Celtic are through to the Scottish League Cup final after a hard-fought 1-0 victory over defending holders St Johnstone.
It took 73 minutes for the deadlock to finally be broken, and it was substitute James Forrest – who had only been on the pitch for four minutes – who found the back of the net, firing in from close range after a Jota cross couldn’t be cleared properly.
It was a tense game with swings in momentum; Celtic started strong and had St Johnstone on the backfoot, only for Callum Davidson’s men to pile on the pressure later in the first half.
Jota, on loan from Benfica, was providing most of the chances for Celtic, giving the St Johnstone defence fits with his quick feet and incisive passing. He almost scored just two minutes into the game, darting into range before uncorking an effort that just ran wide.
Celtic keeper Joe Hart had a few nervy moments in the opening 45 minutes, including a rushed clearance that ricocheted off of Michael O’Halloran and nearly went in.
As half-time loomed, Celtic were denied what seemed to be a certain goal when Michael O’Halloran’s slid in at the last minute to block Callum McGregor’s finish.
The Hoops carried that momentum into the second half, pressing St Johnstone and always threatening a goal. However, Davidson’s men held firm and produced some stubborn defending to prevent Celtic from breaking through.
Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou, who is looking for his first piece of silverware with the club, could sense the growing frustration coming from the Celtic fans in attendance and knew he needed to make a change; thus, came on Forrest.
Bedlam ensued when he slotted the ball past keeper Zander Clark, and suddenly Celtic had their tails up. They came close to adding a second when another Jota effort took a slight deflection, while Mikey Johnston was later denied by Clark.
Postecoglou’s side, who have so often just overwhelmed opponents, had to be patient on this night and it was the brilliance of Jota which helped them snap the 11-game unbeaten run which St Johnstone were enjoying in knockout football.
They had won both domestic cup competitions last year, but Celtic dashed any hopes of them defending their League Cup title.
That is not to say St Johnstone underperformed, though. They were resolute at the back and, for the most part, looked more than capable of keeping Celtic at bay. What they lacked was an injection of creativity upfront, and their backline eventually gave way to the pressure put on by their opponents.
A look to the final match
Celtic will face Hibernian in the final of the competition, after Hibs upset ‘Rangers’ 3-1 the day after St Johnstone were defeated.
Given their standing in the league table – second, behind ‘Rangers’ – their recent win over Hibernian and overall form against them, Celtic are rightful favourites at a range of online football betting providers across the UK to prevail against them and lift the League Cup trophy in December.
At the end of October, Celtic travelled to Easter Road and dominated Hibernian to earn a convincing 3-1 victory in the Scottish Premiership. First-half goals from Anthony Ralston, Cameron Carter-Vickers and Kyogo Furuhashi were enough to put Hibs away.
Since 2010, Hibernian have only beaten Celtic on four occasions, despite the teams meeting a total of 35 times in all competitions over the past 11 years. Celtic lead their head-to-head clashes 27-7 in total, with 12 draws between the two sides since 2007.
You would have to go back to 2018 in order to find the last time Hibernian defeated Celtic, and they don’t find themselves in the finest run of form at the moment, having lost four of their last five games at the time of writing.
However, the win over ‘Rangers’ will have given Jack Ross’ men the shot in the arm they so desperately needed, ending a run of losses that has seen them come close to moving into the bottom half of the Premiership table.
It was a jaw dropping first-half hat-trick from Martin Boyle that condemned ‘Rangers’ to defeat, and it is that sort of ruthless attacking that Hibs will need to beat Celtic in the League Cup final.
That victory over ‘Rangers’ also served as revenge for a defeat they suffered at the hands of the league leaders earlier in October, proving that Hibernian can turn over teams that have recently beaten them.
The final will be played at Hampden Park in Glasgow on December 19, and both sides have seven games to play between now and then, meaning their schedules will need to be handled delicately.
Hibs boss Ross is seeking support from the SPFL to see if their run of games can be altered to allow them more time to rest and prepare for the League Cup final, though it’s unclear whether that will happen.
Either way, both managers will need to be selective with their line-ups in the weeks leading up to December 19 to ensure they can field the strongest side possible in Glasgow.
Celtic have Europa League games as well as domestic league clashes to deal with before the final, however their form against Hibernian makes them fairly comfortable favourites to lift the trophy next month.
