By Thomas Durning
Celtic claim Viaplay Cup after defeating fierce rivals Rangers.
A Kyogo Furuhashi double was enough for Celtic to claim the first silverware of the Scottish season in what was a fiercely contested match against Rangers.
Rangers made two changes to the side that beat Livingston last weekend with Todd Cantwell and Nicolas Raskin coming out of the team and they were replaced by Malik Tillman and John Lundstram. Tillman and Lundstram came back into the starting eleven after recovering from there injuries.
Celtic also made two changes to the side that beat Aberdeen last weekend with Oh Hyeon-gyu and Matt O’Riley coming out of the team and they were replaced by Kyogo Furuhashi and Aaron Mooy.
It was an unbelievable atmosphere at Hampden Park and for the first period of the match, both sides were a bit nervous with misplaced passes and fouls making the start of the match a bit scrappy.
The first chance of the match fell to Celtic when in the 20th minute Kyogo managed to get in behind the Rangers defence after an over-the-top pass, the Japanese striker tried to lift the ball over keeper Allan McGregor but was unable to do so. After the ball was cleared, it only managed to land to Jota and his shot from outside of the box was again dealt with by McGregor who managed to palm the ball to safety.
Celtic were dominating the ball in the early stages of the match and the first real danger from Rangers was in the 31st minute when Ryan Kent played a through ball to James Tavernier on the right hand side and Tavernier’s low cross was executed very well but Celtic defender Carter-Vickers managed to slide in and get a crucial touch in what would have been an inevitable goal for Morelos who was eagerly waiting for the ball to land to him.
In the 37th minute, Kyogo had another chance after Jota done well to come in from the right-hand side and his pass was perfect for Kyogo and the striker did well to create space to find a shot, but his effort just went over the bar.
Celtic were starting to take more control of the 1st half and in the 42nd minute after having too much space on the right-hand side, Alistair Johnston delivered a fantastic cross which fell to Kyogo and with his head, the striker could only put the ball inches over the bar.
However, two minutes later, Celtic managed to break the deadlock after Aaron Mooy’s pass to full back Greg Taylor on the left-hand side led to the full back delivering a low cross and after Daizen Maeda failed to get onto Taylor’s cross, it fell to Kyogo who was unmarked in the middle of the box, and he calmly put the ball into the back of the net.
This was to be the last real action of the 1st half and although both sides got off to a slow start, Celtic grew stronger into the half whereas Rangers looked more tired and Celtic went into half time with a deserved lead.
The second half got underway and it was Rangers who got off to a better start. In the 50th minute, Ryan Kent managed to create some space for himself on the left hand side and he unleashed a shot which hit the post. The rebound fell to Fashion Sakala but his shot from a tight angle hit the side netting.
Although Rangers had a positive start to the second half, Celtic doubled there lead in the 56th minute.
Celtic midfielder Aaron Mooy had the ball at the edge of Rangers box and after having too much time on the ball, he passed to fellow midfielder Reo Hatate who cut the ball back for Kyogo who bundled the ball into the back of the net.
It was smart and intricate play from Celtic and Rangers were now left with it all to do to try and get back into this cup final.
In the 64th minute, Rangers did exactly that and managed to pull a goal back to get themselves back into the game.
After Rangers won a free kick just outside the box, Tavernier delivered and Celtic failed to clear which resulted in Alfredo Morelos getting onto the end of the loose ball and managing to stab the ball into the net. It was game on once again.
This goal proved beneficial for Rangers as they suddenly took control of the match with Celtic hanging on to keep their lead.
Celtic’s tactic changed after Ranger’s goal with their tactic of playing out from the back gone and they were instead happy to get into a more physical match with Rangers.
This proved to work for Celtic as Rangers failed to create any clear-cut chances and in the 96th minute, Celtic nearly wrapped it up after Haksabanovic managed to race through one one with the keeper however his effort went wide of the post.
This was to be the last action of the match and Celtic hung on to win the Viaplay cup final.
Rangers: McGregor, Tavernier, Goldson, Davies, Barisic, Lundstram (Cantwell 65’) Kamara (Raskin 65’) Tillman (Jack 65’) Sakala (Wright 84’) Kent, Morelos (Colak 76’)
Subs not used: Arfield, Devine, Hagi, McLaughlin,
Celtic: Hart, Johnston, Carter-Vickers, Starfelt, Taylor, McGregor, Mooy (O’Riley 65’) Hatate (Iwata 76’) Jota (Abada 64’) Maeda (Haksabanovic 84’) Kyogo (Oh Hyeon-gyu 76’)
Subs not used: Bain, Kobayashi, Ralston, Turnbull
Referee: Nick Walsh
Reporter: Thomas Durning
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