Latest news with #ScottishCup
Daily Record
37 minutes ago
- Sport
- Daily Record
6 Rangers cult heroes the fans never really got to see enough of as Hamza Igamane sparks flashbacks
The Argentine striker was signed by Dick Advocaat in the summer of 1998 from Real Mallorca for £4.2 million. But he made an immediate impact in Rangers' UEFA Cup tie against Shelbourne in Tranmere - scoring twice as the new-look side had to come back from 3-0 down to win 5-3. It was clear that Amato had bags of ability up front. He loved a drag-back or a chop to bamboozle defenders - but could combine that with raw physical power and a thunderous shot. Who can forget his header against Celtic at Ibrox in a 2-2 Old Firm draw - then his nutmeg on defender Alan Stubbs to set up strike partner Rod Wallace for Gers' second goal? Amato was capable of producing moments of genius but under Advocaat he couldn't quite nail a regular start in the side. In his two years at Ibrox, he won two titles and a Scottish Cup, as well as grabbing another goal against Celtic in a 4-2 victory. But after just 18 months in Glasgow, he was sold on to Brazilian side Gremio.
The National
an hour ago
- Business
- The National
Mario Lapointe addresses Dumbarton property development concerns
French-Canadian electronics entrepreneur Lapointe – a singer-songwriter whose stage name is Vintage – completed his takeover of the former Scottish Cup winners earlier this week. The Quebec-based 57-year-old, who has been a hockey and football coach in his homeland for the past 20 years, stressed that he is determined to make the club profitable off the park and successful on it in the coming seasons. Read more: 'The fans will always have that suspicion about some guy coming in,' he said. 'But there is no temptation there for me. I can't destroy nothing. I am all for this and have no problem with how things are set up. 'You have the community trust. That is not an entity I am involved with. It's a non-profit that was already there before I arrived. This community trust's role is to get the artificial turf. They put it on this land and rent it to me for, say, a dollar. (Image: Colin Mearns) 'This group has people from the council, people from our club, people from the community. So, that ensures this land will be used for football purposes. 'We need to turn the facility into a community hub. We need to get the artificial grass down. That turf will help us have that seven-day activity going. It has to be win-win everywhere. 'I could have built housing around my place in Canada. It would have been much easier. I'm not coming across the pond to build housing.' Read more: Dumbarton have only been able to exit administration by becoming a new company – and Lapointe revealed that was the only route available to him. 'When I approached them, I was thinking it was a bankruptcy,' he said. 'Usually with a bankruptcy, you're looking at paying 20 cents on the dollar or whatever. But it wasn't that. 'There's particulars I can't talk about because they have me on an NDA (non-disclosure agreement). Forming a new company was the only option. We weren't allowed to do anything else actually.'
Scotsman
2 hours ago
- Sport
- Scotsman
Hibs boss David Gray issues positive update on Darren McGregor
The Scottish Cup winner was involved in a car accident last week and will now unfortunately miss his own testimonial match. Sign up to our Hibs football newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Hibs boss David Gray says that former teammate and Easter Road coach Darren McGregor is 'on the mend' after being involved in a vehicle collision last Friday. The club released a statement earlier this week confirming that the Scottish Cup winner, and current coach, would unfortunately now miss out on playing in his own testimonial match next month. Hibs are due to welcome EFL side Bolton Wanderers to Easter Road for the occasion. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Speaking in an interview with Sky Sports News, Gray said on his former teammate: 'I think he's had a bit of a fright, clearly, as you naturally would. I spoke to him a couple of times. He's on the mend. It's nothing too sinister, which is more important than anything else.' McGregor, who made over 150 appearances or the capital club between 2015 and 2022 after spells with St Mirren and Rangers, will thankfully still be able to attend with the match on July 19 and is set to meet supporters inside Easter Road Stadium, and in the hospitality suites, alongside walking out onto the pitch for an interview to thanks Hibs fans for their support. Tickets for the match are still very much on sale. Gray light heartedly joked that McGregor would 'try anything' to get out of playing in the game before adding: 'It's a special year for him, fully deserved and I'm looking forward to that game as well.' The pair were, of course, teammates during the famous Scottish Cup win in 2016 - playing alongside each other in defence. Gray issues update on summer signings as Josh Mulligan arrives and Rocky Bushiri sings new deal It's a busy time for the Hibs gaffer with the player's having reported back for pre-season training this week. There is also plenty work going on behind the scenes on the transfer front. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The club have secured the signature of midfielder Josh Mulligan on a four year deal after he left Dundee with Gray describing him as 'one of the most eye catching young players in Scotland'. Other big news this week is that defender Rocky Bushiri will be sticking around after signing a new three year contract following the expiry of his previous deal. Speaking about future transfer, Gray said: 'The work is ongoing. We obviously lost a couple at the back end of last season, the ones that were on loan needing to be replaced. We are still working hard to do that. 'We say all the time that it's about bringing the right type of people in. We're very conscious of the work we've done at the back end of last season was excellent, making sure we kept the group together. We spoke a lot about the togetherness in the group and how good that core is. 'We've managed to do that and if we can keep adding to it, which I'm sure we will do, we're in a good place. You're always looking at the balance. You're always looking at how good a season players had last season and ultimately everybody wants to play. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'The challenge is to make sure you end the window stronger than when you started. The club needs to keep moving forward and players will want to be playing week in, week out. You're always having to be proactive to make sure you're ready to react to any situation.'
