TWO TIMES THREE FOR JUBILANT CELTS
Parkhead stars crush Motherwell to win the cup and back to back trebles
With a straight arm lift of the Scottish Cup and against a backdrop, fittingly, of Just Can’t Get Enough, Brendan Rodgers last night acknowledged his ascension to greatness.
The Hoops victory at the national stadium made the Northern Irishman the only manager ever to lead a Scottish team to the Double Treble.
And that meant where before he had parity with the club’s icons Jock Stein and Martin O’neill, now he stands as first among equals.
“This is a day that will last forever,” he said.
“I said before the game, there is not too many days you wake up in your life with a chance of creating history. It is not going to be easy but if we play how we can play then we can make a memory that is going to last with us and with the supporters for the rest of their lives. And they did that.
“Scotland is a great footballing country with a whole raft of great players and managers down the years.
“It is because they have been all different eras in the great history of the game up here.
“Certain teams have dominated, others haven’t and then it has flipped, but in all that time it was never achieved.
“My satisfaction is for the club as a whole, the joy it will give people.
“They won’t get too much praise, though, because for teams like ourselves, it’s not so much the punches to the head and body that stop you, it’s the pats on the back.
“And personally? It will probably take time for me to enjoy it fully but right now it is still a special feeling.”
The 133rd Scottish Cup Final was welcomed in with an atmosphere so thunderous it was understandable both sides started as if they were overloaded with adrenaline.
It was clear in the over-hit passes and the jittery, tentative play of defenders such as Kris Ajer and Dedryck Boyata.
Celtic, though, were soon to grab a command they never relinquished thanks to a couple of tremendous goals.
Mikael Lustig swung a deep ball in from the right which was headed out to the edge of the box by Tom Aldred.
From there it was a question of who wanted it most and the answer was most definitely Callum Mcgregor.
Darting between two Motherwell bodies he teed himself up with a touch from his left foot before hitting a screamer past Trevor Carson with his right.
Almost as impressive, albeit in a different way, was the second. Moussa Dembele, back to goal, showed great strength to hold the ball up until he was able to roll a pass into the path of his late arriving fellow Frenchman, Olivier Ntcham. And where Mcgregor’s score stood out for its power, the former Manchester City man’s finish was all about technique and placement as he sent a low, slow strike skimming into the far corner of the net.
It was significant the goals came from Celtic midfielders. Through the deployment of a back three – Ajer, Boyata and Lustig – Rodgers was able to both push Tierney on and flood the central area with late arriving goal threats.
Motherwell couldn’t cope and it was no surprise to see manager Stephen Robinson make a change, switching Richard Tait over to try and nullify Tierney.
And, doubtless encouraged that the move helped a bit, he mixed things up again at the break putting three of his own players – Ryan Bowman, Curtis Main and Chris Cadden – up against the Celtic back three.
It did give them something to think about, and sub Gael Bigirimana hit the crossbar with a free kick drawn by Cadden, the suspicion was that by then they were up against an opponent who believed the majority of their work had already been done. Dembele could, and probably should, have made it three when presented with two decent opportunities but credit was due to Motherwell keeper Trevor Carson for denying him.
In the end it made no difference. Not to the score and not to the open-top bus parade which awaited Scotland’s first ever Double Treble winners.
“I thought we lost the game in the first 20, 25 minutes, we didn’t go right against them as we planned to,” was Motherwell manager Stephen Robinson’s verdict.
“But I have to give credit to the youngest squad in the league for putting on that second half display. “We had numerous chances and hit the crossbar so I couldn’t be prouder. They are young boys and will only get better.”