Irish managerial legend Roddy Collins claims Celtic “boxed the head off” Rangers at Hampden as he compared the Scottish Cup semi final between the fierce rivals as two fighters slugging it out in the ring.
Collins, manager of part-time Bohemians when they humiliated Aberdeen in the UEFA Cup just over 20 years ago, admitted his love for the Old Firm derby fixture and the brother of former boxing world champion Steve used the pugilism analogy to give his take of the contest in his column for the Irish Mirror.
The 60-year-old, who managed a dozen clubs during his time as boss, including a spell in England with Carlisle United, wrote: “Celtic got this victory because they outplayed Rangers in the first half and then stood toe to toe with them in the second. It reminded me of a boxing fight. There's this old saying in The Sweet Science, that if you are fighting a scrapper, you box him, and if you are fighting a boxer, you engage him in a scrap.
“So in the first half yesterday, Celtic boxed the head off them. But fair play to Michael Beale, the Gers coach reconsidered his plans. He clearly said to his players at half-time, 'let's make it dirty and scrappy - let's pile into the box, let's fight our way back into this game’. And they did. They bombed forward, launching one aerial attack after another.
“But another old fashioned art, that of competing for every challenge, of heading the ball away, that was so evident in the Hampden Park rain. Cameron-Carter Vickers was brilliant, heading it away, time after time.
“Yes, it wasn't The Beautiful Game we saw. But there is an art to winning. There is a quality in knowing how to dig in, to bite hard on the gum shield, as they say in the boxing game. Celtic were disciplined in their defending. They looked like a complete team.”
Postecoglou is now on course for a Treble with Inverness Caley Thistle standing in their way of a clean sweep at Hampden on June 3. And the Aussie’s success has forced Collins into a rethink after admitting he was desperate to see Eddie Howe land the job.
He said: “Ange has a good history in the managerial game, so while many were thinking 'who is this guy? He has come in out of nowhere', the reality was that he had a big CV written up, with experience of managing the Australian national team, as well as the work he completed in Japan.
"He knew the game, alright, but he also knew the benefit of local knowledge. And he was prepared to tap into that. He also knew the Asian market possessed some gems who were available at bargain prices. Boy have those signings worked out. Most of his buys have.”
And on his personal derby experiences, he said: “One of the best days out in football is Celtic versus Rangers. Some people refer to a night at London's West End as pure theatre. But nothing beats this, no matter where the game is staged, Celtic Park, Ibrox or Hampden Park.
“What makes it special is the fact it still possesses the traditional values of football, full-blooded tackles, a crowd invested in the match. The passion goes deep. It is more than a game - more like a history lesson. I have been in with supporters who were so drunk they didn't even know how the result panned out.
“I have been there when Celtic won Old Firm games, been there when they lost. That walk back to town to my favourite haunt, DonnMacs, Jackie McNamara's pub, after a defeat is the most depressing one you'll ever take. That's how much the fixture means to each tribe.”
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