A late goal from substitute Dieter Van Tornhout ended the Bhoys unbeaten run of 27 matches and earned Kilmarnock their first trophy since 1997.

It looked like it was going to be an uphill task for Kenny Shiels' side considering the runaway league leaders have conceded just nine times since they drew 3-3 with his side on October 15.

But they more than held their own against the Hoops, with goalkeeper Cameron Bell pulling off several stunning saves.

And despite Celtic having the better chances, Kilmarnock threatened with a few chances of their own before Van Tornhout came off the bench to head a winner with just 10 minutes left.

Going into the final 15 minutes Celtic had been piling on the pressure, but the Ayrshire side countered and a fantastic run and cross from Chelsea loanee Ben Gordon left the simplest of chances that the Belgian could not miss.

Before the game Killie boss Kenny Shiels said that it 'would be a travesty' if Celtic did not win the treble this season, but after surviving a nervy first 10 minutes they grew in stature and were worthy winners come the end of the game.

Bell was called on as early as the fourth minute as Kilmarnock defender Mohamadou Sissoko played a poor ball in defence that went straight to Celtic forward Gary Hooper.

The Kilmarnock shot-stopper charged off his line to deny Hooper and he made a brilliant one-handed save to deny Anthony Stokes' header just before the half-hour mark.

Dean Shiels had a couple of good attempts on goal for Kilmarnock, while Stokes made a goal-line clearance to deny Sissoko from a corner.

Bell pulled off another top save in the 70th minute from a Ki Sung-Yeung header from a corner.

But with both sides sharing pot-shots and mazy dribbles, it was the underdogs who made it count as Gordon went a terrific run down the left flank and put in a wonderful cross that simply could not be missed.

Celtic now go into a derby away at crisis club Rangers next week, where they could seal the Scottish Premier League title.