2024-08-18: Celtic 3-1 Hibernian, League Cup

Match Pictures | Matches: 2024 – 2025

Trivia

KO: 15:00, Premier Sports TV
Premier Sports Cup – League Cup, 2nd Round, round of 16, Celtic had a bye due to Europe.
Decent attendance for a 3pm Sunday match, ~47k.
Kuhn kas scored three games in a row! Maeda double (he was lead striker in starting line-up), but Hatate was best on the pitch.
Kyogo out injured today. “Surgery will… but it’s only he that can decide that. But listen he’s a 30-year old man now, he can decide what he wants to do”. Brendan Rodgers says Kyogo has opted against getting surgery that would fix his ongoing shoulder issue. He would be out for four months.
Celtic womens’ team: 1-0 win v Glasgow City via penalty (Craig) in the league.
Hearts stunned with defeat to second tier Falkirk, but biggest shock was fourth tier Spartans defeating top tier Ross County! Sevco 2-0 win v St Johnstone, with a controversial VAR decision for the first, and then bizarrely the players in front of a sparse crowd celebrated like as if they’d won the cup!
Quarter-final draw Motherwell v Dundee United Aberdeen v The Spartans Rangers v Dundee Celtic v Falkirk
Transfers so far this summer:
In: return of loanees like Lawal, Tilio, Haksabonovic; Viljami from Aston Villa (est £1m); Kasper Schmeichel from Anderlecht (free as was out of contract); Bernardo from Benfica (est £3.5m + addons); Idah from Norwich (est £8m plus addons);
Out: Idah back to Norwich after loan ended; Bernardo back to Benfica after loan ended; Haksabanovic to Malmö (undisclosed); Rocco Vata to Watford (£250k compensation); Tilio sent back on loan to Melbourne City (Australia) for 2024/25; Oh sold to Genk (£4.5m); Ben Siegrist to Rapid Bucharest (free); James McCarthy contract ended early (free); upto £6-8m bid by Celtic for Idah; Dane Murray loan to Championship side Queens Park. Bosun Lawal to Stoke City (est £3m); Hyeokkyu Kwon to Hibernian on season-long loan.
Reports: Celtic enquired about price tag for Liverpool left-back Owen Beck. Celtic rumoured to be interested in Norwich right sided attacker Abu Kamara. Celtic eye Kristoffer Lund. Celta Vigo’s Peruvian midfielder Renato Tapia linked with Celtic (not convincing link). Arne Engelsn €10m wonderkid from Augsburg. Monitoring Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo. Dundee midfielder Luke McCowan. Switzerland U21 international Alvyn Sanches (albeit was out with serious knee injury for a while last season!). Brendan Rodgers says clubs have shown interest in Mikey Johnston. Celtic made an inquiry about Ajax left-back Owen Wijndal. Venezia Tanner Tessmann.
Reports: Atalanta return with fifth bid for Matt O’Riley but still less than Celtic’s demands so again knocked back! Appear to be possibly pulling out so looking elsewhere. Atalanta have conceded defeat in their pursuit. Southampton manager Russel Martin confirmed his side pulled out of the race as did not meet Celtic’s valuation. Brighton also withdraw but some reports claim otherwise (although they have way overspent already).
Adam Idah signs permanent move to Celtic from Norwich after protracted wrangling, for est £8m plus addons.
Daniel Kelly to join Millwall in January after rejecting 4yr deal at Celtic. Millwall finished 13th in the second tier last season but Kelly not expected to go straight in their team.
Bosun Lawal after not convincing in summer friendlies with Celtic, signed for an eye-watering sum of £3m to Stoke City.
Girona sign Aberdeen striker Bojan Miovski (he was a target for Celtic too) for £6.8m.
Ex-Celt Tony Watt returns to Motherwell on a season-long loan from Dundee United.
Feyenoord agree loan for reported Celtic target Hugo Bueno from Wolves.
Former Manchester United coach Rene Meulensteen says he believes that Celtic are held back by the overall standard in the Scottish Premiership.
Champions League: Sevco ko’ed after losing 2-0 to Dynamo Kiev at Hampden (1-3 agg). Billy Dodds on Radio Scotland claims cheating by officials wrt a red (second yellow) card for a Sevco player. Irony overload.
No Sevco fans at upcoming Glasgow derby at Celtic Park. Over the summer, Celtic spent money on agreed safety/match experience measures after talks with SPFL, police etc but haven’t been guaranteed that Sevco will have the same in place for new year derby, or that Sevco even will be back at Ibrox by then!
Sevco sack their marketing guru after Sevco fans reveal he’s a Celtic fan and then show some of his past social posts etc etc.

