Celtic return to Hampden Park this Saturday for the Scottish Cup semi-final against Aberdeen. It’s Brendan Rodgers’ first visit to the national stadium since returning to Parkhead last summer after Ange Postecoglou ended his memorable two seasons in Glasgow, taking the Tottenham Hotspur job.
Brendan Rodgers had a remarkable record at Hampden and also in the Scottish Cup. He’s never lost a game in any competition at the national stadium and has also an incredible record in the Scottish Cup, again never having lost a match. And Celtic are favourites to win the Scottish Cup this season, although Aberdeen, theRangers and Hearts will all fancy their own chances.
It’s going to be an exciting weekend at Hampden with Celtic v Aberdeen on Saturday and Hearts playing theRangers on Sunday. Top online bookmakers with low minimum deposits offer great odds on the next Celtic game and this semi-final is no exception with many Celtic supporters tipping a Celtic v Hearts final. The clever money is on betting on this pairing as double to maximise returns.
Back in that memorable first season in charge in 2016/17, Brendan Rodgers’ Celtic side faced Aberdeen in both the League Cup Final and also in perhaps the most memorable of all Scottish Cup finals as his Celtic side completed a unique treble winning Invincible season.
The League Cup Final on Sunday 27 November 2016 was a one-sided affair as Derek McInnes’ Aberdeen side simply could not live with this rampant Celtic side who ran out convincing 3-0 winners. Goals from Tom Rogic and Man of the Match James Forrest gave Celtic a comfortable 2-0 lead at interval and a Moussa Dembele penalty in the second half put the icing on the cake as Brendan Rodgers lifted his first trophy as Celtic manager. It would not be his last.
By the time the two sides met again at Hampden, this time in the Scottish Cup Final on Saturday 27 May 2017, Rodgers had become the first manager ever to complete a league campaign in the Scottish Premiership undefeated as attention turned to completing an Invincible season by adding the Scottish Cup to the season’s trophy haul to complete a first ever Invincible Treble.
This time though Aberdeen were determined to make a game of it and it was Irishman Jonny Hayes, who thundered the ball into the Celtic net, arriving late in the box for a corner kick, much to the shock of the huge Celtic support inside the National Stadium. The Aberdeen joy was short-lived as this Celtic side refused to yield. Stuart Armstrong fired the ball into the Aberdeen net with a low drive from the edge of the box before the Aberdeen supporters had finished their own celebrations.
All square at the internal and in the second half both sides could have scored the second goal that looked like being the winner. Both passed up their chances. As the game progressed Celtic began to dominate but Aberdeen stood firm and repelled attack after attack as the tension amongst both sets of supporters was through the roof.
Then it happened. Perhaps the most memorable of all Scottish Cup final goals. Lightning stuck the Hampden pitch just behind Tom Rogic who picked up possession and drove at the Aberdeen defence. On he went, working his magic but the angle looked impossibly tight. Not for the Wizard of Oz though, for him nothing was ever impossible.
The dink past Joe Lewis, the realisation that the ball was in the net, that the Invincible Treble had been won, the iconic Rogic celebrations, the Celtic supporters in tears, the sheer undiluted joy as this Celtic side achieved what no other, including the Lisbon Lions, had done by going through an entire season undefeated – Invincible and winning all three trophies.
It’s Celtic versus Aberdeen in the Scottish Cup this weekend. This time it’s a semi-final and for Brendan Rodgers it will be an extra special occasion as he returns to a stadium that has been so good to him as Celtic manager the first time around. He’ll be looking to pick up where he left off and take his side into the Scottish Cup Final on 25 May, such an iconic date in the history of this iconic football club.
INVINCIBLE by Matt Corr
The full story of Brendan Rodgers’ remarkable season is told in Matt Corr’s wonderful book INVINCIBLE which is available now on Celtic Star Books for just £10 plus postage. Your copy will be signed by the author. And if you tell us your t-shirt size we’ll do our best to include one of these beauties below with your order. (Only for UK sales due to postage costs). Click on the image to order. Please click on the GREEN ADD TO CART box and ignore the yellow Paypal boxes (that’s work in progress). The GREEN ADD TO CART button will take you to the check-out to purchase. TELL US YOUR T-SHIRT SIZE IN NOTES.
