Celtic managed to progress to the semi-final of the Scottish Cup yesterday despite being given a fright by Livingston at Parkhead.
Within 22 minutes, Daizen Maeda had scored a double for the Bhoys; however, Daniel MacKay was left in tonnes of space up the other end to crash home, setting the scene for an entertaining match at Parkhead.
Despite only a goal separating the sides, Celtic dominated proceedings in the first half and should’ve really been further ahead after missing several opportunities.
In light of this, the visitors seized their opportunity to put the cat among the pigeons in the second half, as Tete Yengi shifted his body and curled a blistering strike past Joe Hart to level the scoring once again.
Both sides had chances to swing the tie either way; nevertheless, the Hoops weren’t to be denied on home soil, with Maeda stealing in at the back post to tap home a Tomoki Iwata ball across four minutes from time.
Kyogo Furuhashi put some daylight between Celtic and Livingston in the dying embers, latching on to a James Forrest header before burying past Michael McGovern.
Brendan Rodgers was delighted by his side’s ability to progress to the last four despite having several key players missing.
The Irishman stated: “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.”
Celtic’s Nicolas Kuhn takes to Instagram and posts class message
Nicolas Kuhn enjoyed a fruitful afternoon against Livingston, getting himself an assist for Maeda’s well-taken opening goal.
The former Germany Under-20 international took to Instagram after the game to post a class message to supporters, which simply read: ‘Semifinals!! thanks for the support (followed by a heart and a four-leaf clover emoji). first start at paradise’ (accompanied by an emoji blowing smoke).
Despite having to convince some critics following his £3 million move to Celtic from Rapid Vienna in January, Kuhn turned in his best performance in green and white, showing pace, trickery and an ability to crack open a low-block defence.
Given that Hyunjun Yang is suspended for our home match against St Johnstone, there is every chance the 24-year-old could be granted a second start in succession against Craig Levein’s men
Celtic need all the creative help they can get in their ongoing hunt for a domestic double, and Kuhn looks to have run into some positive form at a handy time for Rodgers’ men.
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