Celtic centre-half Liam Scales has revealed that he expected Joe Hart to take a penalty in the Hoops’ shootout against Aberdeen on Saturday afternoon at Hampden.
The Irish defender started and played the full 120 minutes of the semi-final, but he wasn’t entirely convincing.
He got away with one in the first half where the ball hit his hand just outside the box and Aberdeen’s duo of late equalisers at the end of normal and extra-time were predominantly due to his poor defending.
Although Celtic went through, it wasn’t an afternoon to remember for Scales but for his teammate Hart, it most certainly was.
He missed a crucial spot-kick that would have seen the Celts into the final but he thankfully redeemed himself moments later, saving Killian Phillips’ effort to send the Bhoys through.
When he stepped up to hit his penalty, there was a sense of shock among the supporters in the stadium and those watching on at home.
Scales, though, wasn’t entirely surprised given the practice that had gone on through the week leading up to the semi-final.
He said: [RecordSport] “We practised yesterday (Friday) and the day before (Thursday) and Joe was hitting them and hitting them well so I wasn’t surprised that he was taking one.
“It was unfortunate, it was so close.”
The veteran goalie more than atoned for his miss in the shootout. His save sent the Celts into the final where Hart will want to end his career on an almighty high.
