Celtic are through to the Scottish Cup semi-finals after a 4-2 victory at home to Livingston on Sunday afternoon.
The Bhoys were made to work for the win. David Martindale’s side managed to equalise twice in the match despite Daizen Maeda’s first-half goalscoring exploits.
The Japanese international pushed Celtic towards victory again late on, completing his hat-trick four minutes from time.
Kyogo Furuhashi rounded off the scoring to end the game with a comfortable scoreline.
The performance was far from perfect. Defensively, Celtic looked ropey in spells. Ultimately, though, the Bhoys have prevailed and Brendan Rodgers can look forward to a knockout Hampden tie in April.
Brendan Rodgers on Celtic vs Livingston
Speaking to BBC Radio Scotland, the Celtic boss said: “We got ourselves into the semi-final. You can see the players we had missing and the difference it makes to the team. But you’ve still got to show that mentality and drive and ambition to get there.
“The right side of our team was where the creative spark came from and the left side finished it off. Daizen Maeda’s movement, his runs and his anticipation were great.
“That’s what he does well, as well as all the work against the ball, the pressing and that intensity. His movement today and desire to get in and score was fantastic. I’m really pleased for him.”
On the negative aspects of the display, Rodgers continued, criticising Stephen Welsh and Liam Scales: “I wasn’t comfortable. We gave them too many possibilities in the game. The two centre-halves needed to be higher up the pitch and just more aggressive to sustain the attacks.
“It was too easy. We gave away so much space, so that was the downside to the performance. In fairness to Livingston, they exploited it. We weren’t good enough in those moments.
“We said before the game we always want to perform. There’s not another team in the country who is held up to winning and performance. Other teams will grind it out. That’s our demand – we want to win and play well.
“Today we didn’t play well. Patches were okay. But we won and we’re into the semi-final, that makes me really happy.”
Celtic get back to the high pressure of the title race next weekend at home to St Johnstone in the Scottish Premiership and Rodgers will be looking for a more well-rounded performance.
It’s interesting to hear his criticism of the defence today – something which will ring true for many fans watching the match. Everyone is hoping Cameron Carter-Vickers is back sooner rather than later.
Sustaining a winning run is so important right now with everything on the line. Even with sub-par performances, Celtic must find a way to win consistently.
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