Hat-trick hero Daizen Maeda has thanked Raith Rovers’ players for making his kids’ day.
The Celtic ace was unstoppable at Parkhead as he bagged a superb treble to move him to 22 goals for the season, but the ever humble Japanese forward made sure to pay tribute to his opponents – as every single Raith player took the time to shake hands with his youngsters, Soyo and Tensei, on the park prior to the Scottish Cup clash.
In a heartwarming message posted on social media site X alongside a video of the pre-match formalities, the 27-year-old said: “Thank you to all the Raith Rovers players for being so kind to my daughter and son and we wish them the best of luck for the rest of the season!” The footage shows every Raith player shake hands with the two mini Maedas, as well as their dad, with Rovers talisman Dylan Easton even ruffling their hair before sprinting away for kick off.
And fans on social media were full of praise for the sportsmanship showed by Barry Robson’s men. One said: “Aww how cute they are and the Rovers players too. Love you Daizen, what a pure gentleman.” Another said: “Class by Maeda and total class by the Raith Rovers men,” whilst a third added: “Daizen, why are you so wholesome?”
Hailing his side’s scintillating showing as they avoided an upset, Hoops boss Brendan Rodgers said: “Over the years, you can get caught out with fixtures like these. We’ve lost games like that before but I think you can only tip your hat to the players’ professionalism. We set some objectives for the game because we’re a team that was expected to win, we should win, but there were other things we looked for in the performance and the players delivered.”