NafisaIn the wake of Celtic’s Scottish Cup semi-final thrashing of St Johnstone, Brendan Rodgers said Callum McGregor was “the glue” to the team.
In the moments after their final loss to Aberdeen, the captain was sobbing uncontrollably on his manager’s shoulder.
It was McGregor’s weak opening penalty in the shootout that paved the way for Celtic’s downfall here. The midfielder had never previously lost a cup final in his career. Rodgers had never been beaten at Hampden.
Celtic had netted 19 goals against Aberdeen this season. The odds couldn’t have been more in their favour.
And yet McGregor exited the Hampden pitch with tears rolling down his cheeks after what he called “the worst moment I’ve ever had in football”.
But how did it come to that?
‘It was all a bit cautious’
Despite treble-chasing Celtic being in front at the break, referee Don Robertson blew his whistle without a single shot hitting the target in the first 45.
A corner swung in the direction of Cameron Carter-Vickers was nudged past Aberdeen goalkeeper Dimitar Mitov by team-mate Alfie Dorrington amid a thoroughly dominant first-half display from Celtic.
Their 84% possession was built through circulating the ball in midfield in a manner Rodgers described as “safe”.
While Mitov was clearly the hero in the end, he wasn’t overly troubled during the 120 minutes of action.
Even when he denied Daizen Maeda, who was clean through on goal late in regulation time, it was more an error by Maeda than brilliance from Mitov.
“We didn’t do enough today, I didn’t feel. It was all a bit safe,” Rodgers said. “We had a lot of the ball, but we lacked our combinations, our speed in the final third.
“When you play like that, and Aberdeen defend well, that made it difficult for us.”
Just 10 days ago, the Dons were brushed aside by a heavily rotated Celtic squad who barely broke sweat. At Hampden, they stifled their Glasgow rivals.
A switch to a back five with deep-lying forwards ensured Rodgers’ domestic juggernaut couldn’t find rhythm, while flair and sharpness were missing from Celtic’s pricey trio of Arne Engels, Paulo Bernardo and Adam Idah.
“You have to earn victories here at Hampden,” Rodgers added. “Sadly we weren’t able to do it. That is football, that’s sport. We’re not robots.”
‘It’ll take a while to get over it’
When it comes to collecting silverware, though, Celtic and particularly McGregor have performed almost robotically. Play, win, celebrate. Repeat.
McGregor has long promoted the idea of cherishing every trophy, no matter how frequent their success has become over the years.
Lately, it may have seemed he was forcing the joy, but there was nothing fake about his despair on Saturday.
The ex-Scotland international cried on the shoulder of reserve goalkeeper Scott Bain. Then Rodgers. Then assistant boss John Kennedy. And anyone else offering comfort.
It was a sight never seen before from the previously unshakable 31-year-old, but he had just mishit his penalty. Alistair Johnston soon did the same and the treble dream was gone.
“The worst moment I’ve ever had in football,” McGregor said.
“It was a real sore one. I just need to go away and try and go over it and come back next year and be stronger.”
In the past, that’s been a frightening declaration. And an accurate one. You sense he, and his team-mates, will be desperate to prove it even more next season.
“It’s a tough moment, but I’ve had tough moments before,” he added. “This is the toughest one when you take everything into consideration.
“It’ll take me a while to get over it, but once the new season starts, then that’s up to me to show everyone that I’ve got a bit of steel.”
A daunting prospect for the rest of Scottish football. But after today, Scottish football can believe in miracles.
Nafisa
