G’DAY TO SAVOUR FOR AUSSIE HERO
Rogic and Bitton bid farewell amid a title party but centre stage belongs to boss Ange
A SIX-GOAL salute that served as a fanfare for the champions and a stylish farewell to departing friends.
On a day of testimonials and the presentation of a hulking big trophy, this was a stress-free celebration for Ange Postecoglou.
The Premiership wrapped up and Champions League group-stage football guaranteed for the first time in five years, entertainment was the order of the day with a dollop of sentimentality thrown in for a couple of old favourites.
Tom Rogic and Nir Bitton both joined Celtic in 2013 and served through the club’s second nine-in-arow era.
While utility man Bitton’s role has largely been functional, Rogic’s Wizard of Oz moniker was acquired through a liberal sprinkling of fairy dust. His signature moment arrived with the wonderful solo goal that clinched the 2017 Scottish Cup and with it an undefeated run to the Treble under Brendan Rodgers.
The width of a post denied the 29-year-old a goodbye goal on this final occasion but he got the reception he deserved as he made an emotional farewell after an hour – a fitting point of departure for a man not renowned for his stamina.
Bitton got the last five minutes and with it a shot of the captain’s armband but this was principally Postecoglou’s day.
Handed a massive rebuilding job last summer, the Aussie threw himself into the challenge without either complaining or compromising on his commitment to all-out attacking football.
This performance was merely the latest demonstration of a team granted license to attack at will.
Already qualified for Europe themselves, Motherwell could even afford to approach the occasion in a relaxed frame of mind.
Pre-match, Graham Alexander’s side formed a guard of honour for the champions yet were soon assembled tightly in their path.
Celtic started with their usual intent but their efforts to hit top speed were not aided by the acrid cloud belched into the air via a section of the home support’s tiresome deployment of smoke bombs.
The air cleared soon enough, of course, but despite the heavy one-way traffic it took until after the 18th-minute ovation for Rogic for the home team to properly threaten Liam Kelly’s goal. When they did, they scored.
Protected by a low-lying five-man defence, the goalkeeper watched the ball repeatedly bounce and ricochet to safety during the opening minutes but was beaten when Kyogo decided to force the issue.
A Jota corner sparked the problem, defender Victor Nirrenold botching the execution of a clearance and sending the ball spinning into the Japanese’s orbit at the back post.
Kyogo took a touch, apparently setting himself for a pass but instead whipped the ball in at the near post before Kelly could react.
Motherwell tried to muster a response. Callum Slattery flashed a shot wide and a patient, intelligent move involving Stephen O’Donnell and Joe Efford deserved better than Dean Cornelius’s sclaffed finish.
A Motherwell corner actually prompted the lightning counter from which Rogic nearly completed the perfect goodbye. Hart’s long ball picked out Jota on the left and winger’s cross found Rogic on the stretch.
The shot beat Kelly but came back off the post, a sign that fate doesn’t always follow the fairytale.
Instead, it was left to one of the Aussie’s successors to extend the lead.
Turnbull’s goal was Rogicesque in its execution. Having pounced on possession 20 yards out the midfielder sold Ricki Lamie on a feint to the outside, instead cutting in and round and placing a low finish that wouldn’t have been out of place on a five-a-side pitch. No 3 was the pick of the bunch, a near reprise of the goal that clinched the League Cup at Hampden in December.
Tony Ralston slung what looked a speculative ball over the top but the intent was clear as Kyogo came flashing across Jake Carroll’s blindside to take the ball on the drop and cushion a volleyed finish beyond Kelly.
Acquired for a £4.6 million outlay to Vissel Kobe last July,
Kyogo was Postecoglou’s marquee signing and has delivered appropriately.
This double took the 27-year-old onto the 20-goal mark for the season, a fine return for someone who spent a full three months out with a hamstring injury.
The onslaught continued after half-time with Carl Starfelt and
Daizen Maeda inches away from scoring at the back post before a heavy touch from Maeda inadvertently assisted Jota for a drilled finish.
The hour mark brought the changing of the guard.
A quadruple substitution saw Greg Taylor, Turnbull and Kyogo join Rogic in departing the fray and the others stepped back to allow the man of the day to make his dignified exit.
Once dubbed ‘the magic man’ by Brendan Rodgers, Rogic was visibly moved as he accepted the hugs and handshakes of his team-mates as the crowd noise built up to a crescendo.
Just as Kyogo has been hampered by injuries, so Giorgos Giakoumakis spent the first half of the campaign fending off muscular issues.
Top scorer in the Dutch Eredivisie last term, the Greek has proven to be another value Postecoglou purchase. Just as he took up the striking slack in the early part of 2022, he symbolically took the baton from Kyogo in this game, too. The £2.5m frontman completed the rout with a double, the first an improvised overhead effort after he’d held off O’Donnell to make contact with Liam Donnelly’s attempted clearance.
Bitton was on the pitch for the last act, Giakoumakis eventually bundling in Maeda’s knockdown to round off the season with the very last kick of the game.
As Callum McGregor waited to hoist the Premiership silverware, Postecoglou addressed the crowd thanking the 60,000 for embracing him, his family (far left) and even his trademark jumper.
‘We will come back bigger and better,’ he vowed. ‘Because we never stop.’