Celtic booked their place in the last four of the Premier Sports Cup after eventually getting the better of a vibrant Falkirk team.
The Hoops came out the traps quickly as expected and Nicky Hogarth had to be alert to superbly tip a James Forrest effort round the post. But incredibly, it was the visitors who opened the scoring on 11 mins when Ross MacIver fired a fine low drive past Kasper Schmeichel from the edge of the area after making the most of some hesitancy in the Celtic back line to pounce on a loose ball.
That shock lead ended up lasting just 10 minutes when Paulo Bernardo lashed home an unstoppable volley from just inside the box after Alex Valle had raced onto a good pass from Reo Hatate to nod the ball back towards the Portuguese midfielder. But that equaliser did little to deter the spirited Bairns and after riding a little bit of Celtic pressure, McGlynn’s charges deservedly regained the lead in the final minute of the half.
The impressive Alfredo Agyeman got the better of Valle down the Falkirk right and clipped a cross to the back post that youngster Finn Yeats expertly guided into the far corner with a header that left Danish veteran Schmeichel stranded. The Championship outfit went into the interval buoyant reaping the rewards from their positive-front foot approach while Rodgers’ much-changed Hoops side would have been wondering just on earth had gone wrong in the first 45 minutes.
Somewhat surprisingly, Rodgers opted not to go to his bench for the restart, but his side’s pedestrian start to the second half saw the Irishman make a raft of changes on the hour mark. The former Liverpool gaffer would have expected his replacements to make an instant impact but it wasn’t until the 68th minute that a stinging drive from Yang called Hogarth into action. That bit of play finally got Celtic’s tails up, within a matter of minutes they completed a dramatic turnaround to get themselves in front.
Nicolas Kuhn was able to slide a low ball across the face of the goal for Adam Idah to tap home after the striker just kept himself onside. Falkirk then squandered possession instantly from the kick-off allowing Kuhn to once again tee-up Idah who kept his cool to slot past Hogarth.
With the Parkhead crowd back on side, the Hoops then completely went into the ascendency and wrapped up the tie with nine minutes remaining with Kuhn deservedly getting in on the act. The former Bayern Munich man latched onto an exquisite pass from fellow sub Arne Engels to lift the ball over Hogarth to nab his fourth goal of the campaign. And there was still time for the winger to add to his tally, finding the net from close range after a tired Falkirk struggled to clear their lines.
The final 20 minutes or so simply got away from the visitors and matters were made worse for the second tier side when substitute Michael McKenna was shown a straight red card for a high challenge. It wasn’t the afternoon Rodgers would have envisioned, but Celtic’s quest for a clean sweep of the domestic honours is gathering more place as they go into the final four of the Premier Sports Cup alongside Rangers, Motherwell and Aberdeen. Here are three talking points from an action-packed cup tie in Glasgow’s East End.
Super sub Kuhn
The winger has shown glimpses of what he can do for Celtic since his January arrival from Rapid Vienna earlier this year, but came off the bench with devastating effect to turn the game around and book his team’s passage into the semi-finals.
Kuhn laid on two goals for striker Idah before helping himself to a brace of his own, to keep up his fine start to the campaign. The 24-year-old dovetailed well with both Idah and summer arrival Engels and will be confident he will be restored to the starting line-up when Celtic go to Perth to face St Johnstone next weekend.
Fearless Falkirk impress
Despite ultimately falling short, the Bairns application and desire to take the game to the champions should and will win them a lot of plaudits. McGlynn’s 4-3-3 formation allowed for wide men Calvin Miller and Agyeman to remain a constant threat in the opposition half, with the latter particularly having great success against Barca loanee Valle.
Not only were the Bairns not shy in committing men to the attack, but they were also more than prepared to build out from the back despite Celtic’s high press. As the game wore on, Celtic’s extra reserves eventually got the better of a tired Falkirk team, who had also suffered a setback early in the second half when goalscorer Ross MacIver limped off.
But their “no fear” approach of going toe-to-toe with a side that have blasted away all comers so far this season needs to be highly commended and should serve as a lesson for Premiership teams who are happy to come to Parkhead to sit deep and play for a draw.
Debut Bhoy Valle’s baptism of fire
Celtic fans got their first glimpse of the Spanish left-back following his loan switch from Catalan giants Barca, and it’s fair to say the 20-year-old’s showing was both hot and cold. It was from his clever run and nod down that allowed Bernardo to get Celtic on level terms early on, but the Spain U20 international was simply bullied by Falkirk winger Agyeman in the build-up for both of the away side’s goals.
Being a product of the famed La Masia academy, Valle undoubtedly has quality both in possession and going forward but will take time to get up to speed with the physical demands that Scottish football poses.