Celtic went to Tannadice last night in what looked like a potentially tricky cup tie which was due to be played on a sub standard pitch, against a team which has proved a tough task to defeat for either Glasgow side this season. With theRangers, Hearts and Hibs all already confirmed as semi finalists, there was only one spot remaining and Celtic were determined to be in the hat with the Treble dream still alive.
The game started off as widely anticipated, with the Dundee United players getting in the faces of the opposition but their game plan was out the window after just 12 minutes when Callum McGregor opened the scoring for the away side. Celtic took a corner that had obviously been well drilled on the practice ground, passing the ball to the edge of the area where the Celtic captains low drive took a deflection before nestling into the back of the net.
I have been at pains all season deriding our lack of threat from the multiple corners we get in each game, the ball usually looped in hopelessly towards our diminutive attackers as Scottish defenders make easy work of the clearances. This was an imaginative alternative and something we should definitely try utilising in the future. This early lead seemed to knock the confidence out of Dundee United and truth be told they never really looked like getting back into the tie beyond this point.
Reo Hatate’s tackle around the 30 minute mark was unnecessary and although a yellow card was the correct decision, someone may need to have a word with Hatate and remind him that the officials in Scotland don’t need any encouragement to send a Celtic player off and tackles such as this give them the perfect excuse. The Japanese midfielder has seemed to have lost his way a bit lately after a blistering start. Hopefully he can reignite his form as we enter the tail end of a hugely important season.
Shortly afterwards it looked like the game could be over as a contest before half time as Daizen Maeda squeezed a shot in from close range but the ball had come his way via the arm of Giorgos Giakoumakis. It clearly wasn’t a deliberate action from the big Greek striker and the rulebook states that in such an incident the goal should stand. Unfortunately Mr Beaton must be spending more time reading up on theRangers latest news than the rulebook these days, so wrongly disallowed the goal.
Should Daizen Maeda’s disallowed goal have stood for Celtic? 🤔@darrellcurrietv, @mstewart_23 and @chris_sutton73 discuss 🗣️
“There’s no way that that is a deliberate hand ball.” 🖐️ pic.twitter.com/ddwRQsCB3R
— Premier Sports (@PremierSportsTV) March 14, 2022
As we entered the second half and although Celtic only had a one goal lead, it did feel like the chances of the home team getting back into the game were minimal. Just over ten minutes later and it surely was game over. Giakoumakis pouncing on an error by the usually reliable Ben Siegrist in the Tannadice goal to make it 2-0. The game would be fully wrapped up on the 88th minute as the Greek striker once again showed his predatory instincts as he got the final touch after great work by young substitute Karamoko Dembele.
This was a workman like performance by Celtic on a bad pitch, leaving with a 3-0 win and a place in the semi final is more than could be asked for however I have to say the overall performance left me slightly underwhelmed. After having over a week on the training ground preparing for this I felt pre match that we would come out looking like a team revitalised but a lot of our play actually seemed quite disjointed. Anyway that’s just me being pedantic. Job done and treble dream still intact.
One player who was at the top of his game last night was Callum McGregor. The Celtic captain seemed to be everywhere, dictating play throughout and was truly the driving force behind everything good that Celtic produced. On such occasions it’s blatantly clear how important he is to club, we should all be mightily relieved that the facial injury he received a few weeks ago wasn’t quite as bad as first feared and the captain was brave enough to play through the pain barrier as he recovered.
Also have to mention the contribution yet again of Giorgos Giakoumakis who is becoming something we haven’t had in a long time, a proper goal poacher who seems to always be in the right place at the right time. The Greek striker can frustrate at times and does seem to pass up good opportunities during the game but somehow always manages to make amends. He really does seem to have a knack of popping up in the right areas and that attribute can be crucial during tight games when even the most skillful of our players are finding it tough to create opportunities.
Onto Hampden now and a semi final against theRangers as we look to book our spot in the showpiece on 21st May. I’m actually glad we are meeting them at this stage as I would rather they not be involved in the final where we will hopefully be aiming to complete a magical treble that not many could have foreseen at the start of the season. Hopefully a nice win at Ibrox in a couple of weeks time will be the perfect build up to a huge cup game at the national stadium.
Bring it on.
Conall McGinty
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