Rogic seals treble as Rodgers joins the Celtic greats
BRENDAN RODGERS thanked his lucky stars after substitute Tom Rogic hit a magical late winner to hand Celtic the Scottish Cup and an historic unbeaten treble.
Aberdeen were ahead in the ninth minute through winger Jonny Hayes but the Bhoys hit back through Stuart Armstrong two minutes later.
In the week that the club celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Lisbon Lions’ European Cup win, Australian Rogic struck from close-range in stoppage time to seal the club’s first treble since 2001.
‘Maybe the stars were aligned this year with it being the anniversary year for Celtic and there was just a feeling about this season,’ said Rodgers. ‘But don’t get me wrong, we’ve had to earn it. We had to work hard.
‘We are elated. It was a very tough game and to win it the way we did was special. I felt it was coming.’
Rodgers was forced to bring on Rogic for Kieran Tierney, who was injured in the 27th minute and will need an operation on his mouth after a collision with Jayden Stockley.
The defender, 19, was in the Scotland squad for the home 2018 World Cup qualifier against England on 10 June, but will now miss the game.
‘Worth a broken jaw haha,’ he tweeted while posting pictures alongside Patrick Roberts and Scott Brown with the Cup inside the Celtic dressing room.
‘We had to show why we are champions, to come from behind to play the way we did the second half,’ Rodgers continued.
‘We had to adjust to Kieran coming off. It is a fantastic achievement and it will take a few days to sink in.’
Rodgers is now only the third Celtic manager after Jock Stein — twice — and Martin O’Neill, to complete the clean sweep.
When asked about being spoken about in the same breath as the two giants, the Northern Irishman, 44, said: ‘I still get a funny feeling and it doesn’t sit quite right with me when I hear comparisons. Jock was the real big pioneer in leading the club the way it wanted to go. Martin did an incredible job here and history will judge me.’
While Rodgers was cock-ahoop, dejected Dons boss Derek McInnes was left to rue missed opportunities.
‘There were chances, both keepers made great saves.
‘I think Rogic produced a bit of class, a brilliant finish.
‘We put a lot into it and I’m just gutted for the players, and gutted for the supporters,’ he added.