The Hampden winner that will be cheered in Palestine

Just as he spoke about his happiness at Hampden, he spoke then about his pride in reaching such a level "not just for me but for all Palestinians. I hope I can be an ambassador for Palestinian players".

Palestinian football commentators and social historians remarked on what Dabbagh had done in Portugal, how football was tied up in the psyche of the Palestinian people and how Dabbagh, the new pioneer in foreign fields, embodied that spirit.

In the summer of 2023, he moved to Charleroi in Belgium, played Asian Cup for his country and had a crack at the World Cup qualifiers.

But game-time for his club grew limited. When Aberdeen were looking for a loan striker, their research threw up his name - a player who had lost his way a little, but one who had still plenty to give in the right environment.

And the environment was never more right than at Hampden in the 118th minute of a tight scrap that seemed destined to end in penalties until Dabbagh did his thing.

Aberdeen are now in the final having faced Elgin (third in League Two at the time); Dunfermline (who were eighth in the Championship); and Queen's Park (fifth in the same second tier).

That was a charmed path to Hampden and the breaks continued for Aberdeen when Hearts went down to 10 and then nine men, unjustly in the case of Cammy Devlin, many would say.

Still, Jimmy Thelin's side needed a hero and, for all their possession and all of their territory, it didn't look like they had one in their ranks - until Dabbagh pounced.

In that moment of triumph the roars of the fans won't just have carried all the way home to Aberdeen. Around 3,000 miles away, passionate football people might have been listening and cheering, too.

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