The Replay: Celtic 1 Dunfermline Athletic 0. May 26, 2007
Or the Jean-Joël Perrier-Doumbé Final
Welcome to The Replay, where we revisit a game from the archives and agree that everything used to better. This time, ahead of the Scottish Cup final between Celtic and Dunfermline, let’s take a look back at the Scottish Cup final between Celtic and Dunfermline.
These two teams last met in this most celebrated of settings in 2007, in the final days of a different kind of premiership, as Tony Blair lost support of the board and was replaced by his assistant manager Gordon Brown for the rest of the season.
In Glasgow’s May sunshine, Neil Lennon was, perhaps for the first time, perhaps not, in lock-step with the finest footballing prime minister the game has ever known.
Lennon was about to play his final match as a Celtic player, putting a bow on six and a half years spent as a unique force in the middle of football pitches across Scotland and Europe. This season had begun with the departure from Celtic of Stiliyan Petrov. At its midpoint, Alan Thompson left the club. Bobo Balde, while still technically on the payroll, appeared in glimpses so fleeting it was a prize to see him at all, like Hitchcock popping up in his own films, crossing the street in the background of a scene.
At Celtic Park, the Blairites were these cornerstones of the Martin O’Neill era. The Brownites were the players brought in or promoted by Gordon Strachan, now at the end of his second season in charge. They had wrapped the league before the bluebells were out and taken Milan to extra time in the last 16 of the Champions League, a tournament the Rossoneri had won in Athens, three days earlier.
For Dunfermline, a different kind of change was afoot. They had just been relegated from the Premier League after a late-season power surge spluttered at the last. Four successive wins had given Stephen Kenny’s team hope of a seemingly impossible escape. They were one up in Inverness on the penultimate matchday, a fifth win in their grasp, but lost two goals in the final 13 minutes, along with all hope.
THE BUILD-UP
Stephen Kenny had been drafted in to save Dunfermline’s bacon in November, but it had taken until the spring for them to put up a fight under their Irish manager. They did so behind some new recruits: the on-loan wingers Jim O’Brien and Adam Hammill; Tam McManus, picked up from Falkirk and the matchwinner in two of those four wins; and Stephen Glass, unwanted by Hibs for the second half of the campaign.
But the island of misfit toys over which Kenny had reigned had to go back in the box for the end-of-season showpiece. Glass and McManus were both cup-tied. O’Brien was on loan from Celtic, who ignored a request from their opponent to waive a clause keeping him from facing his employer. Add to that the suspension of Gary Mason, a keystone midfielder, and Kenny was without four nailed-on starters.
Celtic had trotted to the title and lost their focus in the lap-of-honour run-in after the flag had been secured. Shunsuke Nakamura had wrapped up all three Player of the Year votes: from the players, the writers and the league.
The players left the Hampden tunnel to Blur’s Song 2, a sad indictment of the power-pop genre in the decade since that number was first released, but also of the imagination of whoever stood behind the wheels of steel at the national stadium on this cheerful afternoon. In 2007 Song 2, for all its many charms, was too old to feel of its moment but too young to generate a kick of punky nostalgia in the crowd. I may be reading too much into this, but as Paul Hartley and Scott Wilson and the rest of them walked out into the sunshine, their shoulders seemed to drop a little, as if to say: “Not this tired old shite again. What next? Ready to Go by Republica?”
Celtic are in the hoops, by Nike, with the Carling logo on black ruining it for everyone. Dunfermline’s away kit is pretty cool, all black with white piping, brought to you by the Purvis Group, for all of Fife’s construction and logistical needs. Our referee will be Kenny Clark. Let’s go.
THE FIRST HALF
3.31
Here’s Jim McIntyre, who won the Scottish Cup in 1997 with Kilmarnock. He’s made a a decent career of moments just like this — he wins a tough ball against a big centre-back, holds it up and then rolls it into his smaller, faster pal. This time that’s Mark Burchill and he’s suddenly 12 yards from goal, six yards wide to its left. He has a clear shot but rolls it well wide of the far stick. I’m not sure he’ll get a better look at goal all afternoon.
“Stephen Kenny knows that’s an opportunity lost,” says Ian Crocker on commentary as the picture cuts to the Dunfermline manager in a charcoal suit with a white shirt and violet tie.
“Fuck off!” he exclaims, spinning round and flailing an arm, which is a perfect summation of how you would feel in that moment if you were the manager of Dunfermline.
