They’ve already sent Aberdeen and Hibernian packing, but somehow this may be Dunfermline Athletic’s biggest treat yet.
Matty Todd’s thumping finish and Olly Thomas’ maiden Pars goals sent Fife’s sole city into bedlam on the weekend as they dismantled a dismal Aberdeen 3-0, sealing a trip to Scotland’s biggest stage – Hampden Park – for ex-Celtic gaffer Neil Lennon’s side.
Prior to their quarter final triumph it had taken a Chris Kane double to settle a nervy affair against League One strugglers Kelty Hearts. That came after their dramatic late win against Hibernian, which in itself was a shock.
And given their consistent inconsistency across their Championship campaign (with just ten wins from twenty-seven) you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone who would have had Dunfermline within one game of a Scottish Cup Final.
That one game is, of course, against Falkirk.
To say that last season’s Championship winners have been enjoying their return to the top flight would be an understatement in every possible regard. Under the vision of John McGlynn, Falkirk have all but sealed their place in the top six with four games to spare.
And after seeing off Dundee United 2-1 to progress to the semi-finals the Bairns were tied against opposition that they’ll find just a little too familiar. And to many who only have eyes on the Premiership, it’s a draw that they may not find all too remarkable.
No set of fans on either end really know why there’s a rivalry between the two. Some say it stemmed from ice hockey between the Fife Flyers and the Falkirk Lions, the latter of whom folded and forced the resentment onto another playing surface. Others put it down to “scabs” – workers on strike – being bussed between the two towns with plenty of extensive mining history.
Or you can simply look at the face that just thirteen miles and a body of water separate the two towns, whose teams have competed regularly in the same divisions for the better part of fifty years.
As is the case with any rivalry, it’s also very easy to label your opposition as dirty feral scum, all while pointing across the Forth in the general direction of the other town.
March 18th’s Scottish Cup semi-final clash will likely produce something less like a game of football. It’ll much rather be a warzone. You’d be shocked if a bitterly contested derby in front of 25,000 fans from either side didn’t deliver at least a few rash tackles, anyway.
Dunfermline will be fighting tooth and nail to get one over their opposition across the Firth of Forth. Beating the Bairns at Hampden Park would be sweeter than sinking Hibs and Aberdeen by a country mile, and should they go on to win the final they would never let any Falkirk fan hear the end of it.
Falkirk already one-up Dunfermline in a very literal sense. They’re a whole division above and didn’t lose to the Pars in any of their four Championship encounters last season (3W, 1D). Sinking Fife’s best football team would be just another step forward, and another bragging right.
Above all, it would give Falkirk progression to their first Scottish Cup Final since 2015 and a golden opportunity to forget all about their 2-1 loss to Inverness Caledonian Thistle – and Jamie McDonald’s late blunder that cost them so dear.
Scotland’s most underrated derby is headed to Mount Florida, and I’ll be thoroughly disappointed if at least a few sparks don’t fly.