Press and Journal
8 hours ago
- Sport
- Press and Journal
Richard Gordon: Kusini Yengi has the potential to be a talisman for Aberdeen but Dons need more attacking options
It is still over a month until the Dons kick-off their 2025-26 campaign, but the next few weeks are going to be vitally important, and give us a few clues as to what lies ahead. The club announced a list of pre-season fixtures, some of which will feature a Dons XI, others more likely to offer a better indication of Jimmy Thelin's preferred line-up. The first of those will be at Balmoral Stadium on July 12 against Cove Rangers, and it will be interesting to see if more new faces have arrived by then. So far, Jimmy has brought in left-back Emmanuel Gyamfi and three Aussies, goalkeeper Nick Suman, winger Nicolas Milanovic and striker Kusini Yengi. Of that quartet, it is Yengi who will be of most interest. Last season, Kevin Nisbet was the only one who looked capable of scoring on a regular basis, and even then, it took him until the turn of the year before he really hit form. Kevin finished on 14 goals, the only player to make it into double figures. Given what we have seen so far of the other strikers at Thelin's disposal, there has been nothing to suggest any will fill the void. That means the spotlight will fall on the former Portsmouth hitman. He was by no means prolific at Fratton Park, and did not net a single goal for the club last season, but his previous campaign was more impressive, and he has a highly credible record at international level, notching six for Australia in his eleven appearances to date. He clearly has something; it will be up to Jimmy and his coaching staff to coax that out of the striker. But he will need back-up, and I have to imagine it is an area the club is still looking to strengthen significantly. As well as doing so, they have to be looking at moving a few players on, and there are some in the squad who clearly look surplus to requirements. With the additional demands of a European campaign ahead, in whichever of the leagues the Dons find themselves, they are going to require not only a bigger pool, but one which offers strength in depth when it comes to quality. That will hopefully mean more game time for the club's most promising youngsters. Jack Milne proved in the Scottish Cup final he has the required attributes, Fletcher Boyd has obvious potential, and Alfie Bavidge caught the eye while out on loan at Caley Thistle, earning a place in the PFA Scotland League One team of the year. A trio of players – Adam Emslie, Findlay Marshall and Dylan Lobban – played more than 100 between them for Cove last time round, and I saw them develop significantly over the course of the campaign. Not all will get a chance, but it would be good to see at least some of them feature more regularly during 2025-26, giving the squad more of a local identity. The next month is likely to be a busy one on the training ground, and on and off the pitch, and by the end of it I would hope the team is ready for what seems certain to be a challenging and demanding season. The excitement for the new campaign ramped-up last Friday with the announcement of the Premiership fixture list. Disappointingly, the first weekend will see one solitary Saturday 3pm kick-off – Kilmarnock v Livingston – with a trio of games on the Sunday. Because of the demands of the television companies, and Thursday night European games, Sundays often now feature more of the bigger games, and that will again be the case. It will certainly be something the Dons are going to have to adapt to if they are to have a successful season. Getting off the blocks positively should help – although that did not exactly work out last time – but Aberdeen have been handed a tough start with Celtic at home on day two, either side of trips to Tynecastle and Tannadice. It was no surprise that Sky chose the Hearts game for the Monday evening, and the meeting with Derek McInnes will be some appetiser for the top-flight campaign.
Scottish Sun
14 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Scottish Sun
Scottish Premiership footballer bags a Bond girl as he holidays with Sir Sean Connery's granddaughter
The pair have been snapped together on exotic holidays and looking after pets STRONG BOND Scottish Premiership footballer bags a Bond girl as he holidays with Sir Sean Connery's granddaughter Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) ABERDEEN star Dante Polvara has a Scottish Cup winners' medal in his possession. And he's also got a Bond girl on his arm - after embarking on a relationship with Sir Sean Connery's granddaughter Natasha. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 4 Sean Connery's glamorous granddaughter Natasha has found love with American footballer Dante Polvara, who plays for Scottish Premiership club Aberdeen Credit: natashagigiconnery/Instagram 4 The pair have posed together on Natasha's Instagram account Credit: natashagigiconnery/Instagram 4 They were snapped celebrating the midfielder's 25th birthday together Credit: natashagigiconnery/Instagram 4 Natasha was at Hampden as Polvara and Aberdeen shocked Celtic to win the Scottish Cup Credit: natashagigiconnery/Instagram Natasha was in attendance at Hampden as Polvara and his Aberdeen teammates pulled off a shock Scottish Cup victory over Celtic. The midfielder came off the bench in normal time and scored a penalty in the shootout as Dons won 4-3. He signed for the Pittodrie side straight out of New York City FC's youth sides in 2022. The 25-year-old enjoyed a breakthrough season in 2023/24 after returning from a loan to Charleston Battery in the US, making 40 appearances and scoring five times. He got together with Natasha Connery last summer, who is the daughter of the stepson of a famous Scots actor. Natasha's grandfather Sir Sean Connery was of course best-known for being the first actor to portray super-spy James Bond. He played 007 in seven films over the course of 21 years, including fan-favourites Goldfinger and Diamonds Are Forever. He also won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his role in The Untouchables and was knighted in 2000 for services to film drama. Former Rangers chairman Sir David Murray has also revealed that Connery secretly invested £1million into Gers. Connery, who died in 2020, was a supporter of the club and close friend of Murray's. Sir Sean Connery's secret £1 MILLION investment in Rangers revealed Murray wrote in his book Mettle: "For years, Sean and I would share a catch-up call every weekend to chat through the football and we would inevitably kick off with Rangers. "After all, he had put £1million into the club which no one knew about at the time or even since. "I was raising £50million in 2004 and Sean asked if he could invest. "I told him that it was football, that there were no guarantees and he should get professional advice but he was adamant - he wanted in." Keep up to date with ALL the latest news and transfers at the Scottish Sun football page