Summary

“We want to win every trophy and the next game is the most important. We were disappointed last season, but the team’s in a much better place now.” Brendan Rodgers

“When I joined Celtic, I wanted to play in the Champions League. After that, my ambition is the national team.”
Kuhn this is the sort of ambition we like to see in our players!

“We started the game ever so well, with the tempo and speed we wanted. We got the goals early on and then we continued in that manner. ‘Over the course of the game, the speed of our play, the attacking moments, we looked very good and we played very well.’ “We weren’t troubled too much. Every throw in was coming in to the box and deep free-kicks were coming in to the box, but I thought we dealt with that well.”
Brendan Rodgers

Fatboab of KDS:
Very decent performance despite appalling refereeing. We should be scoring more, and just a bit carelessness with the final ball cost us on a few occasions. Maeda is just ridiculous. His energy is off the scale and he looks like a natural through the middle. Bernardo will shine this season, and Schmeichel is a bit of calm authority at the back. All the sign are there.
Back the Manager and see where he takes us.

jbj712 of KDS:
we played flat out for 90 minutes we could score double figures against most team in the league.
When we attack at pace we are good to watch.
If we sign the players Rodgers wants we will be streets ahead of anything in Scotland and might actually give teams a game in the CL.
Over to the muppets above him unfortunately I have absolutely no faith in them delivering the goods as they’re the Chinese steel merchants of the football world.
Special shout out to Daizen the guy is a happy hun slaying machine. Captain Disappointed will be hoping that we play him at CF in two weeks time.

Inside The SPFL @AgentScotland Reo Hatate was outstanding this afternoon, the zip in his passes, the workrate, the unselfish running, the way he always creates a couple of yards of space, just a really good performance.Inside The SPFL @AgentScotland · 2h Some difference in Nicolas Kühn so far this season, he looks stronger, and while he still doesn’t go on the outside anywhere near enough, he looks a lot more confident when he’s cutting inside.

Teams

Celtic:

Manager: Brendan Rodgers

Formation: 4 – 3 – 3

1, K. Schmeichel
3, G. Taylor
5, L. Scales
20, C. Carter-Vickers 33′, Yellow Card at 33 minutes
2, A. Johnston
41, R. Hatate, substituted for Paulo Bernardo at 82 minutes
42, C. McGregor (c), Captain
33, M. O’Riley
49, J. Forrest, substituted for A. Idah at 60 minutes
38, D. Maeda, substituted for Yang Hyun-Jun at 72 minutes
10, N. Kühn, substituted for L. Palma at 81 minutes

away team,

Subs:

28,Paulo Bernardo
15,O. Holm
9,A. Idah
7,L. Palma
56,A. Ralston
12,V. Sinisalo
66,F. Turley
57,S. Welsh
13,Yang Hyun-Jun

Goals:

D. Maeda Goal 4 minutes, Goal 15 minutes
N. Kühn

Assists:

N. Kühn (15′)

Hibernian

Manager: David Gray

Formation: 5 – 3 – 2

1, J. Bursik
5, W. O’Hora
4, M. Ekpiteta, substituted for C. Cadden at 63 minutes
33, R. Bushiri
21, J. Obita
2, L. Miller
11,J. Newell (c), Captain
L. Amos 91′, substituted for L. Amos at 91 minutes
32,J. Campbell
22,N. Moriah-Welsh 2′, Yellow Card at 2 minutes, substituted for N. Cadden at 46 minutes
99, M. Kukharevych, substituted for K. Bowie at 63 minutes
10,M. Boyle, substituted for R. Molotnikov at 77 minutes

Subs:

35, R. Molotnikov
14, L. Amos
20, K. Bowie
19, N. Cadden
12, C. Cadden
6, D. Levitt
17, H. McKirdy
27, K. Megwa
13, J. Smith

