When he woke up on Saturday morning, Aston Oxborough fully expected to be one of the busiest men inside Hampden.
Up against a free-flowing Falkirk side who have been a revelation in this season’s Premiership, Dunfermline goalkeeper Oxborough would need to be on top form if the Championship side were to prevail.
That was the theory. However, in reality, nothing could have been further from the truth. Oxborough was little more than a spectator for the majority of a tense and cagey Scottish Cup semi-final.
Had he parked himself on a deck chair with a good book, his team would have fared no worse over the course of the 120 minutes as these two bitter rivals were unable to be separated.
After two hours of goalless football, it was in the penalty shootout that Oxborough, who is on loan from Motherwell, really proved his worth.
Falkirk missed their first two penalties – Brad Spencer hit the post before Liam Henderson then saw his spot-kick saved by Oxborough.
Aston Oxborough is mobbed by team-mates after Dunfermline’s penalty shootout triumph
Oxborough saves a spot-kick by Falkirk’s Liam Henderson to set up a famous win at Hampden
Dunfermline boss Neil Lennon celebrates a win that sets up a Scottish Cup final against Celtic
There was no way back from that. It was Dunfermline substitute Tashan Oakley-Boothe who eventually thumped home the winning penalty to send the Pars into their first Scottish Cup final in 19 years.
It ensured Neil Lennon’s side claimed a third Premiership scalp on their way to the final after also seeing off Hibs and Aberdeen in previous rounds.
Oxborough could not believe how quiet an afternoon it had been. But, in hailing the greatest day of his career thus far, he has targeted one more act of giant killing against Celtic in the final.
‘Yeah, it is the best moment of my career if I am being honest,’ said the Dunfermline keeper. ‘It was an amazing afternoon and feeling at the end to go through to the final.
‘I have to thank the goalie coach (Andy Collier) because he got three of the four right. All I have to do after that is to go that way and save it. All credit to him. He looked at Falkirk’s penalties on Friday and it has worked.
‘It is such a special feeling and it doesn’t happen very often. You just have to soak it in and enjoy it. This is why we love football.
‘I was quite quiet in the game. I presume getting man of the match was for the penalty save. The boys were brilliant and I have to give credit to them.
‘I don’t think I have played in a final. Not many players manage to win a trophy. I have won league campaigns but not a cup.
‘It would be a new experience and we are all looking forward to it. It was special and things you dream of when we were in the hotel on Friday night.
‘We were having a think about the game. We were thinking is it possible? It is and everyone loved it, the fans, players and staff.
‘Hopefully, one more [giant-killing against a top-flight team]. Hopefully, that can happen. The gaffer was saying before the game that sometimes things are meant to be.
‘Maybe our name was in the final before it happened, with the way things panned out. It is brilliant we are there.’
Oxborough had his family watching at Hampden yesterday. The support club was led by his son, Arlo, but his mum and dad had also made the journey from down south.
Even at Motherwell, there were spells where he had to bide his time. But his patience finally paid off and moments like this make it even sweeter.
He is also determined to push on and win promotion from the Championship, with Dunfermline likely to be in the play-offs as they now head into the final three games.
‘My son comes to most games,’ said the 27-year-old. ‘It is nice for him to see his dad kicking a ball. It is good for him to experience a day like today because it doesn’t happen very often.
‘My mum and dad were up as well. They are from Norwich. I asked them to come up. They have sacrificed a lot for my career and it is nice to give them something back.
‘I’m sure they will be up again in a few weeks for the final. It is a long journey but I’m sure it will be worth it.
‘I was saying that to my mum and dad – it was worth the wait, wasn’t it? Football is always up and down. There are highs and lows and you just need to let the lows peter out.
‘I have another year left at Motherwell, so I will go back there in the summer. I haven’t really thought beyond that.
‘I have just been enjoying it here and focusing on the games. Once the games are done, we can see what happens from there.
‘Promotion is tough because you have to win so many play-offs and there are two legs to them all. If we can take Falkirk to penalties and beat them then we can beat anyone in the Championship.
‘It will be tough but we are raring to go. We have the league leaders [St Johnstone] on Tuesday, so it doesn’t stop. We will just keep going and see where it takes us.’
As a spectacle, this was a poor match. Credit to Dunfermline for the way they stifled Falkirk, but John McGlynn’s Bairns will rue a massive missed opportunity.
McGlynn admitted afterwards that his team had been nowhere near good enough in the final third. ‘Rubbish’. That was the word he summoned to describe their efforts in attack.
They failed to ask any meaningful questions of Oxborough and it was Dunfermline who had the game’s best chances, albeit there weren’t many.
Callumn Morrison should have scored inside the opening five minutes, only to fire high and wide when he was clean through on goal.
Dunfermline’s 17-year-old sub Lucas Fyfe then missed two great chances in extra-time, one of which crashed back off the crossbar.
But few would dispute that Neil Lennon’s men had done enough to edge it over the piece. It was an emotional day for Lennon, who lost his father, Gerry, back in December.
Dunfermline now have real momentum heading into the business end of the season. With a cup final and promotion still on the table, it could yet be a very special few weeks ahead.
