Lewis Ferguson helps Bologna go step closer to ending 51-year heartache as ex-Celtic and Hibs man locked out

Scotland midfielder Lewis Ferguson took a huge step towards winning the first major silverware of his career as he captained Bologna to a mammoth win away to Empoli in the Coppa Italia semi-final first leg on Tuesday night.

The 25-year-old midfielder played the full 90 minutes as Bologna ran riot at Stadio Carlo Castellani in the first-half. Goals from Riccardo Orsolini (23) and Thijs Dallinga (29) handed I Rossoblù the perfect start in Tuscany, before Orsolini’s second just after the restart (51) ensured they will take a commanding 3-0 lead into the second leg.

One of his side’s most impressive performers, the ex-Aberdeen star completed 93% of his passes accurately in the game, winning all bar one of his tackles during a dominant win. Should he and his teammates navigate the return fixture without any problems on on April 24, it would mean Ferguson becomes the first Bologna captain to lead the side out at a major cup final for 26 years, with the club last making the Coppa Italia final in 1999, where they lost 2-1 to Parma.

Empoli's Scottish midfielder Liam Henderson. | Getty Images

The final is scheduled to take place on Wednesday 14 May at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome and, should Ferguson do the unthinkable and bring the trophy home to Bologna, it will etch his name in the club’s history and end a 51-year wait for first major trophy win, with the club’s last Coppa Italia victory coming all the way back in the 1973-74 season.

He will face a battle against one of two Italian giants should he make it through the final of the competition, with AC Milan and Inter set to face off in the other Coppa Italia semi-final at the San Siro. The first leg will take place this evening, with Sérgio Conceição’s AC Milan side the designated ‘home’ team.

Ferguson was denied a battle with fellow countryman, and former Celtic starlet, Lewis Henderson though after he was ruled out of Roberto D'Aversa’s squad for the match due to suspension. A hero of Hibs’ memorable Scottish Cup win over Rangers at Hampden Park in 2016, Henderson played a key role as Empoli stunned Juventus in the quarter-finals, scoring his penalty in a 4-2 shootout win in February, but had to watch the semi-final first leg from the sidelines after picking up one too many bookings this term.

The 28-year-old is out of contract with the Italian outfit in the summer, and has recently been linked with a return to the UK. Transfer expert Rudy Galetti claimed a number of EFL Championship clubs have targeted the Scottish midfielder as a ‘valuable addition in the event of promotion to the English Premier League’, before adding that Henderson had also ‘turned down lucrative MLS offers in January’ in order to ‘focus on Empoli and asses his future with more time.’