I’m sure that Neil Lennon and Shane Duffy and a few others will be willing to accept the apologies of those who have so maligned them. But my prize for the idiot of the week must go to the chap who asked the question on the BBC Scottish football website about whether winning the quadruple treble still meant so much for Celtic.
I wonder who dreamt up that rubbish? You bet, it still means as much! We will never tire of seeing Celtic lifting silverware. I have already decided what I want from Santa Claus for Christmas! It might be a day or two earlier, but what does that matter?
But to the game. An outstanding first half with one great goal, and another goal that was almost as good. Ryan Christie’s goal was in the same bracket as his goal against Aberdeen in the League Cup final of 2018/19. It was an outstanding piece of football, and I was glad to see Tom Rogic involved in both goals.Moi Elyounoussi’s goal was also out of the top drawer.
What a strike this is👏👏 https://t.co/eyY0wF9ugK
— Chris Sutton (@chris_sutton73) November 1, 2020
It was an excellent 45 minutes. It was Celtic playing like Celtic. Gone was this fear and sitting back and letting the opposition dictate things. We were not spooked. We seized the game by the scruff of the neck.
The second half was flatter but still competent. A few errors came into the defensive play, but Aberdeen were too demoralised to take advantage of such blemishes, and if they ever did, there were enough Celtic men around to cover. Duffy and Nir Bitton were immense, dealing particularly well with balls in the air, and the two full backs (if I’m allowed to call them that) Jeremie Frimpong and Diego Laxalt were good as well. I think Diego Laxalt has now won his spurs for Celtic. He will get better as well, I am convinced.
It was nice to see the Coronavirus men Odsonne Edouard and Hatem Elhamed back (for more reasons than one) and both did well. Callum McGregor and Scott Brown were good as well, and all in all, there was very little to be upset about – and we still have more men to come back from injury!
So Hearts in the final. I must say that I hope Willie Collum is not the referee – we couldn’t cope with all these penalties that he keeps giving! – and it will be a tough game, but we should pull through. Talking about referees, I felt that some of Don Robertson’s decisions were baffling today. Not that it mattered. It was one of these games where Celtic were so much on top that it didn’t really matter.
🔴 @AberdeenFC manager Derek McInnes is ruing missed chances after his side’s Scottish Cup Semi-Final loss to Celtic
🗣 “You lose two goals in quick succession, it’s really disappointing.” pic.twitter.com/GyRW5y2ShL
— Premier Sports 📺 (@PremierSportsTV) November 1, 2020
And so Aberdeen blow up again when it really matters for them. Derek McInnes gave a refreshingly honest interview, it has to be said, but his players let him down. Or were they just simply outplayed? The commentators were all good, I thought. Very incisive, although Ally McCoist had a touch of the girlish giggles at one point near the end! Michael Stewart’s analysis is usually 100% spot on.
But the main thing is the pleasing sound of silence from the anti-Neil Lennon Brigade. He is our Manager and we must back him as he goes for our 12th domestic trophy in a row. It could even be 15 by the end of the season! Short term however, we have Sparta Prague on Thursday and Motherwell on Sunday. I am looking forward to both.
🍀 @CelticFC manager Neil Lennon is pleased with both the result and performance in his team’s 2-0 Scottish Cup Semi-Final win
🗣 “We looked more like ourselves.” pic.twitter.com/SqxNqqNOqt
— Premier Sports 📺 (@PremierSportsTV) November 1, 2020
Oh, and before our game appeared on Premier Sports, I watched another game played in Ayrshire on SKY TV. I think I can say with confidence that Celtic were the best of all four Scottish teams. Agreed?
David Potter
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