Goals:M. Kukharevych
Assists:M. Boyle (34′)

Ref: Clancy
Att: 47,370

Articles

Match Report (see below)

Pictures

Match Pictures

Match Links

Stats

Overall Possession
Celtic 61%Hibernian 39%

Shots
Celtic 12Hibernian 4

Shots on target
Celtic 7Hibernian 2

Shots off target
Celtic 4Hibernian 1

Blocked shots
Celtic 1Hibernian 1

Goalkeeper saves
Celtic 1Hibernian 4

Fouls
Celtic 13Hibernian 9

Corners
Celtic 6Hibernian 2

Articles

Maeda at the double as Celtic brush aside Hibs in Premier Sports Cup

https://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/soccer/arid-41458315.html
Maeda started up front after Japan team-mate Kyogo Furuhashi dropped out with the shoulder injury he suffered during Celtic’s 2-0 win over Hibs the previous weekend.
Maeda at the double as Celtic brush aside Hibs in Premier Sports Cup

Celtic’s Daizen Maeda after the Premier Sports Cup match at Celtic Park, Glasgow. Picture date: Sunday August 18, 2024. PA Photo. See PA story SOCCER Celtic. Photo credit should read: Steve Welsh/PA Wire.
Sun, 18 Aug, 2024 – 17:12
Gavin McCafferty

Stand-in striker Daizen Maeda scored an early double as Celtic moved into the Premier Sports Cup quarter-finals with a 3-1 victory over Hibernian.

Mykola Kuharevich pulled a goal back for Hibs before half-time, but the visitors paid the price for a poor attempt to play the ball out from the back as Nicolas Kuhn restored Celtic’s two-goal lead.

Maeda started up front after Japan team-mate Kyogo Furuhashi dropped out with the shoulder injury he suffered during Celtic’s 2-0 win over Hibs the previous weekend.

Republic of Ireland striker Adam Idah started on the bench following his big-money move from Norwich.

Hibs held out only 60 seconds longer than in the league match as Celtic took the lead inside four minutes.

Reo Hatate made the difference with a run in behind and, fed by Kuhn, the midfielder sent in a low cross which Maeda dinked over Josef Bursik after getting in front of Marvin Ekpiteta.

The second goal came in the 15th minute when Maeda ran from deep on to Kuhn’s lofted pass, kept the ball away from Ekpiteta and stabbed it past the onrushing Bursik.

Maeda came close to a hat-trick inside half-an-hour when he sent a first-time left-footed volley just over after being teed up by Hatate.

Celtic were dominant, but Hibs found their way back into the game after Cameron Carter-Vickers was booked for a strong aerial challenge on Kuharevich. The unchallenged Lithuanian striker got on the end of Martin Boyle’s free-kick to send an impressive header past Kasper Schmeichel.

James Forrest had a penalty claim rejected when he burst in between Ekpiteta and Joe Newell and went down. Referee Kevin Clancy gave a corner before VAR Andrew Dallas backed his decision.

Substitute Nicky Cadden had a shot saved by Schmeichel early in the second half, but Hibs gifted Celtic a third goal in the 56th minute after being pressed when taking a short goal-kick.

Ekpiteta was loose with his pass back to Bursik and Kuhn raced in to charge down the goalkeeper’s attempted pass and the ball ricocheted into the back of the net.

Ekpiteta was soon substituted after a miserable afternoon and the contest was effectively over.

Matt O’Riley had a shot parried by Bursik and teed up Maeda to stab the ball into the hands of the keeper under pressure.

Idah came on to a hero’s welcome but could not get a chance to open his account, while fellow substitute Luis Palma missed the best opportunity for the home team to add to their lead.

Daizen Maeda fires Celtic through, hero’s reception for Adam Idah

Updated / Sunday, 18 Aug 2024 17:31
https://www.rte.ie/sport/soccer/2024/0818/1465558-maeda-fires-celtic-thorugh-heros-reception-for-idah/

Stand-in striker Daizen Maeda scored an early double as Celtic moved into the Premier Sports Cup quarter-finals with a 3-1 victory over Hibernian.

