Brendan Rodgers has revealed Kasper Schmeichel’s immediate reaction in the dressing room following his error in the Scottish Cup final, which handed Aberdeen a late equaliser and pushed the tie into extra-time and eventually penalties.
The experienced Danish keeper, who had been largely reliable since joining the club, misjudged a cross late in normal time, allowing Aberdeen to draw level. With the game finishing 1-1 after 90 minutes, it headed to extra-time and then penalties, where Schmeichel failed to save any of the Dons’ spot-kicks.
With Viljami Sinisalo dropped for the final after starting Celtic’s recent 5-1 win over Aberdeen at Pittodrie and impressing in Schmeichel’s absence in recent months, Rodgers’ decision proved costly. However, he doubled down on his praise for Schmeichel after the game.
He said: (TCW), “He’s obviously apologetic to his teammates, but he’s been outstanding for us all season.
“It was one of those moments in the game late on that can happen. We still had one or two other chances that we could have scored from, but, yes, it was just unfortunate at that time of the game.”
The error overshadowed what had been a relatively controlled display from Celtic until that point. Despite their dominance in possession and chances created, they failed to put the game to bed, leaving the door open for Aberdeen’s late leveller.
Schmeichel has played a pivotal role in Celtic’s campaign, producing a string of important saves and showing leadership from the back across domestic and European matches. However, he was undoubtedly well below that standard this afternoon, delivering his worst performance for Celtic by far.
