Celtic completed the domestic treble as they produced one of the most comfortable football results of the weekend in the Scottish Cup. Ange Postecoglou’s team came at Hampden Park with a stunning sixth triple in seven years firmly within their goals, having previously won the Premiership and League Cup. Postecoglou, a target for Tottenham in their hunt for a new manager, claimed his sixth title in only two seasons as Celtic manager. Inverness was not thought to pose too much of a challenge for Scotland’s premier team, and that eventually proved to be the case. After Celtic took a commanding lead thanks to goals from Kyogo Furuhashi and Liel Abada and a goal against the flow of play from Dan Mackay, Jota scored in stoppage time to complete a historic triple and ignite the celebrations.
Inverness were enormous underdogs against Celtic due to their position as a Championship team that had been returned to the tournament as a result of Queen’s Park’s disqualification in the fourth round, but they defended well for the duration of the first half. As the game approached halftime, Celtic failed to create any opportunities, save for an errant shot by an off-balance Matt O’Riley. However, in the 38th minute, Furuhashi suddenly found his mojo and opened the scoring.
Prior to the game, the forward’s status as an injury question mark prevented him from touching the ball much as Inverness tormented Celtic. However, he made sure to be first to O’Riley’s low cross from the right of the penalty area by wrapping his foot around the ball and lofting it high into Mark Ridgers’ net. After the break, Celtic maintained control and added another goal through the replacement of Abada. Moments earlier, Furuhashi nearly scored his second goal but clipped the ball wide in a one-on-one situation with Ridgers. The Hoops were content to play out the remaining minutes of a one-sided match, but Ridgers escaped disaster when he saved from O’Riley after shanking the ball straight to Celtic’s attackers.
With only six minutes left, Wallace Duffy’s brilliant cross was headed in by Mackay, who came off the bench, ending any chance of a dramatic comeback. However, Inverness’ goal only served to shake the Celtic out of their slumber. Sead Haksabanovic forced Ridgers into a brilliant save before Jota blasted in from close range after tripping Abada’s cross. The focus will now go to Postecoglou’s future now that the treble has been won, with Spurs eager to chat with the manager who has changed Celtic’s fortunes since he arrived from Japan two years ago.
“The goal for us this year was to persevere and win the one prize that evaded us the previous year since it is always tougher when you are defending things. It feels wonderful. It’s a wonderful day. I have enjoyed every second,” Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou said. “We have made it our mission to be unrelenting in all that we do. Every day in training, they practice it. They are a fantastic team. They make history, forever. We tried to overdo things and not keep the game simple today, which I thought made us seem a little anxious at points. We had to find a way to get through it, but props to the guys; they usually do.”
“I’m going to be a little selfish here since my family and others close to me have worked so hard to experience this,” he added. “It’s what I’m going to do, as disappointing as it might be. I’ll take advantage of it for as long as I can before being dragged away to engage in other conversations.”
After Arne Slot announced last week that he will remain at Feyenoord, Spurs are still searching for a new permanent manager. Ryan Mason, a former midfielder for Tottenham, has taken over as temporary manager in place of Cristian Stellini, who took over when Antonio Conte left the London club in March. Postecoglou, who has led Celtic to 82 victories in his first 112 matches in charge, is just a win away from completing the Scottish domestic triple.
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