Cup joy for Celts

The final at Hampden had remained deadlocked until the 84th minute as relegated Dunfermline fought a brave battle to end a 39-year wait for the trophy, while Celtic produced another uninspiring display.

But it was defender Doumbe who proved the difference between the sides, his late winner allowing Neil Lennon to lift the Scottish Cup in his final act as Celtic captain.

The first real chance of the match fell to Dunfermline when Scott Muirhead punted a long ball up to Jim McIntyre, who set up Mark Burchill to flash across the face of goal. Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink then released Kenny Miller into the box but goalkeeper Dorus De Vries managed to smother before the Celtic striker could pull the trigger.

Shunsuke Nakamura had the ball in the net for Celtic with 21 minutes gone but the referee had already awarded a foul for a Hartley challenge on De Vries.

Dunfermline then had the chance to pile on the pressure when Burchill was bundled over by Lee Naylor only for Scott Morrison's free-kick from 35 yards to dip just over the crossbar.

However, the best chance of the game so far came on the half-hour mark when Miller's cross was met by a diving header from Vennegoor of Hesselink in front of an empty goal, but he managed to nod wide of the upright.

Morrison could have snatched the lead for the Pars on the half-time whistle - but rifled agonisingly wide of the post.

The second half began as dramatically as the first half had ended, Miller sending his point-blank diving header straight into the arms of De Vries. Then came a surprise move from the Celtic camp, when outgoing skipper Lennon was swapped for Gary Caldwell with more than 20 minutes to go.

When the breakthrough finally came after 84 minutes, the identity of the Celtic goalscorer could hardly have been more surprising. Doumbe began the move, spraying a pass out to Beattie, who duly returned the ball as the on-loan Rennes defender stabbed home the winner.