GLASGOW, SCOTLAND - MARCH 08: Celtic's Liam Scales and Auston Trusty celebrate as Tomas Cvancara scores the winning penalty in the shoot-out during a Scottish Gas Scottish Cup Quarter-Final match between Rangers and Celtic at Ibrox Stadium, on March 08, 2026, in Glasgow, Scotland. (Photo by Craig Foy/SNS Group via Getty Images)
There are many different kinds of winning, as every Celtic supporter knows.
There is winning ugly and there is winning lucky and there is winning with skill.
Once upon a time at Celtic there was winning with style.
That was winning the Celtic way.
Alas, we are not seeing much of that right now.
Then there is the other kind of victory. The kind you gut out with heart, discipline and sheer stubbornness.
That is what Celtic did today.
I am in a very happy place tonight, but I am not going to pretend that performance was anything special.
That game became a lottery. And we allowed it to become one.
Zero shots on target over 120 minutes tells you everything about the current state of this Celtic side. The poverty of the team is painfully clear.
At the end of the match the cameras focused on three men in the Ibrox directors’ box.
Brian Wilson. Michael Nicholson. Chris McKay.
They may well feel pleased tonight. They may even feel vindicated.
But there is no vindication for them.
They are the architects of the dire, dreadful Celtic team we watched today. They have constructed a side weaker in more positions than any Celtic team I can remember.
If they feel pride tonight, they should not. They should feel shame.
Because they created this mess.
Before this match and before last weekend’s game I said something simple. I did not fear Ibrox.
I feared Celtic.
For the second week running we have gone there and taken a result. That proves the point.
There is nothing frightening about that Ibrox team.
But let’s be honest; we are not frightening either.
There are people who claim the Celtic board is happy simply to stay one step ahead of Ibrox.
The problem is that this year we have regressed faster than they have. We are lucky we started from such a strong position. Because being only one step ahead of that Ibrox team is itself a damning indictment of the people running this club.
I cannot remember watching a Celtic side at Ibrox that offered so little with the ball and still managed to win.
Martin O’Neill is performing miracles.
But the reason miracles are required is because the board has left him with this squad.
To be fair, defensively Celtic got almost nothing wrong today.
The decision to play Liam Scales at left back puzzled many people before the match. But tactically it made perfect sense and it worked like a dream.
Rohl has experimented recently with a system that pushes two forwards high and floods the box with crosses and through balls. We could have gone with a more attacking option in Sarrachi, but Scales offered height and aerial strength. More importantly, he could tuck inside when necessary and help form a back three.
That was the best tactical decision either manager made all afternoon. The fact O’Neill crafted that solution in the middle of a crisis says everything about his ability.
Unfortunately it also contributed to how passive Celtic were.
This may be the most passive winning performance I have seen from Celtic in years.
Ibrox supporters will wonder how their team failed to win when Celtic barely ventured forward.
The answer is simple. O’Neill nullified them and their manager had no Plan B.
So a badly weakened Celtic side went to Ibrox with one of the poorest midfields we have fielded there in years and a patched-together defence.
And it worked.
We shut them out almost completely. Our goalkeeper barely had a meaningful save to make.
That is a testament to O’Neill’s management.
But let’s not kid ourselves about the bigger picture. If Celtic are going to win the title and complete the double, we must improve dramatically.
That slow, ponderous build-up football is not working.
Too many players cannot operate within the system. We look laboured and lightweight up front. We lack physicality in far too many areas.
And the absence of Callum McGregor today left a glaring No.8-shaped hole in midfield.
Some of us have been shouting about that problem for years.
Celtic lack a serious ball-winning midfield presence. There is no proper deputy for the captain either. When McGregor needs rest or protection from injury, we cannot afford to leave him out. Because there is nobody capable of replacing him.
Do I sound negative? Perhaps.
But I will not sugarcoat what was, in truth, a very poor performance.
Except defensively. Defensively we were outstanding.
And that matters when you consider how many goals Celtic have conceded this season, especially against the Ibrox club.
Today we restricted them superbly.
If Maeda’s goal stands – and I guarantee nobody will be discussing wavy lines this week – that defensive display probably wins the match outright.
