In the battle of Australian midfielders based in Scotland, it was Celtic’s Tom Rogic who emerged the victor in the Scottish Cup Final on Sunday, over Heart of Midlothian’s Aussie, Ryan Edwards.
But despite finishing on the losing side, Edwards will not forget the occasion too soon.
Following a rather uneventful first half, Hearts took the lead through Edwards, who scored in the 52nd minute to break the game’s deadlock. With Hearts the underdog heading into the decider, Edwards changed the the complexion of the decider in Hearts’ favour, sweeping home from close range after a goalmouth scramble.
That put Celtic’s hopes of a trophy treble in doubt for a period, but the Hoops – who had already claimed two other trophies this year – found an equaliser just 10 minutes later when Odsonne Edouard won and then scored a penalty, before scoring a late goal from a quick break with eight minutes to go.
That helped Celtic clinch the treble-treble for the first time in the club’s history, with Rogic playing his role during a 70 minute appearance and his 21 appearances in the League. Australian Ollie Bozanic also featured in the match as a second-half substitute for Hearts.
Edwards, meanwhile, took to social media to demonstrate his gratitude for the opportunity to play in Scotland’s showpiece event, despite the result.
In Asia, former Brisbane Roar defender Matt Smith also enjoyed silverware on the weekend, after helping his Kitchee SC team to the Hong Kong FA Cup.
While Smith was an absentee from the Kitchee squad for the final, he celebrated the win, with his last match in the competition coming in the semi-final.
Smith became synonymous with silverware in Australia, having won his first season trophy with the Brisbane Strikers in 2009, before securing the A-League Championship three times with Brisbane Roar (2010-11, 2011-12, 2013-13) and the Premiership twice (2010-11, 2013-14).
