The brave Giorgos Giakoumakis Celtic incident that left rival supporters riled up

By David Walton

April 4, 2022

There hasn’t been a Celtic player that performed at Ibrox yesterday who hasn’t been given credit, but Giorgos Giakoumakis certainly deserves some extra acknowledgment.

Not for his overall performance of course. He’s been getting plenty of that already as fans reflect on how he bullied the Rangers backline for a second consecutive time.

More to do with the fact the big Greek striker’s role in the winning goal has largely gone unnoticed. Sure, it was hammered home expertly by Cameron Carter-Vickers. It was Jota’s fine delivery that provided us with the opportunity and it was Carl Starfelt’s knockdown that caused confusion in the Rangers backline.

But it was Giakoumakis’ sheer bravery and willingness to get hurt that set the whole thing up. Indeed, everyone seems to have forgotten that it was he that threw himself into harm’s way when John Lundstrum came flying in with a challenge.

The big Greek took the full force of a heavy tackle that looked a sore one at first viewing. However, Giakoumakis knew that if he didn’t get in the way then the Rangers man was going to win the ball and clear any danger.

When you’re talking about commitment to the cause, this moment sums everything about Ange’s team up. Giakoumakis saw an opportunity to win us a free-kick in a dangerous position. And at the same time, he was willing to put his body on the line to win it.

Giorgos Giakoumakis showed his Celtic commitment at Ibrox

It was a decision that had the Rangers fans absolutely incensed too. Despite the fact Lundstrum went right through Giakoumakis, they were all left perplexed inside Ibrox that a yellow card came out. You can see it for yourself via Sportscene. Goodness knows why, but they do seem to get angry for the slightest decision against them, don’t they?

Regardless, Ange is always going on about players being committed to the cause. Players giving their all and not shirking their duty. It’s one of the key messages he’s been trying to instill into this Celtic squad since he arrived as manager in the summer.

Giakoumakis highlighted what that philosophy is all about. He was willing to potentially injure himself just to give us a half-decent goalscoring opportunity. The fact that it led to the winner made it all the sweeter.

There’s no denying what his pre-match goal was as a Celtic centre-forward going to Ibrox. He wanted to be the one to get the winning goal or to get on the scoresheet at any stage. But the role he played throughout the 90 minutes was just as valuable to us as if he managed to net.

You also have to love the way Giakoumakis embraces the “team effort” philosophy of Ange too. We’ve seen certain players in the past just sulking when teammates score because it wasn’t them who got on the scoresheet. Giakoumakis couldn’t be further from that way of thinking. His celebrations yesterday were just as emphatic as anyone else’s

He’s been absolutely sensational in 2022 and it shouldn’t be forgotten about. Massive, massive credit to him for his role in that winning goal yesterday. It doesn’t deserve to go under the radar.

In other news, Celtic domination leaves van Bronckhorst all over the place; moans about decisions