League Cup Semi-Final: Celtic 2-0 Kilmarnock: Three things we learned
League Cup holders Celtic have booked their place in next month’s final after defeating 2012 winners Kilmarnock at Hampden. Let’s look at the three main talking points from the game…
Celtic’s winning mentality sees them through
Celtic and Kilmarnock met in the Premiership at Celtic Park the weekend before this fixture and they also won 2-0. Ange Postecoglou only made one change from that side with Josip Juranovic coming in ahead of January addition, Alistair Johnston. It certainly wasn’t plain sailing for Celtic, however, they battled hard to ensure there was to be no underdog story for the Ayrshire side after goals from Daizen Maeda and Giorgos Giakoumakis saw off last year’s Scottish Championship winners. The Hoops weren’t quite on top form, but they still showed why many tip them to retain their Premiership crown, and indeed why at the moment, they are nine points clear of nearest challengers Rangers.
No happy return for Lafferty
As has been well documented, Kilmarnock striker Kyle Lafferty was handed a 10-match ban after being found guilty of using sectarian language. Killie’s long awaited Hampden return was also Lafferty’s, but things didn’t go to plan for the Northern Ireland striker. For Celtic’s first goal, the ball took a deflection off Lafferty, placing the ball in Maeda’s path and into the net. After a frustrating half, he was replaced at the break by on-loan Hibernian striker Christian Doidge.
A surprisingly even contest
It was widely expected to be a comfortable afternoon for the cup holders, but Killie perhaps caught Celtic by surprise by playing two strikers. This was a bold move which almost paid off for Derek McInnes’ side. Celtic had 15 shots with four on target, whereas Killie had only one fewer shot for both statistics, however, they made a much better fist of it than many sides against Old Firm opposition.
It is also worth noting that the match officials were embroiled in controversy. Celtic had two goals ruled out by VAR, from Reo Hatate and Meada respectively, with the latter being denied his brace. Just before Celtic scored their second to secure victory, Kilmarnock had a penalty claim turned down by referee Willie Collum after Joe Wright appeared to have been brought down inside the box by Giorgos Giakoumakis, however, nothing was given, much to the frustration of the Kilmarnock supporters.