Dundee United 0 Celtic 3 – Here’s David Potter’s Post Match Thoughts as Celtic join Hearts, Hibs and theRangers in the Scottish Cup semi-finals. Apparently this is the first time ever that these four clubs* have all been in the Scottish Cup semi-finals at the same time! David Potter has actually written a book about the Scottish Cup so he’ll correct this if it is not the case…

Celtic will play theRangers probably the day after Hearts play Hibs at Hampden middle of next month…

* theRangers are a Phoenix club founded by Charles Green, apparently neither his club or the previous now defunct club have been in the Scottish Cup semi-finals alongside Celtic, Hearts and Hibs.

Here’s David Potter’s take on last night’s comfortable win for Celtic at Tannadice…

It seems a strange thing to say, but last night’s game was a bit of an anti-climax from a pure football point of view. I have to admit to having had qualms about this one, feeling that there had to be a shock somewhere in the Scottish Cup, and there couldn’t really be the symmetry of Glasgow and Edinburgh in the semi-finals. But Celtic turned on a thoroughly professional performance, and the game was comfortable, to say the least.

The time was when Dundee United at Tannadice was one of the best fixtures in the calendar. They usually flopped miserably in Glasgow, but they were usually so terrified of old Jim McLean that they put up a great show at home. A draw at Tannadice was often considered a good result by Celtic. Not so now. If anything, their best performances are at Parkhead where we see the grim, ghostly influence of Jim McLean in their determination to hold out for a boring draw.

And once again, we had the spectacle of empty seats as the Home Support were given three sides of the ground including that claustrophobic and insanitary “Shed”. When are clubs going to “wise up” to this, as Livingston did the other week? Empty seats are no use to anyone, particularly when there are thousands of fans willing to occupy them and pay money! I will not listen to stories about poverty in football clubs as long as this happens!

Without being brilliant, Celtic were more than competent and always on top. We would have liked to see a good goal. As it was, the three of them were scrappy, untidy affairs – but that is not to denigrate the scorers. Callum was of course quite right to shoot from the edge of the box – anything can happen in a crowded penalty area, and did! – and Giakoumakis was simply a predatory striker in the right place at the right time, even though neither of his goals is going to win the goal of the season competition. Giorgos may yet end up being “gorgeous Giorgos”, and we have now almost forgiven him for that awful penalty against Livingston.

Reo Hatate was possibly lucky not to get the long walk. I am not saying that I agree with the rule that such challenges should automatically be a red card, but one has to say that if that poor Motherwell chap deserved a red card in the first minute against Hibs, so too did Reo. Don’t do it again, Reo! Say thank you to Mr Beaton the next time you see him, but also tell him to brush up his knowledge of the rules of handball. That was certainly a goal in terms of the current law.

And so we move on. It now seems to be a tradition that you always get a buffoon to do the draw for the next round of the Scottish Cup, but the man duly drew out the one that all the know-alls told you would not happen because they would “be kept apart for the final”. It might be not a bad game, that one!

All this means that Celtic have now ten games to play if we make the confident statement that we will be in the Scottish Cup final on 21 May. Ten games to play, and three of them will be against our rivals, funnily enough one each at the three big Glasgow grounds. They are not going to be quiet, sedate, sleepy affairs, but first things first, Ross County at Parkhead on Saturday. and I don’t think I have to remind you that they have given us a wee bit of bother in the past.

David Potter