Joe Hart might have retired at the end of last season, but his ghost of Celtic past lived on in yesterday’s Premier Sports Cup final victory over Rangers.
It was a topsy-turvy affair which could easily have gone either way. After 120 minutes of football, though, the Hoops and their city rivals couldn’t be separated, so penalties ensued.
For Celtic fans, there were flashbacks to last season’s Scottish Cup semi-final against Aberdeen, which also went to spot-kicks after a pulsating 3-3 draw.
This time around, Adam Idah, Arne Engels, Callum McGregor, Reo Hatate, and Daizen Maeda all kept their cool to net for the Bhoys from 12 yards.
Kasper Schmeichel came up with perhaps the most pivotal moment of the shootout, though, getting down low to tremendously deny Ridvan Yilmaz with an outstanding one-handed save.
Post-match, Schmeichel admitted watching his good friend Hart at Celtic in previous seasons helped him prepare for such a moment: “With Joe Hart being here for three years I watched these occasions quite a lot on TV,” he said (RecordSport).
“Having played up here earlier in my career I was well aware of what a club like this can produce.
“I’m very thankful and grateful to be given the opportunity to come here and contribute to this team.”
Schmeichel was perhaps Celtic’s signing of the summer, especially on a free. Brendan Rodgers’ phonebook more than came up trumps with the acquisition of the great Dane, who has been worth his weight in gold since moving north of the border.
His save to deny Yilmaz yesterday was nothing short of pivotal and went a long way in making sure the green half of Glasgow were left jubilant.
