Rangers Humbled and Celtic Rampant in Scottish Cup Quarter Finals

Celtic Park
Celtic Park (Credit Thomas Nugent via Wikipedia)

The attention south of the border has been on the FA Cup and in particular the big upset that saw Plymouth beat Liverpool. However, the Scottish Cup, the equivalent competition, was also taking place over the same weekend and up north things are a little further down the line, with the last 16 ties having just been played.

Following the draw we now know which teams will be facing one another in the quarter finals this year, with those matches set to be played on the 8th and 9th of March 2025. Before we take a look at the four ties, let’s detail the biggest shock of the last 16, and there is no question at all about where that took place.

Rangers Humbled at Ibrox


Football is, famously, a funny old game, and it proved as much once again on the 9th of February when Queen’s Park, fifth in the Championship, made the short trip to Ibrox to play Rangers. The Glasgow giants (that’s Rangers, by the way, not Queen’s Park, who boast 10 wins in the Scottish Cup and also hail from the city) are having a strange season. It has been poor so far as they sit a massive 13 points behind their hated rivals Celtic.

On the other side of the coin, however, they recently beat the Bhoys 3-0. In addition, they have been doing well in Europe, managing to secure an automatic spot in the last 16 of the Europa League by finishing eighth in the league phase of the competition. Over eight games they proved themselves better, in theory at least, than Ajax, Porto, Real Sociedad, Roma, Galatasaray and other relative heavyweights.

Cupset against Queen’s Park

They headed into the game against Queen’s Park in fine fettle too, having won six of their last seven matches, with the only defeat in that time coming against Manchester United in Europe. They were fully expected to win and in truth they were much the better team. But this is football, and more specifically, this is cup football.

Rangers boss, Philippe Clement, saw his side dominate possession and have 16 corners in the game to their opponents’ two. They had 28 shots at goal, whereas the visitors had just one. The difference was, as the score attests, Queen’s Park scored with their only effort of the game, whilst the Gers failed to find the back of the net with any of their shots, of which they had almost 30!

The underdogs shocked their more illustrious hosts and won 1-0, meaning they progressed, whilst Rangers’ topsy-turvy campaign took another blow. They blew a late chance at redemption too, with James Tavernier seeing his 97th-minute penalty saved. The home fans were restless, to say the least, but it was just one of those days for Rangers. They have won the Scottish Cup 34 times, most recently in 2022, but they will have to wait another season before they have a chance to add to that total.

Scottish Cup Quarter Finals


Of the eight remaining sides, Livingston are the only one never to have lifted the cup. Celtic are, by some distance, the most successful side in this competition’s history and are huge favourites to claim the Scottish Cup for the 43rd time. They have been runners-up a further 18 times and the two-time defending champions, looking to complete the hat-trick after successes in 2022/23 and 2023/24.

Hibernian

They will face Hibernian at home in the last eight, with Celtic sure to be odds-on favourites to progress to the semis yet again. Brendan Rodgers’ outfit are available at odds of just 1/3 in the outright market to lift the trophy and so it would be a big shock if the Edinburgh side can see them off at Celtic Park.

Raith Rovers

Celtic dismissed Raith Rovers on home soil to book their spot in the last eight, whilst Hibs got past Ayr United 1-0 away from home on Friday night thanks to a late winner. Hibs’ city rivals Hearts also left things rather late in their last-16 game, as they trailed St Mirren 1-0 with five minutes to go. Sub Calem Nieuwenhof got an equaliser though and forced extra time, with the Jambos eventually going through on penalties.

Dundee

They will face Dundee in the quarters, after the Dee eased past Championship side Airdrie 4-0 in their game. Queen’s Park’s reward for seeing off Rangers is another tough away game, as they make the journey north to Aberdeen. The Dons, who are currently fourth in the Scottish top flight, beat Championship side Dunfermline to make it through to the last eight. With more lower league opposition and the home crowd behind them, they will really fancy their chances of making the semis. Aberdeen last won the Scottish Cup way back in 1990 but lost the final in 2017 and with seven wins overall they are the fourth-most successful team in the competition’s history.

Final Clash

The final clash of the round pits Championship side Livingston against St Johnstone. The Super Js are rock bottom of the SPL and with Livingston on home soil they may well feel this could be their year. They are the only club left in the competition never to have won it and whilst it would take a minor miracle for them to end that trophy drought, a place in the semis could well be on the cards. They are third in the second tier and boast a very strong defence and could even go into that clash as favourites.

Can Celtic Be Stopped?

Celtic FC logoGiven the odds on Celtic lifting the Scottish Cup are prohibitively short at 1/3, many will feel that they may as well take the cup home with them already. They have won it more than any other club, including in the last two seasons, and they are clearly the best side left in the competition.

Rodgers has done a superb job in his second spell, after taking a little time to settle back in. The Bhoys finished 21st in the Champions League league phase this term, which was some accomplishment. For reference, Juventus were 20th and Man City 22nd! Given these facts, it is hard to imagine how the likes of Hibs, Hearts, Aberdeen or anyone else can stop them. But this is why we watch football, and it won’t just be Rangers fans hoping for an upset, so who knows?