Scottish Cup Semi-Final
Falkirk v Inverness Caledonian Thistle
Saturday, 29 April 2023, kick off 12:15pm
Hampden Park

Falkirk and Inverness Caledonian Thistle will contest this weekend's first Scottish Cup Semi-Final, in a repeat of the 2015 showpiece.

Falkirk booked their place in the last four after coming from behind to win 2-1 against Ayr United in a dramatic match, with Kai Kennedy scoring the winner just moments after Ayr's Chris Maguire had a penalty saved.

Inverness also fell behind against Kilmarnock in their Quarter-Final before recovering to win 2-1. Skipper Sean Welsh scored the winner with a low strike from 25 yards. 

Cup Form 

Falkirk are aiming to become just the second club to reach the Scottish Cup final whilst playing in the third tier – Gretna were the only other club to do so, back in 2006.

Their last Scottish Cup Semi-Final appearance was in 2015, when Craig Sibbald's header gave them a 1-0 victory over Hibernian. 

The Bairns have won the Scottish Cup on two occasions, in 1913 and 1957, although their last three appearances in the final have ended in defeat.

As well as losing in the 2015 final, the also lost 1-0 to Kilmarnock in 1997 and 1-0 to Rangers in 2009.

Their campaign this season began in November with a 6-0 thumping of Wick Academy. John McGlynn's side then came from behind to beat Alloa 2-1, with Rumarn Burrell's winner completing the comeback.

In the Fifth Round they faced a tricky trip to face Darvel, conquerors of Aberdeen, but the Bairns put in a professional display to eventually run out 5-1 winners. 

Their victory over Ayr United then sealed their return to Hampden Park. 

Inverness, meanwhile, reached this stage just four years ago when John Robertson's side lost 3-0 to Hearts. 

They have lost three of their last four Semi-Finals in this competition, although their sole success in that period was a dramatic 3-2 win over Celtic in 2015 - prior to lifting the trophy. 

This season, they received a reprieve after a Fourth Round defeat to Queen's Park when the Spiders were ejected from the competition but Caley made the most of this good fortune by securing an impressive 3-0 scalp in the next round. 

They then backed that up with another victory over Premiership opposition in Kilmarnock in the last four to seal their Semi-Final spot.

Pre-Match Thoughts 

Falkirk manager John McGlynn: “It’s massive, the opportunity to get to a Scottish Cup final. I’m 61 now but I’m still ambitious.

“Who knows when it will happen again? Stephen McGinn and others are coming to the end of their careers, possibly.

“Who knows when you’re going to get into a semi-final with a good opportunity to get to a final? You’ve really, really got to grasp this opportunity, take it with both hands and make sure you don’t leave anything on the pitch.”

Inverness Caledonian Thistle manager Billy Dodds: "I'm glad it's here now. I've been keeping it on the backburner for a wee while, trying to keep people at bay - whether that's family, people about the club or fans out in the street but now we can talk about it!

"We've got momentum going into the Semi-Final. it doesn't automatically make you win it but I'm happy with where we are and I'm glad the boys have had a full week's rest going into it.

"We're fresh, focused and hopeful of getting to the Final."

Tickets 

Tickets for the match remain on sale. Falkirk supporters can buy tickets in the club shop, while Inverness fans can purchase tickets here.

Match Programmes 

Programmes are available now through Ignition Sport Media.

To purchase your copy online, click here.

Where to watch

The match will be shown live on Viaplay and BBC One Scotland.