Adam Idah proved ice runs through his veins at the most pressurised of moments against Hibs on Wednesday night.
The Irishman was a January deadline day Celtic addition on loan from Norwich City and perhaps his arrival encapsulated the general malaise amongst supporters who craved for a much better window.
Idah’s career stats up until this point shows he may not be a deadly and prolific striker – he’s scored just 17 goals in over 100 games for the Canaries thus far [Transfermarkt].
But what he does have in abundance is a calmness and composure at the right moments and those are huge characteristics when representing a club the size of Celtic.
Brendan Rodgers labelled Idah ‘incredible’ before the midweek trip to Easter Road and that clearly lit a fire in the 22-year-old Cork native’s belly.
He would go on to score two huge penalties in the match as he dug the Hoops out of a massive hole to remain at the top of the Scottish Premiership amid title race pressure from Rangers.
Celtic were poor on the night and the likes of John Collins castigated some of the individual performances against the Hibees.
But newly-crowned cult hero Adam Idah was the standout star and has now been opening up to the Scottish mainstream media on what he describes as an ‘unbelievable’ evening in Edinburgh.
Adam Idah on his Celtic penalties
In particular, Idah honed in on how he was feeling moments before the second penalty which was given in stoppage time.
It presented Celtic with a massive opportunity to seal three points but Idah admits he was always sure that he was going to convert and send the travelling Hoops fans nuts.
He said: “I’d missed a few chances so I was a bit frustrated. To be fair, I’ve taken penalties my whole career so I didn’t think much of it. I think I’ve only ever missed one.
“In the back of my head I was confident enough that I was going to score. Thankfully it hit the back of the net. The first one was a long wait, but, like I said, I’m pretty confident taking penalties.
“I knew which way I was going. It was a long wait but I’m used to it. What was I thinking for the second one?
“To go the other way. Like I say, at the back of my head I was confident I was going to score and that’s the mindset you have to have when you take penalties.
“Thankfully it did hit the back of the net and we got the win. This was a big game and a big three points. Hopefully we can push on now and get more wins.
“It was unbelievable. Even just to score in front of the fans in the 90th minute was such an amazing feeling. I was delighted with it.
“I’ve always said I wanted to play and score for this club in front of the fans. I was too focused on the goal to see my friends in there. But to see their reaction after getting a last-minute goal was fantastic for me and the lads.
“It’s one of the best starts I’ve had (at a club). The main thing was to get the three points. It was a tough game but overall I’m proud of the lads and to get the three points topped it all off.
“That shows the spirit in the changing room. Hopefully we can push on now and get three points on the board each and every week.”
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