Celtic step up treble bid

In Scotland, Celtic look to have been left alone to challenge for all three domestic honours after the demise of Rangers who are facing serious financial troubles.

With the Premier League title all but secured, on Sunday Celtic take on Kilmarnock who are currently eighth in the league standings, 42 points adrift of the Hoops.

Rangers, holders of the League Cup, shocked the world of football last month when they entered administration and were automatically docked 10 points by the Premier League.

Critics in Scotland described Rangers’ financial collapse as the biggest episode in recent sporting history. Rangers also owe the taxman some £50 million and it looks clear that the club’s difficulties are the result of decades of financial mismanagement.

Sunday’s final will be another contest between the aces and the laces of the game – a David-Goliath clash.

Last season, it was different as Rangers beat Celtic 2-1 in extra time.

Celtic forward Anthony Stokes scored two goals in the 3-1 win over Falkirk in the semi-final but is refusing to be drawn into talk about a domestic treble. Even manager Neil Lennon is staying out of it, insisting that he was only looking at the club’s next match.

The last time Celtic made a clean sweep was in 2000-01. They had previously completed a treble in 1966-67 and 1968-69.

Kilmarnock had to go into extra-time to beat first division outfit Ayr United 1-0 to reach the final.

The Shiels family played a key role for the Killies in the semi-final. Manager Kenny Shiels plotted the downfall of Ayr, while his son Dean, formerly of Doncaster Rovers, scored the winning goal.

Head to head
In the Premier League this season, Kilmarnock shared the spoils with Celtic at Rugby Park: 3-3 (Shiels, Heffernan, Fowler − Stokes 2, Mulgrew).

At Celtic Park, the home side triumphed 2-1 (Samaras 2 − Racchi).

A good omen for Celtic is that the last time they did the treble, they beat Kilmarnock 3-0 in the final of the League Cup. The side, then managed by Martin O’Neill (now at Sunderland), lifted the silverware after a Henrik Larsson hat-trick.

Celtic and Kilmarnock met on six other occasions in the competition with Celtic leading 5-1 as follows:

2008 quarter-final: Celtic 3-1 (away).
2000 semi-final: Celtic 1-0 (neutral).
1983 third round: Celtic 1-0 (away) after a 1-1 draw.
1964 third round: Kilmarnock 2-0 (home).
1964 third round: Celtic 4-1 (home).
1963 fourth round: Celtic 2-0 (home) after 0-0 draw.

14 League Cup titles
Celtic held aloft the League Cup on 14 occasions, the last of which in 2009, beating Rangers 2-0.

The other 13 League Cup titles were won as follows:

2006 – vs Dunfermline 3-0.
2001 – vs Kilmarnock 3-0.
2000 – vs Aberdeen 2-0.
1998 – vs Dundee United 3-0.
1983 – vs Rangers 2-1.
1975 – vs Hibernian 6-3.
1970 – vs St Johnstone 1-0.
1969 – vs Hibernian 6-2.
1968 – vs Dundee 5-3.
1967 – vs Rangers 1-0.
1966 – vs Rangers 2-1.
1958 – vs Rangers 7-1.
1957 – vs Partick Thistle 3-0.

Kilmarnock were losing finalists on five occasions
2007 – lost to Hibernian 1-5.
2001 – lost to Celtic 0-3.
1963 – lost to Hearts 0-1.
1961 – lost to Rangers 0-2.
1953 – lost to Dundee 0-2.

Path to final

Celtic
Third round: Away vs Ross County 2-0 (Hooper, Boyd og).
Quarter-final: Away vs Hibernian 4-1 (Forrest 2, Stokes, Hooper).
Semi-final: At Hampden vs Fal-kirk 3-1 (Brown pen, Stokes 2).

Kilmarnock
Third round: Home vs Queen of South 5-0 (Harkins, Heffernan 3, Hutchinson).
Quarter-final: Home vs East Fife 2-0 (Sissoko, Harkins).
Semi-final: At Hampden Park vs Ayr United 1-0, after extra time (Shiels).

Top marksmen
El Alagui, of Falkirk, is the current top scorer of the 2012 League Cup with six goals.

Daly (Queens Park), Donnelly (Airdrie), Heffernan (Kilmarnock), O’Connor (Hibernian), Russell (Livingston) and Stokes (Celtic) have scored three times each.