THE HISTORY BHOYS AT HAMPDEN
Celtic fans will be singing songs about incredible achievements of Brendy’s Bhoys for years to come
NO longer invincible but still untouchable.
Celtic yesterday wrote another chapter, not just in their own storied history but that of Scottish football.
A double Treble, back-to-back brilliance on a scale never achieved before. Another 47 games, winning every one that really mattered.
And over 90 minutes at Hampden they earned their place in the record books with another masterclass in getting the job done.
Goals from Callum Mcgregor and Olivier Ntcham, finishes fit to grace any final, were enough to end the game as a contest after just 25 minutes. It took Motherwell 45 even to turn up – and when they did Brendan Rodgers’ men still had an answer to every question posed.
In the end they got over the line with a bit to spare. But it’s worth considering just where that line is – Rodgers has now managed what Jock Stein never did. Nor Bill Struth, Martin O’neill or Walter Smith.
Irrespective of the era, of the calibre of opposition, of the size of budget, if making history was that easy it would have been done long before now.
It hasn’t and the Northern Irishman deserves enormous credit for the standards he demands from his players daily.
Celtic did all the same graft as Motherwell did when they didn’t have the ball. When they had it, they then had the quality the opposition didn’t.
Look at the opener 11 minutes in.
Tom Aldred’s clearing header fell right between Allan Campbell and Liam Grimshaw. But while both waited for it to arrive, Mcgregor burst through to take centre stage, dousing the bounce on the ball with one touch before smashing it home on the halfvolley from 20 yards.
It had his hallmarks all over it. He earned it because he wanted it more than anyone else around him. The kind of goal Cup Final dreams are made of as a kid.
It was hard to fathom what Motherwell were doing tactically other than playing right into Celtic’s hands.
They did nothing to make Rodgers even pause for thought. They ended up sitting in, letting Celtic recirculate until their hearts were content.
Which is exactly what costs you goals like the second from Ntcham.
Kieran Tierney, in off the left at will, fed Tom Rogic, who threaded into Moussa Dembele.
When he picked out Ntcham, you could hear the ‘ping’ as the Frenchman gave it the laces into the bottom corner.
If ever this final had any chance of being a contest – and it was always unlikely – then that’s where it ended.