Celtic left it to the last possible moment to keep Scottish Cup hopes alive before going on to beat spirited Dundee 2-1 after extra time at Parkhead.
The Taysiders have never won at Celtic Park in the competition and their last league victory in the east end of Glasgow was in 2001 but looked to be on their way to a historic success when midfielder Ethan Hamilton thundered in his first Dundee goal in the 49th minute of the fifth-round tie.
The home side toiled thereafter but with effectively the last touch of the game which went beyond the five added minutes on the board, debutant Junior Adamu flicked in a dramatic leveller.
Substitute Sebastian Tounekti, who set up the goal, fired Celtic in front early in extra time and it was enough to take Martin O’Neill’s men into the quarter-final draw, bringing some much needed positivity to the club.
“Naturally we’re delighted to be in the hat for the next round,” said O’Neill. “It seemed a long, long way away, when what was it, the 97th minute? We showed a determination to go to the very, very end, and try to create something.”
Partick Thistle reached the quarter-finals with an eventful 3-2 win over Elgin at Borough Briggs. Robbie Crawford opened the scoring for the visitors after 17 minutes only for Ryan Sargent to level from close range for the League Two side with six minutes of the first half remaining.
A minute before the break former Celtic striker Tony Watt restored the Championship promotion chasers’ lead from the but Sargent drew the fourth-tier side level once again in the 74th minute. The Jags responded with Ben Stanway scoring the winner in the 80th minute.
A second-half double from Chris Kane took Championship side Dunfermline past League One bottom club Kelty Hearts with a 2-0 win at East End Park.
Dundee United’s tie against Spartans at Tannadice on Saturday was called off because of a waterlogged pitch, as was the scheduled late game between Aberdeen and Motherwell, which was called off on Friday. It is the second game Aberdeen have had to call off a match this week.
“Following the postponement of the Celtic match earlier this week, the ground staff and maintenance teams at Pittodrie have been working tirelessly to get the pitch in playable condition,” said the club in a statement. “However, the unprecedented and continuous rainfall has made it an almost impossible task to repair the problem area in front of the Merkland goal.”
Rangers host Championship side Queen’s Park at Ibrox on Sunday while Stenhousemuir take on near neighbours Falkirk. On Friday St Mirren needed extra time to beat Airdrieonians 2-1 away from home.