Trusty, Arthur, Araujo, Scales and eventually Dane Murray were excellent.
Sinisalo was excellent too.
All week the one thing I dreaded was a penalty shootout.
In the end I had nothing to fear.
Celtic scored four from four. They missed two.
My only minor complaint is that the big goalkeeper did not save one, because he deserved that moment of glory.
Still, he was calm. He was composed. He controlled his area and never looked rattled. If he does not keep that jersey for the rest of the season I will be very surprised. He has made the position his own.
And so we have done it.
Hell Week is over.
Apart from the dreadful Hibs result, which still stings, Celtic have come through an extraordinary run of fixtures.
Three massive away results domestically. One excellent away result in Europe.
Four away matches in a row. Four of the toughest fixtures imaginable.
And we have emerged second in the table, breathing down Hearts’ necks, a point ahead of the Ibrox club, and with our rivals eliminated from the Scottish Cup.
A few weeks ago that scenario would have seemed almost impossible.
Yet here we are.
And in this moment there is only one thing left to say.
Thank God for Martin O’Neill.
Thank you to him for putting Celtic in this position, and now that we are here let’s put this title race firmly back on track.
And let’s go and win that double.
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Loved Andrew Cavanagh being filmed representing the criminal class in defeat. Onion Bears allowed to run 80 yards to fire flares without any security attempting to stop them.
Two games a week has been killing us.
AOC needs a lung transplant but he won more duels than he lost.
Our biggest failure was dwelling on the ball and not shielding it properly.
CMcG was not missed — he has played enough games where we lose and lose badly in Govan so this today was a step up.
Squad is honking.
Team looked scared of their shadows.
Little confidence on show with the schoolboy howlers many and dangerous.
Sliding doors — Maeda was very unlucky.
The lines were amateur and need investigation.
Our best clearance was by their right back.
Mvucki is beyond bad — worst player every to make the SPL / EPL since George Weah’s cousin.
I think being 64 I can be a bit cynical about modern football and players, but I have no criticism of the team today. The recent fixture schedule and lack of squad depth has left them totally running on fumes, drained. Now with no immediate midweek games Celtic can heal a good bit and I do expect the performances to improve. A Govan FC minded pundit on Radio Scotland said that Hearts will be licking their lips and thinks that Hearts should win the league, going by the form of the two chasers, but there is absolutely no way they could have matched Celtic’s run of beating Stuttgart away, get a draw and win away from home v Govan FC and beat Aberdeen away in such a short period. I really don’t think Hearts have that mentality and quality in them. Let’s hope this terribly under equipped squad can get a little rest and push on and somehow squeeze this league title win. MON would then deserve a statue, ha ha. Well done to them all, still not another penny though and sack the board.
Aye, job done, not with any kind of style but who cares when it is against them. It was a resolute, dogged performance that delivered a victory and at this stage of what has been a very trying season, that is all that matters.
I suffered enough in the 1990’s with Tommy Burns’ Celtic outplaying and being more attractive to watch than Walter Smith’s Rangers. I’ll take winning ugly over them every day of the week and twice on Sundays! (wait, today’s Sunday and we have only beaten them once!)??
Those question marks were laughing emojis…
Bunion fears dressed as Smurfs was cute but they came on looking for trouble not in celebration like the Celtic fans did.
So it’s ok for the Hunion smears to come onto the pitch at Celtic park last time to celebrate scoring against and not a word about it but we can’t do that over there ???
I might be the only person who thinks this, but I don’t think Scales touches the ball at our disallowed goal. I’ve played it back a few times and I’m convinced it’s the rangers player it comes off. Like I say, I could be wrong though.
I don’t entirely agree with your assessment. Our defense was stellar, Arthur has his flaws but is an upgrade from Simpson-Pusey. Murray is really growing into the role. I don’t understand leaving Sarrachi on the bench and not moving Scales into the Center Back position but I suppose I should know better than to question MON. But overall I thought the Gers were better down the line and we were very luck to eke that one out. A few other observations:
Paulo Bernardo’s Best Game of the Season
Ox is starting to look like a another washed up premier league bust who came to Scotland to scrap out a few more dollars
Mvuka is possibly the worst wing I’ve seen in years. Really where did we find this guy and has Ligue 1 really fallen this far to give this guy a contract. He plays panicked like I do now when I fill in at Sunday League at 46.
