DAIZEN MAEDA could – and should – have won the Scottish Cup for Celtic when he raced through on Aberdeen keeper Dimitar Mitov in the third minute of stoppage-time.
The Japanese speedster could – and should – have sealed the champions’ first victory in Govan since September 2023 when he was one-on-one with the exposed Liam Kelly in the fading moments of nine minutes added-on time.
Maeda, of course, fluffed them both.
At Hampden, his low drive lacked precision and allowed the Dons No.1 to thrust out a left foot to divert the ball to safety.
At Ibrox, with virtually the last kick of the ball, he attempted to round the stranded netminder, got his feet in a fankle and the opportunity was lost.
OOPS…Daizen Maeda loses control of the ball with Rangers keeper Liam Kelly grounded and the chance of a late winner at Ibrox is squandered.
OOPS…Daizen Maeda watches as Dimitar Mitov deflects his stoppage-time effort to safety as the Dons recover to win the Scottish Cup on penalty-kicks.
Maeda collected his 33rd goal of a prolific campaign when he netted a double in the 5-0 Scottish Cup semi-final romp against St Johnstone on April 20.
With six games still to play, some punters were wondering about the odds on the 27-year-old international raider hitting 40.
Alas, Maeda fired blanks for the remainder of the season.
Why the on-fire jet-heeled attacker suddenly siezed up with forever remain a mystery.
He was allowed time off from the 5-1 win over the Dons at Pittodrie for family reasons with his wife due to give birth, but he he played every minute of the games against Dundee United (5-0), Rangers (1-1) and Hibs 3-1) and 72 minutes of the 1-1 Trophy Day stalemate with St Mirren.
At no time did Maeda invite the rival shotstopper to retrieve the ball from his net.
That would have been incomprehensible to anyone who had watched the same player wallop in nine strikes in four successive games against Motherwell, Dundee, Raith Rovers and Bayern Munich in February.
THUMB’S UP…Celtic fans’ favourite Daizen Maeda.
So, what caused the dramatic dip in form? There were family pressures, of course, and the air miles were clocked up as Maeda flew from Scotland to Japan with his wife on the verge of making him a father for the third time.
Unfortunately, he missed the birth of his son with professional matters to attend to in Glasgow. Undoubtedly, such situations do not help anyone focus on other matters.
Inevitably, transfer speculation also kicked in with Fenerbahce, Spurs and Uncle Tom Cobley apparently poised to write monumental cheques for the player and send his salary sky high.
In such trying circumtances it may be difficult for an individual to keep his eye on the ball, but I am certainly not inferring this was the case with the Celtic forward.
Neither can I accept Maeda simply ran out of juice. The man is a physical phenomenon, as the Hoops medics and science team have previously attested.
Possibly it will remain a puzzle for evermore.
The answer lies with the player. And maybe we will get a pointer when the new season comes along.
ALEX GORDON
£8.4m MAEDA? THE SILLY SEASON IS UPON US
