Even on one of Celtic’s worst days, it’s still the Hoops who come out on top against Rangers.
On Sunday, everything was in favour of Danny Rohl’s side. Yet it was Celtic beating Rangers on penalties in the Scottish Cup quarter-finals at Ibrox, with Tomas Cvancara netting the winning penalty.
After the game, Cvancara was asked about that nerve-racking moment, but he showcased Celtic’s fearless nature by rubbing salt into Rangers’ wounds by stating that it was all ‘quite easy’ to deal with.
“It was a tough game, but we knew we had to be calm in our heads,” said Cvancara.
“We have quality in the team, so I trust everybody who is on a penalty is going to score. It was quite easy.”
- READ MORE: Three things we learned as Martin O’Neill’s Celtic push Rangers into a penalty shootout collapse
YOUR IMMEDIATE REACTION TO THAT SHOOTOUT WIN!
Tomas Cvancara showcases to Rangers how it’s done as Celtic secure Scottish Cup win at Ibrox
Let’s be honest, Cvancara didn’t have a great game off the bench; in fact, most of the team, apart from the backline and Viljami Sinisalo in between the sticks, struggled like mad, from the first minute and throughout extra time.
But in moments like this, it’s about showcasing that bottle and winning mentality. It’s fair to say that whilst the Rangers players were panicking and ballooning their penalties over the bar, Cvancara remained calm and dealt with the pressure, as he told Premier Sports.
“It was a tough game, but we knew we had to be calm in our heads,” added Cvancara.
“We have quality in the team, so I trust everybody who is on a penalty is going to score. It was quite easy.
“It’s a lot of pressure. We were also on the opposite side of the pitch from our fans (during the shootout). I just knew what I had to do, and did it.
“It doesn’t surprise me [how intense it is]. We knew how tough it would be. But we were backed by almost 8,000 supporters, so it almost felt like home because it was pretty loud.”
The gap between Celtic and Rangers
For years and years and years, Celtic have dominated Scotland, winning trophies for fun, and even putting more Trebles on the table than Rangers have in the last decade.
But this campaign was Rangers’ chance to take advantage of a Celtic that is in distress on and off the field, yet they have failed to do so.
With Celtic knocking Rangers out of the Scottish Cup, there is now a realistic chance that the Gers finish the campaign trophyless and the champions of Scotland add another double to their name.
But this win for Celtic will rankle most with their rivals because of all the advantages they had, yet they couldn’t handle the pressure once again.
- Fully fit Rangers squad
- Celtic missing at least six starting players, including Callum McGregor and Kieran Tierney
- Playing at Ibrox
- Only one shot on goal for the Bhoys
- Celtic playing in midweek, being taken to extra-time, yet still winning
- Rangers taking the penalties in front of their own end
- Celtic January signing Joel Mvuka producing a disasterclass of the highest order and getting away with it
And what is the result of all of this?
The Rangers captain James Tavernier setting the tone in the shootout by missing his pen, and then the rest is history…
Receive a digest of our best Celtic content each week direct to your mailbox
