With the realisation that Celtic are on course for yet another historic treble, the goal that sent them past Rangers in the Scottish Cup semi-final on Saturday continues to steal the headlines. And it’s little wonder why.
In the build-up, there was a clear foul on Celtic midfielder Matt O’Riley. But the referee appeared to have missed it and as the Rangers players waited for the referee’s whistle, Daizen Maeda pounced to set up Jota. And the rest, as they say, is history.
Matt O’Riley was asked about the foul and whilst he agrees that there should have been a free kick awarded, the Celtic midfielder revealed what the referee, Don Robertson said to him after his appeals for it were ignored.
O’Riley said, “It was definitely a foul.
“I was appealing for it and the ref told me it probably was a foul when I walked past him but he said: ‘If I’d given the foul then you guys wouldn’t have scored’ and I was like: ‘Yeah, fair enough!’
“It was a really good goal as well. We wouldn’t usually cross from that kind of area, we would usually try to work it a bit closer, but Daizen saw the opportunity and it was a great ball for the goal.” [The Herald]
Shambolic defending coupled with the sharpness of Daizen Maeda and Jota created the goal that means Ange Postecoglou could set a world record for winning domestic trebles.
As it stands, we have equalled it at seven. The eighth is in sight but only if we can make it past Inverness Caley Thistle on 3d of June.
Why Celtic cannot underestimate Inverness Caley Thistle
That in itself will not be an easy task. In our most recent history, Caley Thistle have been a thorn in Celtic’s side in this competition.
We all remember that famous headline from 2000 when they knocked us out 3-1 at Celtic Park. Then there was the time they beat us 1-0 in the semi-final just days after knocking Liverpool out of the UEFA Cup in 2003.
And then there was the 3-2 defeat in 2015 that denied Ronny Deila a treble. No complacency can be afforded ahead of the final this season.
In Ange Postecoglou, we have a manager that will not allow that to happen. So whilst we can be confident going into the final, we simply cannot be complacent.
In other news, Michael Stewart’s brutally honest Rangers verdict after Celtic win
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