I’m sorry to get in the way of the flow, but I want to let you know I also write a Substack called Baseball for Beginners because I really love baseball and it’s full of great stories that I want to share with you (along with sick movie references). It’s totally free, all the time, and I don’t write it that often, so you don’t get spammed by emails. Give it a try. OK, back to the show.
6.41
Crocker says that Hartley was sent off when Hearts won the cup the previous year. I was at that game, paid to write about it by a national newspaper of some repute, and I have no memory of this. I pause the video and put my phone to work. It turns out he got a second yellow in the last minute of extra time. Nurse, my pills, please.
By the way, poor old Crocker is again all alone in the commentary box. This is 2007, friends. Can’t we throw a few clams to a charming former pro to mix things up a little?
12.07
Dunfermline have started with a lot of gusto, haranguing the Celtic midfield and committing a good few fouls. Celtic beat the press for the first time here, it goes Nakamura to Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink to Kenny Miller and the Scotland striker scampers in behind the defence. However, his touch is a little heavy and out comes Dorus de Vries to smother.
16.00
It’s Gordon Strachan! He is sitting on the Hampden steps with an A4 pad, hidden from all the other people, just as he likes it. He has a grey suit, white shirt and a tie in club colours. His wee face is pinched as he squints into the sun and I just hope he has got a decent sunscreen on.
17.55
Sol Bamba v Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink (J-VoH? Sure, why not?). Big man v big man. Round one to Bamba, all legs and chaos. J-VoH moves toward a long ball on the left, but Bamba accelerates, gets there first and takes the bump from the big Dutchie, winning a free-kick and my admiration.
26.18
Burchill goes right through the back of Lennon, which is inadvisable on more than one level. Lennon turns around to see the culprit and decides that this type of entanglement is beneath him. Burchill appeals to Kenny Clark’s better nature and wins, but that should have been a yellow.
30.03
Celtic’s first attempt on goal comes after half an hour. Miller spins his man on the right and sends a curling cross around Bamba, giving J-VoH a free diving header just left of the centre of the goal. He diverts the ball wide of the back post. Gigantic chance.
31.40
Aiden McGeady with the classic winger’s yellow card. He misses his touch, allowing Greg Shields to rob him, and then chases after the ball like an under-exercised spaniel, eventually piling into Shields late. Great stuff.
34.36
Burchill eventually earns his yellow with a clear foul on Jean-Joël Perrier-Doumbé, the French full-back on loan from Rennes. Burchill somehow blames the defender for his caution, testing Perrier-Doumbé’s understanding of the local dialect as he retreats to face the free-kick. “Aye, you, arsehole! Ya fucking prick!” They didn’t have Duolingo in 2007, but if they did, it would not have helped him here.
The rest of this article is for paid subscribers. Been waiting for the right moment to support the best football writing in Scotland?
40.25
Strachan has not moved from the steps, but he has put the pad down and his arms are folded. He is not smiling. Do not approach this man.
THE SECOND HALF
50.51
Aiden McGeady! When he was on, he was some boy. J-VoH holds it up and rolls it back to the jitter-bug winger. He stop-starts past Darren Young, then bursts past Bamba to the line and gets out the pitching wedge, dropping a cross onto the penalty spot. As it comes down, Miller is steaming on to it, but at the last he stumbles awkwardly and as he makes a weak connection he goes down holding the back of his leg. Straight away it’s clear he has hurt himself, but I bet he doesn’t go off straight away.
53.11
Scott Wilson punts a long free-kick from 20 yards inside his own half. Stephen McManus meets it with his head 25 yards from his own goal. His header then travels all the way back to the Dunfermline goalkeeper, De Vries. This same year, Floyd Mayweather broke Ricky Hatton’s heart over 10 rounds in Vegas, but not once did The Hitman take a shot to the head like this.
55.07
Excellent booking for Steven Pressley, who is bidding to become the first player to win this trophy with three different clubs. Adam Hammill, the trickster on loan from Liverpool and just off an appearance for England Under-19s, pops the ball over Lennon at halfway and speeds forward. Elvis makes a quick decision and just runs across his path, limiting his exposure at yellow. You hate/love to see it.
55.22
Miller off because hamstrings don’t heal through force of will. Craig Beattie on.
61.17
Lee Naylor almost emerges as a Hampden hero. He moves in from the left, pings it into J-VoH. He pins Wilson and rolls it back to Naylor, but it’s on his right foot now and that useless swinger can only pop it straight at De Vries, partly because of the pressure applied by Bamba, who has read the play as it developed and moved across to match Naylor’s run.
