Alex Salmond congratulates Hibs and Hearts on capital final

THE First Minister as said he is “looking forward” to the first all Edinburgh Scottish Cup final for more than a century.

Hearts will play Hibernian in the final of the competition for the first time since 1896, after a last-minute penalty earned the team a win over SPL Champions Celtic.

Craig Beattie scored from the penalty spot in the 90th minute to book his team a place in the final on May 19 with a 2-1 win.

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Rudi Skacel scored for Hearts shortly after half time, with Gary Hooper equalising for Celtic in the 87th minute.

Alex Salmond said: “Congratulations to Hearts and Hibs on their Scottish Cup semi-final victories over this weekend. We now have the exciting prospect of an all-Edinburgh cup final - the first since 1896, and I look forward to it.

“Despite some of the stories that have hit the headlines off the pitch, this has actually turned into a very exciting season on the pitch. Celtic were the outstanding team in the SPL and the deserved champions, Kilmarnock won the Communities League Cup, Ross County have won promotion to the SPL, and we now have an all-Edinburgh cup final to look forward to.

“In addition, although it’s early days, we have seen a significant improvement in fan behaviour. All in all a much better prospect for Scottish football.”