Celtic 3 - 1 Inverness CT

Scottish Cup - Final
Saturday, June 3rd, 2023, 5:30 PM at Hampden Park, Glasgow
Attendance: 47,247
Referee: John Beaton
Celtic Inverness CT

Goalscorers
Kyogo Furuhashi (38)
Liel Abada (65)
Neves Filipe Jota (90+1)
Daniel Mackay (84)

Team Managers
Ange Postecoglou Billy Dodds

Starting Eleven
Joe Hart
Alistair Johnston
Tomoki Iwata
Carl Starfelt
Greg Taylor
Matt O'Riley
Callum McGregor
Reo Hatate
Neves Filipe Jota
Kyogo Furuhashi
Daizen Maeda
Mark Ridgers
Wallace Duffy
Cameron Harper
Robbie Deas
Daniel Devine
Sean Welsh
Scott Allardice
David Carson
Nathan Shaw
Jay Henderson
Billy Mckay

Bench
Ben Siegrist
Liel Abada
David Turnbull
James Forrest
Sead Haksabanovic
Oh Hyeon-Gyu
Anthony Ralston
Stephen Welsh
Alexandro Bernabei
Cameron Mackay
Zak Delaney
Roddy MacGregor
Ben Woods
Lewis Hyde
Aaron Doran
Steven Boyd
Daniel Mackay
Austin Samuels

Substitutions
Liel Abada -> Daizen Maeda (45)
Oh Hyeon- Gyu -> Kyogo Furuhashi (59)
David Turnbull -> Matt O'Riley (76)
Sead Haksabanovic -> Reo Hatate (76)
James Forrest -> Neves Filipe Jota (90+2)
Daniel Mackay for Jay Henderson (68)
Austin Samuels for Billy Mckay (75)
Zak Delaney for Daniel Devine (75)
Roddy MacGregor for Scott Allardice (81)
Aaron Doran for Nathan Shaw (81)

Bookings
None David Carson (43)
Wallace Duffy (70)

Red Cards
None None.
Appearances & Goals To Date
Mark Ridgers (GK) 237 apps -
Wallace Duffy 73 apps3 goals
Cameron Harper 118 apps9 goals
Robbie Deas 113 apps2 goals
Daniel Devine 180 apps6 goals
Sean Welsh 134 apps16 goals
Scott Allardice 100 apps7 goals
David Carson 140 apps2 goals
Nathan Shaw 44 apps10 goals
Jay Henderson 21 apps4 goals
Billy Mckay 246 apps100 goals
Zak Delaney (sub) 40 apps -
Aaron Doran (sub) 370 apps53 goals
Roddy MacGregor (sub) 102 apps6 goals
Daniel Mackay (sub) 97 apps17 goals
Austin Samuels (sub) 43 apps7 goals

Starting Lineup
Youngest Player:Jay Henderson (21 years 107 days)
Oldest Player:Billy Mckay (34 years 232 days)
Average Player Age:27 years 8 days
Domestic Players:7 (63.64 % of starting eleven)

Matchday Squad
Youngest Player:Ben Woods (20 years 254 days)
Oldest Player:Billy Mckay (34 years 232 days)
Average Player Age:25 years 148 days
Domestic Players:12 (60.00 % of matchday squad)

First Team Debuts

Milestones
Scott Allardice played his 100th major competitive game for the Club.

Tears of Pride: Celtic were big favourites to lift the Cup and with it complete the Treble. Inverness have been here before and have put Celtic out of the Cup on three previous occasions. However, it's a big ask and the bookies agree with Celtic's favourites tag. Scotland's number one side against this seasons eighteenth best side. It was pretty much a clean bill of health for Billy Dodds after a month of relative inactivity for his squad with just long term casualties Shane Sutherland and Tom Walsh missing. Celtic were without Aaron Mooy and Cameron Carter-Vickers but such is their wealth of talent it would matter not a jot. At the end of the day Celtic would win the treble and lift the Scottish Cup. Inverness stuck to their game plan and battled hard, but it was one scalp too many. However there was only tears of pride at the end.

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After the pre-match entertainment enjoyed by the fans the game kicked off in bright sunshine. Celtic got the game underway in 21 degrees Celsius. Could anyone outdo Man City who scored in 12 seconds in the FA Cup Final. The answer was an emphatic NO. A tentative opening from both sides as Inverness tried to play their way into the game with Celtic trying to force the pace. Fifteen minutes gone and the pattern remains the same with Celtic forcing the pace but over eager with their final ball. O'Riley bounced a volley wide in the first half chance of the game with almost nineteen minutes gone. A defensive misplaced pass offered Celtic an opportunity but Jota ran out of space as the defence recovered to shut him down. Ten minutes before the break Ridgers made his first save as he dropped on a low strike from 15 yards. A minute later Celtic went in front when Kyogo smashed in from eight yards. He almost added a second five minutes before the break but he chipped wide of Ridgers right hand post as Celtic turned the screw.

Half Time: 1-0

Inverness were looking to get forward more at the start of the second half but Celtic were still dominating possession although Nathan Shaw was a half yard away from getting on the end of a low ball into the Celtic box. However Celtic were starting to flow better and the danger signs were there for Inverness. In the 65th minute Celtic doubled their advantage. They rode a couple of rash challenges before Abada stroked the ball into the net. VAR took a look and after some deliberation the goal was given. It was tight, but 2-0 it was. Ridgers made amends for a botched clearance when he clutched a shot out of the top corner from O'Riley. Cue plenty of substitutions with the game seemingly safe. Inverness got a lifeline with five minutes to go and it was a replica goal from Dan Mackay from a Wallace Duffy cross. Absolutely tremendous bulleted header again from Dan. Ridgers saved with his legs as Celtic looked to finish the tie off through Haksabanovic. They did moments later when Jota scored from close range after good work by Abada. Game over, maybe Ange's last one in charge but Celtic march on and we head back to the Championship with our heads held high.

Full Time: 3-1

Best for Inverness on a difficult day was Wallace Duffy. What an invitingly sumptuous cross for Dan Mackay to power in a diving header. Cammy Harper on the other flank was equally impressive against Celtic's wide players and in midfield David Carson and Sean Welsh battled hard to stem the possession that Celtic were always going to dominate. We struggled up front working off scraps but substitute Dan Mackay scored that brilliant late power header to give us hope, albeit only fleeting. In general our defence stood firm for large parts of the game, seemingly working to a plan. Much better than many Premiership teams fared this season. Nobody hid in this game but we were restricted to what we could do by a quality treble winning side. Blood, sweat and tears of pride.

As the season draws to a close we will not see so many of these guys here next season, but it has been an abstract pleasure reporting on our once again rollercoaster of a season.

Match report written by tm4tj