Scottish League CupSunday, September 22, 2024Celtic Park, Glasgow CELTIC… 5(Bernardo 21, Idah 70 & 72, Kuhn 81 & 84) FALKIRK… 2(MacIver 11, Yeats 46) Celtic booked their spot in the semi-final of the Scottish League Cup after coming out on top in a seven-goal thriller at Celtic Park, scoring five goals for the second consecutive game. It was clear from the outset that John McGlynn’s Falkirk side weren’t going to just sit back and defend, with the visitors looking to get forward at every opportunity.Former Celt, Calvin Miller was the target for a number of forward balls from the Falkirk defence, seeing an early cross blocked by Celtic’s Stephen Welsh.The first big chance of the match fell to James Forrest, who linked up well on the edge of the box with Paulo Bernardo, and the winger’s effort on goal was saved by Hogarth in goals for Falkirk. Just after the 10-minute mark, the visitors took the lead. A low shot from outside the area by Ross MacIver evaded Kasper Schmeichel and crept in to the bottom corner, sending the large travelling support wild. Falkirk had a chance to double their lead a few moments later when Alfredo Agyeman got in behind the Celtic defence, but he dragged his effort well wide of the far post. Celtic’s response to Falkirk’s opener came just after the 20-minute mark, when a lofted through ball from Reo Hatate found debut Bhoy, Alex Valle in the box. The Barcelona loanee headed the ball in to the path of Paulo Bernardo who smashed it home from inside the penalty area to level the game.The match had all the characteristics of a classic cup-tie in the first half, with both teams looking to get forward and create opportunities. And after his assist, Alex Valle was called upon in defence, making two important challenges on the touchline on the 25-minute mark to halt a dangerous-looking Falkirk attack.With a few minutes left of the first half, Calvin Miller found himself with an opportunity to have a strike on goal from the edge of the box, but Kasper Schmeichel was equal to it and the keeper held it well. But in added time at the end of the half, a deep ball in to the box from Falkirk found Finn Yeats. The defender’s header arrowed in to the corner of the net giving the visitors a 2-1 lead at half time.Celtic started the second half the busier of the two sides, as Brendan Rodgers’ men looked to turn up the pressure on the visitors and get another equaliser On the hour mark, the Hoops boss rang the changes, making four substitutions at once, bringing on Arne Engels, Yang, Greg Taylor and Nicolas Kuhn on in an attempt to turn the match in Celtic’s favour. Yang came close with an effort from the edge of the box on 68 minutes, with Hogarth forced to make a good stop to prevent the goal. The equaliser came a few moments later as Adam Idah tapped in from close-range after a low Nicolas Kuhn cross from the left-hand side of the penalty area. The celebrations for the leveller had only just subsided when Nicolas Kuhn found Idah again, this time the winger cutting the ball inside from the right wing. And the Irishman made no mistake as he slotted it home to give Celtic the lead for the first time in the match. Nicolas Kuhn’s impact on the game had already been impressive but the winger looked determined to claim the man of the match award and, with 81 minutes played, he made it 4-2 to the Hoops. Arne Engels’ perfect pass sent Kuhn through one-on-one against Hogarth, and the winger calmly lifted the ball over the Falkirk keeper to give Brendan Rodgers’ side a two-goal lead. A few minutes later, Kuhn rounded off an excellent performance when he fired a shot in to the bottom corner from outside the box to make it 5-2 to the Celts. Falkirk’s afternoon went from bad to worse when Michael McKenna was shown a straight red card in the 90th minute for his challenge on Anthony Ralston. The Hoops are now through to the semi-final of the Scottish League Cup where they will face Aberdeen at Hampden Park in early November
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