Cedric’s Cup Final dream? Staying on the pitch

CEDRIC KIPRE was inconsolable as he trudged off the Hampden turf having seen his Betfred Cup Final cut short by a red card.

Now less than five months on the Motherwell centre-back can’t believe he has been handed a shot at redemption with a Scottish Cup showpiece against the same opposition.

And the Frenchman quipped his first goal en route to reversing the 2-0 result that November day will be staying on the pitch for the full 90 minutes.

Four times Kipre has lined up against Celtic this season. Twice he has seen red.

The 21-year-old’s controversial dismissal for a foul on Scott Sinclair with Well one down led to Moussa Dembele tucking away Hoops’ spot-kick clincher the Well easily swat the Reds aside in their first win in six matches.

And nobody was happier than Kipre with the impressive win capping a cracking few weeks for the defender.

He earned his first call-up for the Ivory Coast – the nation of his parents’ birth – last month and made his debut in an Under-23 match against Togo.

And on the eve of the semifinal he penned an extension to his Well deal – along with teammates Bowman, Richard Tait and Charles Dunne – that ties him to Fir Park until 2020.

The former Leicester defender has been a revelation for the club in his debut season.

The ex-Paris St-Germain youth only signed for the Steelmen after impressing Fir