Maeda started up front after Japan team-mate Kyogo Furuhashi dropped out with the shoulder injury he suffered during Celtic’s 2-0 win over Hibs the previous weekend. Republic of Ireland frontman Adam Idah started on the bench following his big-money move from Norwich.

Hibs held out only 60 seconds longer than in the league match as Celtic took the lead inside four minutes.

Reo Hatate made the difference with a run in behind and, fed by Kuhn, the midfielder sent in a low cross which Maeda dinked over Josef Bursik after getting in front of Marvin Ekpiteta.

The second goal came in the 15th minute when Maeda ran from deep on to Kuhn’s lofted pass, kept the ball away from Ekpiteta and stabbed it past the onrushing Bursik.

Maeda came close to a hat-trick inside half-an-hour when he sent a first-time left-footed volley just over after being teed up by Hatate.

James Forrest had a penalty claim rejected when he burst in between Ekpiteta and Joe Newell and went down. Referee Kevin Clancy gave a corner before VAR Andrew Dallas backed his decision.
Adam Idah completed a permanent switch to Celtic last week

Substitute Nicky Cadden had a shot saved by Schmeichel early in the second half, but Hibs gifted Celtic a third goal in the 56th minute after being pressed when taking a short goal-kick.

Ekpiteta was loose with his pass back to Bursik and Kuhn raced in to charge down the goalkeeper’s attempted pass and the ball ricocheted into the back of the net.

Ekpiteta was soon substituted after a miserable afternoon and the contest was effectively over.

Matt O’Riley had a shot parried by Bursik and teed up Maeda to stab the ball into the hands of the keeper under pressure.

Idah came on to a hero’s welcome but could not get a chance to open his account, while fellow substitute Luis Palma missed the best opportunity for the home team to add to their lead.

BBC

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/live/c14zj51m2ddt
Thomas Duncan
BBC Sport Scotland

Celtic set up a meeting with second-tier Falkirk in the Premier Sports Cup quarter-finals by brushing aside Hibernian for the second time in a week.

Daizen Maeda tucked in the opening goal after just three minutes and added a second barely 13 minutes later as the Premiership champions coursed with confidence.

The Japan forward had three further chances to net his hat-trick before the break, such was Celtic’s dominance.

However, Mykola Kuharevich’s superb diving header from Martin Boyle’s free-kick got David Gray’s side back in the game and shifted the momentum.

Hibs’ improvement continued into the second half, but then a horrible error from Marvin Ekpiteta undid all their good work.

The centre-back’s square pass to Josef Bursik was weak, and the Hibs goalkeeper clattered the ball into the onrushing Nicolas Kuhn, who spun away in celebration as the ball trundled into the net.

From there, any serious hopes of a comeback faded. In the absence of Kyogo Furuhashi, who was rested as he continues to manage a shoulder injury, Adam Idah came off the bench to mark his return on a permanent deal from Norwich.

That capped a productive afternoon for Celtic, who will be determined to reclaim the only domestic trophy they failed to win last term.

Their next step is a home tie with second-tier Falkirk, who knocked out Hearts in the last 16, on the weekend of 21 September.

Live Text

90 minutes plus 5
90’+5

Match ends, Celtic 3, Hibernian 1.
Full Timeat 90 minutes plus 5
90’+5

Second Half ends, Celtic 3, Hibernian 1.
Substitutionat 90 minutes plus 1
90’+1

Substitution, Hibernian. Luke Amos replaces Joe Newell.
90 minutes
90′

Foul by Yang Hyun-Jun (Celtic).
90 minutes
90′

Joe Newell (Hibernian) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
88 minutes
88′

Attempt missed. Luis Palma (Celtic) right footed shot from the centre of the box is close, but misses to the left.
87 minutes
87′

Adam Idah (Celtic) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
87 minutes
87′

Foul by Josh Campbell (Hibernian).
86 minutes
86′

Attempt blocked. Josh Campbell (Hibernian) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
85 minutes
85′

Corner, Hibernian. Conceded by Greg Taylor.
Substitutionat 82 minutes
82′

Substitution, Celtic. Paulo Bernardo replaces Reo Hatate.
Substitutionat 81 minutes
81′

