New bhoys please Kennedy
A 76th minute penalty from Patrik Twardzik settled the match although whether Dunfermline will be in business for a Hampden date on May 2 remains to be seen.
It’s the fourth year running that Celtic have reached the final but without Joe Chalmers, Marcus Fraser, John Herron and Denny Johnstone some new faces were given their chance to impress.
Defenders Eoghan O’Connell and Calum Waters stepped into defence to replace Chalmers and Fraser with Kennedy pleased by the way that they came through the challenge.
“Calum is an u-17 and I couldn’t fault him,” the hoops coach said. “Kilmarnock’s biggest threat was down our left but Calum stuck at it and showed the attitude that we want.
“He showed a willingness to dig in when it was tough and Eoghan O’Connell and Stuart Findlay handed their striker well. Eoghan was excellent, his use of the ball was first class, I couldn’t fault our defending.
“I’d liked to have played higher up the pitch with more of a threat but that never quite materialised. Patrik took the penalty well and we’re pleased to be in the final.”
Kennedy added: “We’re delighted to be at Hampden again to try and retain the cup. We’re going quite well in the league without performing as well as we’d like but we’re still getting the results.
“There’s a lot of competition for places, it’s not a case of the older players getting a game, it’s performance based, you have to earn the right to play.
“We want everybody fighting for places in the team by showing a hunger and desire to improve themselves and that’ll make the selection decision much tougher.”
On Wednesday Celtic travel to face St Johnstone with the game kicking off at 7pm.
CLICK HERE for Celtic 1-0 Kilmarnock match report
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