Giorgos Giakoumakis struck potentially his final goal for Celtic as his side moved into the Viaplay Cup Final. The Greek striker, who is the subject of strong transfer interest in Japan and Europe in this transfer window, knocked home the clinching second strike to see-off Kilmarnock with a 2-0 win.
Daizen Maeda had put the holders in front when Kyle Lafferty’s attempted 18th minute clearance of an Aaron Mooy free-kick bounced against the chest of the Japanese and flicked up into the net.
Ange Postecoglou’s team could not relax until seconds before the final whistle and Giakoumakis' goal having had two previous attempts at securing their clinching second ruled out due to offside decisions after the interval.
Despite a couple of fleeting moments, Derek McInnes’ side were unable to forge an equaliser before Giakoumakis finished it. It was a battling effort by Killie, but the cup holders deserved their victory and will now face either Aberdeen or Rangers in next month’s Final.
Celtic were worthy winners. They were unable to play their scintillating football against gritty opponents on a sodden surface, but they were full value for their success. It was tough going in the driving rain and Celtic’s freak opener early in the contest had the champions in control.
It was a huge setback for a Killie side who had started with some promise and a correct offside flag prevented them falling 2-0 behind when Reo Hatate had the ball in the net. Maeda suffered the same fate of having another one ruled out following an intricate Celtic move and great finish after Kyogo Furuhashi was adjudged narrowly offside by VAR in the build-up.
Killie pushed for a leveller with Danny Armstrong missing a back-post opening, but Postecoglou’s team also had more chances to add to their tally and justified their favourites tag with progression which was secured by Giakoumakis.
The attacker was on hand to knock home a tap-in from close range after keeper Sam Walker pushed away a shot from sub David Turnbull. Here's 5 Hampden talking points
Maeda Impact
The Japanese attacker has been in hot form since returning from his exploits at the World Cup and this was another crucial goal, even if he didn’t really know a thing about it. Maeda’s finish in the second half which didn’t count due to an offside against team-mate Kyogo was sublime, yet the most impressive part about his game was, once more, his appetite and his industry. One run back the length of the pitch to snuff out a Danny Armstrong situation after the Killie star again got the better of Alexandro Bernabei typified what he gives to Postecoglou’s team. Remarkable commitment with splashes of quality.
Kyle High Club
McInnes took the decision to put both Kyle Lafferty and Kyle Vassell into his starting line-up, with the former coming straight back from a 10-match ban. It was a bold decision with Danny Armstrong also put into the side as Killie looked to make an attacking impact. Lafferty didn’t impact at all bar his blunder at the opening goal and was hooked at half-time. Armstrong gave Alexandro Bernabei plenty of tough moments, but was unable to take his big far-post chance to level after a chance which was created by Vassell.
Ju Can Be Relied Upon
Josip Juranovic has been the subject of huge transfer interest since his efforts at the World Cup in Qatar and the signing of Alistair Johnston has opened the door for the Croatian to leave before the close of the transfer window. But Postecoglou opted to go with him over the Canadian. The Qatar star had a strong game and almost scored with a second-half shot wide. Giorgos Giakoumakis, who looks set to leave shortly with interest from Japan strong as well as Europe, also got an outing in the final 20 minutes and had a penalty shout against him for a push in stoppage time which was waved away before he did what he does best and scored. If he goes, he’ll surely be a big loss to Celtic in terms of his goal ratio.
Tall Story
Killie had a big height advantage when it came to set plays and that looked prior to the match as if it was going to be an area where they potentially could have had some joy. In the first period, Joe Wright and Liam Donnelly both won headers from delivery and caused concerns. There were various occasions when the Ayrshire side were able to get a first contact onto balls delivered into the Celtic box and the awful irony for McInnes and his team is that the concession of the opening goal came from exactly that type of dead-ball scenario where they should have had the upper hand.
Hampden Horror
There is nothing that can be done about the Scottish weather and the pitch at Hampden was in a bad way from early in the game due to the incessant rain which pelted onto it. It made moving the ball with one-touch passing difficult and players were finding it tough to hold their footing, especially in the second period as the monsoon would not let up. The ground staff at the National Stadium has got some job getting the surface back into some sort of shape for Sunday’s game between Rangers and Aberdeen.
