The Scottish Cup semi-final draw has thrown up Glasgow and Edinburgh derbies. Celtic and Rangers were drawn out of the hat first after Celtic beat Dundee United 3-0 in their quarter-final at Tannadice on Monday evening.
Hearts and Hibernian will meet in the last four for the second time in three seasons. The ties will be played on the weekend of 16-17 April. It is the first time the last four of the tournament has been made up by the two big clubs from both Glasgow and Edinburgh in the competition’s 148-year history.
Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou savoured the prospect of a “massive” occasion. “We are in the semi-final, we have got Rangers, so on we go,” Postecoglou said. “It will be massive. That was the prize on offer here, a semi-final at Hampden. Irrespective of who you play against, it’s going to be a massive game. That’s the reward.”
It will be the fifth time Celtic and Rangers have met in the Scottish Cup in seven years and the fourth time the pair have met in the last four. Rangers won the 2016 semi-final on penalties before Brendan Rodgers twice led Celtic to comfortable wins at Hampden. Rangers beat Celtic 2-0 in last season’s tournament before losing to St Johnstone in the quarter-finals.
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Hearts and Hibs have met each other six times in the tournament in the past 10 years, each recording three wins. But Hearts have twice won at Hampden, thrashing their city rivals 5-1 in the 2012 final and winning 2-1 in the semi-finals two years ago.
Celtic set up the derby clash thanks to a deflected opener from Callum McGregor and a Giorgos Giakoumakis double. “It was tricky coming here. They are a tough team to beat, the pitch isn’t great, we couldn’t really move the ball quickly,” added Postecoglou. “We worked really hard, looked really bright, tried to play as aggressively as we could under the conditions. Credit to the players.”