Substitution, Celtic. Luis Palma replaces Nicolas Kühn.
80 minutes
80′

Cameron Carter-Vickers (Celtic) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
80 minutes
80′

Foul by Kieron Bowie (Hibernian).
79 minutes
79′

Yang Hyun-Jun (Celtic) wins a free kick on the left wing.
79 minutes
79′

Foul by Lewis Miller (Hibernian).
78 minutes
78′

Corner, Hibernian. Conceded by Alistair Johnston.
Substitutionat 77 minutes
77′

Substitution, Hibernian. Rudi Molotnikov replaces Martin Boyle.
76 minutes
76′

Foul by Reo Hatate (Celtic).
76 minutes
76′

Chris Cadden (Hibernian) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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LIVE stream page 2

Substitutionat 72 minutes
72′

Substitution, Celtic. Yang Hyun-Jun replaces Daizen Maeda.
71 minutes
71′

Cameron Carter-Vickers (Celtic) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
71 minutes
71′

Foul by Kieron Bowie (Hibernian).
71 minutes
71′

Attempt saved. Daizen Maeda (Celtic) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal.
68 minutes
68′

Foul by Alistair Johnston (Celtic).
68 minutes
68′

Lewis Miller (Hibernian) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
67 minutes
67′

Greg Taylor (Celtic) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
67 minutes
67′

Foul by Kieron Bowie (Hibernian).
65 minutes
65′

Attempt saved. Matt O’Riley (Celtic) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom right corner.
Substitutionat 63 minutes
63′

Substitution, Hibernian. Chris Cadden replaces Marvin Ekpiteta.
Substitutionat 63 minutes
63′

Substitution, Hibernian. Kieron Bowie replaces Mykola Kukharevych.
Substitutionat 60 minutes
60′

Substitution, Celtic. Adam Idah replaces James Forrest.
58 minutes
58′

Foul by Nicolas Kühn (Celtic).
58 minutes
58′

Nicky Cadden (Hibernian) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Goal!at 56 minutes
56′

Goal! Celtic 3, Hibernian 1. Nicolas Kühn (Celtic) right footed shot from very close range to the centre of the goal.
56 minutes
56′

Attempt missed. James Forrest (Celtic) right footed shot from outside the box is just a bit too high.
55 minutes
55′

Foul by Daizen Maeda (Celtic).
55 minutes
55′

Warren O’Hora (Hibernian) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
54 minutes
54′

Attempt blocked. Reo Hatate (Celtic) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
51 minutes
51′

Attempt missed. Nicolas Kühn (Celtic) left footed shot from the centre of the box is too high.

LIVE stream page 3

51 minutes
51′

Corner, Celtic. Conceded by Jordan Obita.
50 minutes
50′

Attempt saved. Nicky Cadden (Hibernian) left footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal.
47 minutes
47′

Foul by Liam Scales (Celtic).
47 minutes
47′

Mykola Kukharevych (Hibernian) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Second Halfat 46 minutes
46′

Second Half begins Celtic 2, Hibernian 1.
Substitutionat 46 minutes
46′

Substitution, Hibernian. Nicky Cadden replaces Nathan Moriah-Welsh.
Half Timeat 45 minutes plus 1
45’+1

First Half ends, Celtic 2, Hibernian 1.
44 minutes
44′

Corner, Celtic. Conceded by Warren O’Hora.
41 minutes
41′

Foul by Reo Hatate (Celtic).
41 minutes
41′

Nathan Moriah-Welsh (Hibernian) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
38 minutes
38′

Corner, Celtic. Conceded by Rocky Bushiri.
36 minutes
36′

Reo Hatate (Celtic) wins a free kick on the left wing.
36 minutes
36′

Foul by Nathan Moriah-Welsh (Hibernian).
Goal!at 34 minutes
34′

Goal! Celtic 2, Hibernian 1. Mykola Kukharevych (Hibernian) header from very close range to the high centre of the goal. Assisted by Martin Boyle.
Bookingat 33 minutes
33′

Cameron Carter-Vickers (Celtic) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
33 minutes
33′

Foul by Cameron Carter-Vickers (Celtic).
33 minutes
33′

Mykola Kukharevych (Hibernian) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
32 minutes
32′

Foul by Cameron Carter-Vickers (Celtic).
32 minutes
32′

Mykola Kukharevych (Hibernian) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
28 minutes
28′

Foul by Daizen Maeda (Celtic).

