TOMMY THRILL FIGURE
Hoops Aussie midfielder strikes late on to seal a magical Treble in an unbeaten domestic season
WILLIAM HILL SCOTTISH CUP ABERDEEN 1
Yesterday they stepped forward and wrote their own chapter in Celtic’s storied history.
Fifty years on from the club’s crowning glory, no one will ever match the feat of the Lisbon Lions.
But in his first season Brendan Rodgers’ side managed what only Jock Sten and Martin O’neill had ever done before him. And in a style even those legends couldn’t match.
A Treble ... 47 games, three trophies – undefeated, untouchable, indestructible. Invincible.
The fact they did it the hard way at Hampden, coming from behind and leaving it until the 92nd minute, seemed only fitting.
Lit by a perfectly-timed lightning bolt jagging across leaden Glasgow skies, Tom Rogic’s clincher was a breathtaking end to a breathless season.
Not that it ever looked certain. Jonny Hayes’ superb opener was cancelled out inside two minutes by Stuart Armstrong – but until Celtic started squeezing the Dons in a vice in the final 10 minutes, it was a sensational game that could have gone either way.
Last time the sides met in Glasgow, Scotland teenager Kieran Tierney had Hayes on toast.
This time the tables were turned. Niall Mcginn’s deep corner dropped into the no-man’s land beyond the back post but Hayes had come with the late run and Tierney on the line was powerless to stop his half volley.
But Celtic didn’t hand around long enough to let guilt affect them. Two minutes later up the park and they were square.
And this time it was Shay Logan left with the burden of guilt. The full-back stood, stood, and stood a little longer as Armstrong stepped up.
Just as Logan realised he should have been in the midfielder’s grille seconds earlier, the Hoops playmaker unleashed into the bottom corner.
Game on. Treble on. Cloak of invincibility restored.
Except, it wasn’t. For 46 games, things have gone the Hoops’ way, mainly because they made them go their way.
This time, there was a nervousness, an edge, on the pitch and in the stands – and it got worse when they lost Tierney in the middle of the first half.
From a throw-in, the left-back caught a flying arm from Jayden Stockley flush in the mouth and went down heavy.