at the game today. Cancel the final!
Worth pointing out that, just as Rangers put one over Celtic on the way here, Hibs also beat Hearts – as well as holders Inverness Caledonian Thistle. So nobody has cause to be cowed today...
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I’ve attended a Hibs game this season. It was the 1-0 win over Morton in August – a brief bolthole from the madness of the Edinburgh Fringe – and they played some really nice stuff. Has that been a constant theme this season, Hibs fans? And what about Rangers – has Warburton brought the Brentford style to Ibrox? I was certainly impressed by their performance in the semi-final, watched in a pub in Reykjavik surrounded by distraught Celtic supporters.
A sad, sad tale from Shane Cahill: “A friend of mine was living in Edinburgh a number of years ago. When I went to visit him with a couple of other friends we went to a match at Easter Road. We have been keeping an eye on Hibs results ever since. We developed an affinity for them based on a curse that we seemed to have applied to the team. We noticed that Hibs only ever won if one of the members of our group had sex in the week before the match. Needless to say, that was the season they were relegated.”
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The scores between these two when they met in the league this season, since you (would almost certainly have) asked? 1-0 to Rangers, 2-1 to Hibs, 4-2 to Rangers, 3-2 to Hibs. Clear as mud then, although Rangers did win 6-2 at Easter Road in the Challenge Cup back in July...
Today's teams
Rangers: Foderingham; Tavernier, Kiernan, Wilson, Wallace; Halliday, Holt, Zelalem; Waghorn, Miller, McKay. Subs: Bell, Shiels, Law, Clark, Burt.
Hibs: Logan; Gray, Hanlon, Fontaine, McGregor, Stevenson; McGeouch, McGinn, Fyvie; Cummings, Stokes. Subs: Oxley, Gunnarsson, Henderson, Bartley, Boyle, Keatings, Dagnall.
Rangers unchanged from their last game, against St Mirren. Hibs have plumped for a back three and the on-loan Liam Henderson, borrowed from Celtic, is benched. Top scorer Jason Cummings returns to the fold. Some big calls from Alan Stubbs there, Hibees?
Afternoon
Double Cup Final Day! You might say modern football is telly-saturated; I might put it to you that this means we can all watch the showpieces north and south of the border in absolute comfort. I remember the 1990s when, watching the English cup final – merely an accident of geography, you understand – we’d have to content ourselves with the vaguely obscure-seeming Scottish action at half- and full-time, rarely getting too far beneath the skin of things. Not so these days: strap in, if you please, for Rangers v Hibs.
And who would be a Hibee at the moment? It’s been one (in)glorious failure after another in recent years, last weekend’s thoroughly agonising play-off semi-final defeat to Falkirk compounding the previous year’s play-off semi-final defeat to today’s opponents and, the previous year, that terrible relegation play-off defeat to Hamilton. And then, as Ewan’s piece says, there’s their remarkable Scottish Cup hex. Their recent failures on that front have been pretty spectacular too, a 3-0 final defeat to Celtic two years ago seeming like a close run thing when set against the 5-1 loss to arch-rivals Hearts in 2012. Surely, surely, it’s going to be their year soon?
Not if Rangers, who stormed merrily to promotion this season under Mark Warburton and probably won’t be seen in Scotland’s lower leagues again any time soon, have anything to do with it. They were thoroughly perked by the semi-final win over Celtic and seem to be riding the crest of a wave. Can anyone see them dropping off here and failing to win their first Scottish Cup since 2009?
Give us your pre-match thoughts, views, predictions and the like – email and Twitter above. And let’s enjoy...
Nick will be here shortly. In the meantime, have a gander at Ewan Murray’s preview:
Hibernian’s failure to win the Scottish Cup since success over Celtic in 1902 is a constant source of ridicule. The serious aspect is simple – the record is ludicrous for a club of Hibs’ standing. Even terrific Hibs teams have fallen short, which makes the prominence of the class of 2016 somewhat strange when placed in context.
Saturday’s cup final against Rangers arrives only days after Hibs’ latest failure to win promotion to the top flight. They will therefore spend a third season in succession playing lower league football. Financially, and in terms of reputation, this is seriously damaging. Whether the pain would be offset by the claiming of the one trophy to elude them for so long is open to debate. The winners at Hampden will earn a place in the Europa League’s qualifying stage.
Uncertainty relating to the future of Alan Stubbs has been apparent for months. The Hibs manager has been linked with the vacant position at Bolton Wanderers, one of his former clubs. Given unsatisfactory climaxes to promotion bids, it is debatable whether Stubbs has earned the right to continue at Easter Road in any case.