LIVE stream page 4

28 minutes
28′

Marvin Ekpiteta (Hibernian) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
27 minutes
27′

Attempt missed. Daizen Maeda (Celtic) left footed shot from the centre of the box is just a bit too high.
25 minutes
25′

Foul by James Forrest (Celtic).
25 minutes
25′

Lewis Miller (Hibernian) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
25 minutes
25′

James Forrest (Celtic) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
25 minutes
25′

Foul by Lewis Miller (Hibernian).
24 minutes
24′

Foul by Daizen Maeda (Celtic).
24 minutes
24′

Jordan Obita (Hibernian) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
23 minutes
23′

Attempt saved. Matt O’Riley (Celtic) left footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal.
21 minutes
21′

Attempt saved. Callum McGregor (Celtic) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the centre of the goal.
20 minutes
20′

Attempt missed. Warren O’Hora (Hibernian) right footed shot from outside the box misses to the right.
20 minutes
20′

Foul by Reo Hatate (Celtic).
20 minutes
20′

Lewis Miller (Hibernian) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
18 minutes
18′

Corner, Celtic. Conceded by Jordan Obita.
Goal!at 15 minutes
15′

Goal! Celtic 2, Hibernian 0. Daizen Maeda (Celtic) right footed shot from the centre of the box to the centre of the goal. Assisted by Nicolas Kühn.
13 minutes
13′

Liam Scales (Celtic) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
13 minutes
13′

Foul by Mykola Kukharevych (Hibernian).
11 minutes
11′

Corner, Celtic. Conceded by Lewis Miller.
8 minutes
8′

Corner, Celtic. Conceded by Warren O’Hora.
Goal!at 4 minutes
4′

Goal! Celtic 1, Hibernian 0. Daizen Maeda (Celtic) right footed shot from the centre of the box to the centre of the goal.

LIVE stream page 5

Bookingat 2 minutes
2′

Nathan Moriah-Welsh (Hibernian) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
1 minute
1′

Foul by Nathan Moriah-Welsh (Hibernian).
1 minute
1′

Nicolas Kühn (Celtic) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Kick Offat 1 minute
1′

First Half begins.
1 minute
1′

Lineups are announced and players are warming up.

Manager: Our performance was very good from the start

https://www.celticfc.com/news/2024/august/18/manager–/
First Team

By Matthew Campbell

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18 Aug 2024, 6:10 pm

Brendan Rodgers was impressed with his team’s performance in today’s League Cup clash with Hibernian at Celtic Park.

The Hoops cruised to a 3-1 victory to book their place in the quarter-final of the competition, where they will face another home tie, this time against Falkirk.

Speaking to Celtic TV after the match, the Celtic manager said: “I thought it was a very good performance.

“We started the game ever so well, with the tempo and speed we wanted. We got the goals early on and then we continued in that manner.

‘Over the course of the game, the speed of our play, the attacking moments, we looked very good and we played very well.’

“We weren’t troubled too much. Every throw in was coming in to the box and deep free-kicks were coming in to the box, but I thought we dealt with that well.”

Daizen Maeda was given the task of playing as Celtic’s lone striker, and he stole the show at Celtic Park, with his two first-half goals setting the tone for the match.

Speaking about the impact of the Japanese forward on today’s match, Brendan Rodgers said: “I have absolutely no doubt that he can play there. I’ve seen a lot of him with Celtic and with Japan.

“His two goals today were very good, getting to the first post which we want our strikers to do and running in behind which we want them to do. They’re two very good goals.”

The Celts will face Falkirk at Celtic Park in the last eight of the League Cup, and Brendan Rodgers says he is looking forward to the challenge of facing John McGlynn’s side.

“It doesn’t mater who you get, you want to be at home,” he said. “But I’m also glad to be able to see John McGlynn. He was a great staff member for me when I was here first time.

“It’ll be a tough game for us because they’re coming with confidence, but we’ll be ready by the time that game comes.”