Tomas Cvancara insists he relished handling the ‘big pressure’ of stepping up and taking Celtic’s winning penalty at Ibrox yesterday afternoon…
Celtic’s objective heading into the contest was a place in the Scottish Cup semi-finals, and it was Tomas Cvancara who ultimately delivered it in the decisive moment.
With neither side able to find a breakthrough across 120 minutes, the tie was settled from the penalty spot where the Hoops showed composure under pressure at the wrong end of the stadium. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Auston Trusty and Reo Hatate all converted their efforts to put Celtic firmly in control of the shootout.
That left Cvancara with the opportunity to seal victory after the Ibrox club had squandered two of their own attempts courtesy of James Tavernier and Djeidi Gassama.
The Czech forward made no mistake, calmly sending his strike low into the corner beyond Jack Butland, who had dived the opposite way, ensuring Celtic’s 4–2 advantage in the shootout where they will now face St Mirren at the national stadium next month.
Speaking via Celtic TV, Cvancara said: “I feel happy that we got through to the semi-final. Obviously it was a difficult game, but sometimes it’s not about how beautifully we play, but it’s about who is the winner in the end.
“And we showed again that we have the character to win these games and I am happy for the team. It’s not in doubt that we didn’t create a lot of chances, maybe we can play a little bit faster in the counter attacks.”
Cvancara added: “But, as I said, I’m just happy that we showed we have very good character. And even though we didn’t play the nicest football, we still keep winning and this is most important, not just for the title race but also for the cup games.
“To be honest, I just knew that it would be a big pressure. This can happen so you have to be ready for that moment. So, I was just clearing the head and thinking about doing the maximum to focus on the penalty.”
Conor Spence
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