To Hel & back
Fil’s joy as Gers end tough week with derby win after Covid blows and poor Euro show in Armenia
FILIP HELANDER is savouring the perfect end to the perfect week.
A four-goal Highland fling, qualification for the Europa League group stage for the fourth year running and now an Old Firm winner.
The big Swede reckons it doesn’t get much better than that.
But when you throw a Covid crisis into the mix, then even the notoriously laconic centre-back saw reason to wax lyrical about the taste of victory being all the more sweeter.
Gers found themselves facing their biggest rivals with boss Steven Gerrard, skipper James Tavernier plus goalkeepers Allan McGregor, Jon McLaughlin, fullback Nathan Patterson and playmaker Scott Wright all confined to their quarantine sick beds.
It might have been easy for the Light Blues to lose their way amid the uncertainty of the situation.
But after a month of stuttering displays, Gers rediscovered the bloody-mindedness that was key to last year’s Invincible triumph.
The Ibrox faithful will hope it is the turning point that sets them off on a charge towards 56.
Helander is just relieved to have seen his team come through a seven-day spell which put their nerve to the test.
He said: “We had a tough week. It wasn’t the best performance in Armenia and a lot of people are missing for the game.
“It was a big victory for us and we showed togetherness as a team with everyone fighting for each other and everyone around the club that has been supporting us now in this week. It is just a perfect end to the week.”
An Ibrox packed with home fans only roared with delight as Helander rose above Carl Starfelt to head the winner from a Borna Barisic corner on 66 minutes.
And the ice-cold Scandinavian admits he lost his cool for a moment as he lapped up the delirious celebrations.
He added: “I was going towards the back post and the ball was perfect. I just tried to hit the target and it went in. It was amazing.
“Incredible emotions. The noise afterwards, it is something I will never forget. We got an important win and it couldn’t be better.
“It is very hard [to put it into words]. I don’t score a lot of goals so I never really think about scoring goals. Then, when you do, you just lose control for a while.”
Gers had already survived one let off by that point after Odsonne Edouard blew a golden chance to put Celtic ahead.
Then keeper Robby McCrorie looked every inch McGregor’s future successor as he made two huge interventions to thwart Kyogo Furuhashi.
Helander hailed the 23-year-old for his mature display.
He said: “It is always like that [with Celtic’s late pressure]. We are in the lead, one team needs to score, it becomes a bit of pressure.
“Big credit to Robby after his first two games this week. He was excellent, like the rest of the team. It was a real team performance so we are happy.
“He’s been handling it well. We have tried to talk to him about how we should defend but I think he has handled it really well.
“He has been training with us for a long time and he has been at the club for a very long time so he knows what it is all about. Of course it is special when it is your first Old Firm.
“I am very happy for everyone but especially for him.”
Gary McAllister stood in for Gerrard on the touchline and said the result was just the pick-me-up the Gers gaffer needed. And he hopes it will spark the champions back into life after their troubled start to the season.
He said: “I’m very proud, extremely proud. I’ve spoken to the manager and he’s delighted.
“Building into this game, the manager at no point had been able to select from a whole squad.
“We’ve had loads of issues. Players suspended, European bans. So everything’s just starting to blend back together, more people are becoming available.
“But people can go away now and look at that game, watch the game back. That’s the level we have to try to achieve.
“If an occasion like that doesn’t light your fire, there’s something wrong. For me, even trying to stay focused, that was special.
“During the game I thought we enforced our style on Celtic.”