Captain is looking forward to Scottish Cup Final derby at Hampden

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Celtic F.C.

·29 May 2026

Captain is looking forward to Scottish Cup Final derby at Hampden

Kelly Clark and her team-mates are determined to end this season with silverware, and the focus this week has been on preparing well for Sunday’s Scottish Cup Final against Rangers at Hampden (KO: 2pm).

The Celtic captain has experienced the joy of winning a derby cup final, leading the Hoops to a 2-0 victory over their city rivals at the National Stadium back in 2023.

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And while Celtic have yet to beat Rangers this season, she’s confident that the team will be able to rise to the occasion this weekend.

Speaking ahead of the game, Kelly Clark said: “The atmosphere this week has been great. There's good energy amongst the group and real excitement about the game.

“It's a real honour playing at the National Stadium in front of the fans that watch us week in, week out.

“It's an occasion that we try our best to get there every year, we try our best to give the fans something to look forward to and it's an occasion that we're proud to be involved in and we'll give it all on the day.

'Some of the girls were at Hampden last week and watched the men do it, the fireworks and the flames.'

It's a great occasion. There's no difference in emotion. You want it just as much as you did it the first time, if not more, because once you've done it once, you gave the feeling again.

“It's a feeling that nothing else in life can replicate. So the emotion and the feeling and the buzz is still there.

“We just need to focus on ourselves and make sure that we put in a performance that we can be proud of. We know we can do it and then we’ll see where it gets us.”

The Scottish Cup Final takes place 24 hours after the Scotland men’s national team take on Curaçao at Hampden in a World Cup warm-up match, and Kelly Clark is hoping for a victory on Saturday for Steve Clarke’s side, followed by a Celtic win on Sunday.

“It’ll be a great occasion on Saturday as well,” the Celtic captain said.

“The men have got into the World Cup and hopefully they get the send-off that they deserve, and hopefully we put on a good performance on the pitch on Sunday.

'I think you've got to remain grounded. Grant mentioned that there are different nerves when you go into a cup final.'

The outcome is decided on the day. It's not like you're looking at a long list of 30 games and the result on day one or the result on day 15 probably don't really matter. It's 90 minutes to make a difference.

“But it's another game of football we're preparing for another 90 minutes against a team that we've played multiple times.

"I think just by remaining level-headed and calm the way that I try and be throughout the rest of the season is probably the most important thing I can do as captain.”

Celtic v RangersScottish Cup Final, Sunday, May 31Hampden Park, Glasgow (KO: 2pm)