63.15
Beattie is about to get his head to a long ball… when Bamba vaults him in mid-air, taking the ball and knocking his man to the floor, landing with his vanquished foe at his feet, like Shaq shame-dunking on an NBA rookie.
65.40
And that’s it for Neil Lennon’s Celtic career. He has barely put a foot wrong, but Strachan decides that Gary Caldwell is a better bet to control the midfield for whatever remains of this increasingly interesting cup final. Lennon is straight down the tunnel. As he hits the dressing room, kicking a bin no doubt, he hears the Celtic fans in the majority at Hampden sing his name. Come on Neil, don’t go out in the huff.
70.28
I don’t mean to go on about him, but Bamba just shut down J-VoH at the near post as a Perrier-Doumbé cross came over with his name on it. Must have been some size of football. Sorry.
76.26
Nakamura gives Hammill the business on the right. The Celtic man throws a body swerve and a quick change of feet that take four yards from his opposite winger. Nakamura’s cross to the back post looks perfect for J-VoH until… Bamba gets there first.
77.21
Lennon is back on the bench. I wouldn’t say he’s happy. But he’s integrating back into polite society.
84.05
Jean-Joël Perrier-Doumbé writes his own… maybe not chapter… footnote (?) in the history of this grand old competition. This is only his fifth appearance for Celtic. He was loaned at the start of the season but played only once the title was already secured and Mark Wilson was injured. Has he ever made a run like this one?
He starts the move on the right, playing a one-two with Nakamura, who finds him with an improvised flick over two pairs of Dunfermline legs. Perrier-Doumbé feeds Beattie on the right and continues his diagonal run into the box, so when Beattie’s low cross is deflected by Wilson’s outstretched leg, he can slide in and divert it beyond De Vries and into the far corner of the goal. It is — finally — enough to get Strachan off the Hampden steps. “Yesss!” shouts the manager, pumping a clenched fist.
90.00
Nakamura keeps possession for virtually all of the 10 minutes, including stoppages, which remain. Everybody knows this is over. The whistle goes and Lennon, fully cooled down, embraces Strachan. What a relief. He takes the Scottish Cup from the hands of Alex Salmond, elected as First Minister of Scotland 10 days earlier, to the sound of Fiesta by The Pogues. That’s more like it.
THE AFTERMATH
For Dunfermline, the First Division and the UEFA Cup, two competitions since rebranded. In terms of league play, all you need to know is that, at the time of writing, they are yet to return to the top division — although that could change before the summer comes.
A dismal start to their first season in the second tier was coupled with a sorry defeat by BK Hacken in the qualifying round of the UEFA Cup and Stephen Kenny was gone by December, replaced by his centre-forward, Jim McIntyre.
Celtic continued to evolve under Strachan. Scott Brown and Scott McDonald led the summer signings; Brown would become the emblem of the club’s success over the next decade, while McDonald’s goals led Celtic to a third successive title under Strachan, sealed the week after they lost an all-round champion in Tommy Burns.
This was the end of Tennent’s sponsorship of the Scottish Cup, in place since 1990. Its last Man of the Match Award went to the peerless Sol Bamba, who remained in Fife for a season in the First Division before moving to Hibs and Leicester, Trabzonspor, Palermo and Leeds. At Cardiff City he was a stalwart in the team that made it to the Premier League, where he regularly went up against the best forwards in that division and left them knowing his name. In 2021 he was diagnosed with cancer, but came back to play for Cardiff and then Middlesbrough, for whom he scored the winning penalty in a famous FA Cup win over Manchester United in 2022. He died two years later, falling ill after a game as manager of Adanaspor in Turkey. His widow said in a statement that Bamba had been fighting the disease during his final years as a player and manager.
He left a mark at each of his clubs and is fondly remembered in Dunfermline. If things had gone just a little bit differently on this May day in 2007, his legacy at East End Park would be truly indelible. The Bamba Final — say those words and we’d all know what you meant.
Instead, this is the Perrier-Doumbé Final. The French full-back was signed by Celtic after his day in the sun, but a torn Achilles sustained against Milan early the following season all but ended his career in Scotland and beyond. Here at least, he is a footballer who exists only in one game and really only in one moment. It just happens to be the moment we all dreamed of when we first kicked a ball with our friends in the park.