Billy Mckay double downs Falkirk to send Inverness into Scottish Cup final

The veteran striker Billy Mckay scored twice as Inverness set up a Scottish Cup final against one of the Old Firm sides with victory over Falkirk at Hampden Park. The Championship side emerged triumphant when the two clubs met in the 2015 final and again proved too strong for their League One opponents.

Mckay scored from the spot after seven minutes when VAR intervened to flag up a Leon McCann handball before Daniel MacKay headed in a second after 34 minutes to give the Highlanders the interval lead.

Mckay grabbed his second in the 57th minute with a deft finish to confirm Caley Thistle’s second Scottish Cup final appearance and they will face the holders, Rangers, or Celtic, who meet in the other semi-final at the national stadium on Sunday.

Inverness were knocked out of the cup by Queen’s Park in January before receiving a reprieve after their opponents had fielded an ineligible player. They will need more of that fortune in the final if they are to produce an unlikely shock.

There was no surprise the ground was well short of its 50,000-plus capacity, but the Bairns had the bulk of the support for the lunchtime kick-off, although it was the Highland fans who were soon celebrating.

It was the first time either side had played under the VAR system and the referee, Nick Walsh, went to his pitchside monitor after five minutes when Alan Muir, in charge of the technology, spotted McCann’s flailing arm had made contact with a Jay Henderson cross. Walsh pointed to the spot after a check and McKay sent Brian Kinnear the wrong way with a confident penalty.

The Bairns almost levelled in the 12th minute when the Inverness goalkeeper, Mark Ridgers, came rushing out of his penalty area and miskicked a clearance to Callum Morris, but