As expected, Martin O'Neill fielded the same starting eleven who beat Rangers a fortnight ago. It was a strong Celtic side.
Celtic supporters made up the majority of the Hampden crowd, though Dunfermline did bring a fair squad from Fife with them. Grandparents, Great-Grandparents, familes of six, including kids at 1 year-old, were all out to take their seats in the Dunfermline end, despite probably not have been at a game all year. Still, that is the "beauty" of this tournament. Honest.
Celts, wearing dark green, started on the offensive. Chris Sutton was getting into the thick of the action, and had a shot easily saved by Derek Stillie in the first minute, after Agathe had done well on the attack. Sutton tried a cheeky lob after seeing Stille off his line a couple of minutes later but the 'keeper got back in time.
Dunfermline were starting to get into the game a bit, and although Celtic were playing all the football, they managed to break a couple of times. Crawford had a snap-shot from a good knock-down by Craig Brewster, who also had a shot saved by David Marshall.
Chris Sutton felt he was fouled inside the Dunfermline area, after superb play from Henrik Larsson. Referee Stuart Dougall, however, waved play on.
It seemed only a matter of time before Celtic scored, Alan Thompson fired just past after a neat one-two with Sutton, then Stan Petrov got a goal chopped-off for a supposed push by Larsson. Television replays show that Larsson was innocent, and the goal should have stood.
Against the run of play, though, Dunfermline took the lead. After some poor defending from Celtic, The Pars got awarded a corner. From the resulting kick, Andreas Skerla's looping header somehow ended up in the Celtic net. At first it looked like a foul on David Marshall, but in truth, the young 'keeper was probably at fault. Also, Didier Agathe failed to clear the danger while standing on the goal-line.
Dempsey had a shot which whistled over the bar and Chris Sutton had an attempt at goal, just before Dougall blew for half time.
The talk on the terraces was that Celtic would have to come out attacking, as Dunfermline would get harder and harder to break down as time went on. And so they did.
Celts had a series of corner kicks after the break, and it wasn't long before Henrik Larsson got his name on the scoresheet. It was from a Dunfermline corner that Celtic counter-attacked to get the goal. Bobo Balde appeared to punch the ball away, and Larsson raced on to a Chris Sutton clearance. Pars' defender Labonte crumbled under the immense Larsson pressure, and The King of Kings curled the ball past Derek Stillie.
And there was more to come. Larsson was clearly desperate for another, and had a couple of teaser efforts for Dunfermline before it came. With 12 minutes to go, after a sweet move, Thompson slipped the ball through to Larsson, and the Hampden Roar was heard from the Celtic end, as Larsson netted his, and Celtic's second of the afternoon.
There was no way back for Dunfermline now, and Celtic were just passing the time for the remainder of the game. Stan Petrov added a third, 6 minutes from time.
After the final whistle there were scenes of joy amongst the Celtic support. We have secured the domestic Double, and stamped our dominance on Scottish football.
Henrik Larsson couldn't have asked for a better way to sign out of the Scottish game. Two match-winning goals on Cup Final day: who could have asked for a better send off for the Super Swede? He will be sorely missed, but life goes on, and we have to realise this after Tuesday night.
He still is, though, and always will be The King of Kings!
Celtic:
Marshall - 7
Varga - 7
Balde - 8
McNamara - 9
Agathe - 8
Lennon - 9
Petrov - 9
Thompson - 7
Pearson - 7 (Wallace - 9)
Larsson - 10
Sutton - 9
Celtic-Mad Man of the Match: Henrik Larsson
Celtic-Mad Moment to Remember: The celebrations as Larsson scored his second goal.
Celtic-Mad Moment to Forget: It was a perfect day, we will remember it all with glee.