Iheanacho’s goal secures Celtic’s Scottish Cup win and double victory.

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Kelechi Iheanacho

Celtic secured the Scottish Cup with a 3‑1 win over Dunfermline on Saturday, completing a double just one week after clinching the league title.

Martin O’Neill’s team opened the scoring at Hampden Park with goals from Daizen Maeda and Arne Engels before half‑time, putting them two goals ahead.

Kelechi Iheanacho’s strike in the second half made the result decisive, leaving Dunfermline’s late reply from Josh Cooper as little more than a consolation.

The victory marked Celtic’s ninth consecutive win in all competitions, a run that has been fueled by the interim manager’s influence.

With the cup win, O’Neill has added a 43rd Scottish Cup title to his record, bringing his tally of major honours as a Celtic manager to nine over a 26‑year tenure.

It was also the club’s 14th top‑flight and Scottish Cup double.

O’Neill is in his second spell as caretaker manager this season and has not yet confirmed whether he will return for the next term.

His potential departure was highlighted by the fact that the match was against Dunfermline boss Neil Lennon, a former player and manager who was part of O’Neill’s Celtic and Leicester squads earlier in his career.

When asked if he could be persuaded to stay, O’Neill said: “Next week I might get to speak to the owner. Dermot Desmond brought me back in the first place, I owe him a great deal otherwise I wouldn’t be here. If the season was to start tomorrow, I couldn’t do it. But the season doesn’t start tomorrow. The Scottish season does start quickly though, and I’m getting old. What I have is a passion for the game. I don’t think that will ever leave me, even in my final days. That’s always been me. I have a desire to win.”

Celtic had secured the Premiership title the previous weekend after a 3‑1 victory over Hearts, coming from behind to finish two points clear of Derek McInnes’ side.

The Hoops were upset that Celtic had remained in the title race, citing a disputed penalty that helped secure a win at Motherwell in the penultimate game.

In the Cup final, Celtic took the lead in the 19th minute when Alistair Johnston’s pass found Maeda, who lobbed the ball over Aston Oxborough’s outstretched hand.

They doubled their advantage in the 36th minute when Engels struck a powerful 25‑yard effort that left Oxborough flat‑footed.

Iheanacho then latched onto a through ball from Benjamin Nygren, displayed impressive footwork to beat three defenders, and slotted the ball home in the 72nd minute.

Cooper scored on the rebound after a blocked shot from Charlie Gilmour in the 79th minute, but Celtic never faced any real threat of losing their lead.

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