THE VITAL SPARK
Best feeling of my career, says Celts’ Magic Man after he conjures a flash of genius to win Treble
TOM ROGIC didn’t see the fork of electricity that illuminated the Glasgow sky as he drew back his right foot, but the Australian produced a lightning bolt all of his own with the finish that secured an historic Treble for Celtic.
Thrown into the eye of a Scottish Cup storm after team-mate Kieran Tierney was forced off with a nasty mouth injury, substitute Rogic claimed hero status with the stoppage-time strike that secured a third trophy of the season for Brendan Rodgers and his players.
In scenes reminiscent of David Gray’s late winner for Hibernian in last year’s final, the ecstatic match-winner ran beyond the corner flag to celebrate with the Celtic fans congregated at the junction of Hampden’s east and south stands.
The 24-year-old, also a scorer when Celtic defeated yesterday’s opponents Aberdeen in the League Cup final last November, admitted the feeling surpassed anything he has previously experienced in the game.
‘It feels pretty good to score the winner — in fact, it’s an amazing feeling,’ said Rogic, nicknamed ‘Magic Man’ by Rodgers. ‘It hasn’t really sunk in yet, to be honest.
‘It’s a perfect end to what has been a special season. To go unbeaten domestically, to get the Treble, it’s something that we will look back on for ever.
‘I didn’t know there was lightning, but maybe it was meant to be. It’s hard to describe what it feels like to score a goal like that and then jump into the crowd.
‘It’s probably the best feeling you can have on the football pitch. I have scored a couple of late goals for Celtic, but nothing comes close to that.
‘It was an amazingly proud moment for me.’
Rogic spent a chunk of the season out with an ankle injury and has not been a regular starter since returning in April, but grew in influence as yesterday’s final developed and the Aberdeen players tired.
The goal was an individual effort that saw him first draw Anthony O’Connor into a tackle and then accept Andrew Considine’s invitation to move on to his weaker foot as he moved into striking
distance. Rogic learned his trade playing futsal and the finish was straight from the five-aside pitch, a clipped shot that beat goalkeeper Joe Lewis, who had been having a smashing game, at his near post.
‘I just wanted to be positive with the ball,’ said Rogic. ‘It opened up for me and then it was all just a blur. I can’t really remember what happened after that.
‘I finished with my right peg and then I was off…’
On a day that featured pouring rain, sunshine and finally that thunderstorm, this truly was an occasion for all seasons and one in which Aberdeen played a full part.
The feeling that both teams were throwing everything at the match only added to the drama and, although Rogic would rather have done without the stress, he conceded there is no better way to win a game than with a last-minute intervention.
‘We would rather have won the game 3-0 but, when you get the goal so late, it makes it even sweeter,’ he admitted. ‘We would have liked to be cruising. But we got our reward in the end.’
The withdrawal of Tierney, caught by the arm of Dons striker Jayden Stockley, disrupted Celtic as Callum McGregor was taken out of midfield and asked to deputise at left-back.
‘I didn’t expect to come on so quickly and it wasn’t good to see KT go off,’ added Rogic. ‘He’s a massive part of what we have done and it maybe rocked us a bit.
‘But, in the second half, we showed our quality and had a number of chances to put it to bed.
‘I didn’t start but it’s not about me. It’s about the squad. Everyone is together. It’s been a long season — almost 60 games — and so to do it like that was special.’