Hatate is starting to find his form. He’s still trying to be overly creative but he’s starting to remind us of his brilliance.
What in holy fu** is VAR now? I’ve watched football for 30 years and I still don’t understand the 2nd line (that isn’t there in the coverage of the Premier League or Champions League – at least not in the US). There is one offside line not an offside free zone so why have 2 lines and regardless both lines literally ran through the middle of about 7 players. Is the players spleen or ass the line now? At this point it’s useless. I actually thought he might be off, when I heard “Andrew Dallas” I knew he’d be found off, but if that’s the best evidence the referees can concoct GTF.
Is Danny Rohl not the most sniveling little coward you’ve ever seen? 2 weeks in a row ,after talking tough in the conference room all week, is faced with confrontations on the pitch, and 2 weeks in a row pensioner aged Martin O’Neil is right in the middle pulling people away and wee crybrox Danny in his cosplay bigot brogues is nowhere to be found.
Super Jack Butland for an England Cap eh?
Do think we stole one but that’s football. Great win boys and for the first time since Nancy left I feel good about our chances in the league!
Poor performance but a win is all that counts. Yes our fans shouldn’t have gone onto the pitch but what they did was NOTHING compared to ork hoardes. That was pre-orchestrated violence for sure – their wee masks and flares and god knows what other weapons they had. If they want to the head orks at the scumderdome will be able to identify ever single one of those masked idiots and ban them for life. Wonder if the yank will do anything though????.
They are big brave boys until the feds started hitting a few of them and then they ran like little kids- somewhat like the did on argyle st too. Big brave huns eh? That ground should only be allowed away fans from now till the end of next season – as someone said earlier they do better with no fans in the stenchpit. Christ knows what would have happened if they had got to our fans. The polis horses should have been on the pitch the minute those masked buffoons appeared. Tell you what, we have some shite players on our team. It think Weahs cousin was better than Mvuka.
I didn’t have the balls to watch it (went out a spin in the motor)…
But bloody DELIGHTED with the outcome if not the performance although there are ridiculous injuries perhaps mitigating that situation…
This could really and (hopefully) truly derail The Sevco Huns season !
James I can’t agree that was no tactical masterclass it was pure luck that got us through that 120 minutes without conceding, having said that where were the twenty four shots the Ibrox side supposedly had?. Sinisalo had one save to make in the first half from Chermiti that was eventually ruled offside although the keeper didn’t know that at the time. In my honest opinion this Celtic side aren’t good enough to win anything this season, we’re lightweight in attack and I don’t see where the goals are coming from. Cvancara, Adamu and Mvuka are offering zilch. The midfield we had out yesterday was atrocious and Luke McCowan for all he’s a Celtic fan he’s never Celtic class and I’d free him in the summer, Hatate’s an empty jersey and has been for over a season, yes, he had a good second half last week but that’s an outlier formwise for him. We know on his day he can be unplayable but he doesn’t many days now. Nygren is an enigma his goals are why we’re still in the title race but he offers nothing else. The defence is missing CCV and AJ although Araujo has been a decent replacement at right back. Our team’s regression is so alarming and if we did win the double this board would be likely to ask what all the fuss is about and probably cut the playing staff again for next season, it’s the main reason why they can’t be allowed to continue. They appointed Nancy that’s unforgivable, they’ve paid twenty-three million to HMRC in corporation tax in the last two seasons when it could’ve been spent on players. Does anybody trust them to choose the next manager, because I don’t? I’ve seen reports that the club are looking at bringing in players how can they do that without having a manager signing off on that as they might not fit the new manager’s system? We’re an absolute clusterfuck on and off the park and at 61 I’ve seen the club in turmoil before but this is an unprecedented time in our unbroken history and it’s still to hit rock bottom. We need the Desmond’s to sell up and get rid of every director that’s currently in situ as their tenures have been far too long, the average directorship is five to eight years and most of these guys are approaching twenty odd years on this board. We’re in a dreadful state and I don’t see an end to the fallout around the club anytime soon. I hope I’m wrong but I doubt it.