LUKE McCOWAN has an overwhelming desire to join the Celtic victory parade after the Scottish Cup Final at Hampden on Saturday May 24.
The all-action midfielder missed out the celebrations at the national stadium in mid-December after sitting in the stand to view the Premier Sport League Cup Final nailbiter against Ibrox opponents.
Following a six-goal extra-time stalemate, Brendan Rodgers’ side made certain the silverware was heading back to the east end of Glasgow with a 5-4 win in the dramatic penalty-kick shoot-out.
McCowan, who joined the champions on the August deadline day, was forced onto the sidelines after being Cup-tied following an appearance for Dundee in the opening round of the competition.
OLD PALS’ AXE…Luke McCowan heads past former Dundee team-mate Trevor Carson in Celtic’s 3-3 draw at Dens Park in January.
No such red tape will prevent the 27-year-old midfielder from appearing in the Scottish Cup, but the determined performer and his team-mates have a quarter-final obstacle in the shape of Hibs to negotiate at Parkhead tomorrow before hoping to take their place in Monday night’s semi-final draw.
With 7,000 fans to give them full backing, the Edinburgh club are up for the challenge, especially after their 2-1 win over Celtic in Leith in the league two weeks ago.
Adding extra spice is the admission from the SFA Head of Referees Willie Collum that the Hoops were denied a legitimate equalising goal from Daizen Maeda seven minutes from time.
The goal, of course, was awarded by referee Steven McLean, backed by standside assistant, after Alistair Johnston had whipped over a cross from the right byline.
VAR official Alan Muir erroneously ruled it out and the hosts breathed a sigh of relief and realised they had got away with one.
Rodgers and Co had a genuine grievance, but that should not obscure the fact the visitors were well off the pace in the opening 45 minutes when they practically gifted two goals to Josh Campbell.
ONLOOKER…Luke McCowan watches as Josh Campbell nets Hibs’ opener at Easter Road with team-mates Cameron Carter-Vickers and Callum McGregor also getting a close-up view.
McCowan played in that tortuous 45 minutes before being replaced at the interval by Reo Hatate as the Hoops attempted to turn the tide. Despite an opportunist effort from Maeda, there was to be no reward as the champions slumped to only their second Premiership loss of the season.
The ex-Dens Park star admitted: “I don’t think there’s a sense of frustration, but we want to go and put on a good performance and show that the last performance wasn’t great.
“So that will be the main aim come Sunday.
“They are on a great run, they will be coming into the game confident and they will be sure that they can get something from the game.
“And, as I said, we just need to go out there and perform well and, hopefully, that leads to us going through.”
McCowan, speaking to Celtic TV, continued: “We’re looking forward to it – knock-out football, you can’t get much better than that when you’re involved in it.
ON THE BALL…a determined Luke McCowan is a study in concentration in Celtic’s 1-0 win over Aberdeen at Pittodrie in December.
“Obviously, they get to bring a bigger allocation than normal, as well, so that will be exciting for the neutral I’d imagine, but we’re fully focused on this game. You’ve got to go and enjoy it and cherish it.
“And, by enjoying it, you need to go and put a performance on that leads to you going through.”
Looking forward to the crescendo to the campaign that could see Celtic seal a world record ninth treble, McCowan added: “You know that come week to week, there probably aren’t going to be as many changes in a team.
“You just want to do your best out on the training pitch and your best come the game to make sure you’re making an impact, and make sure that you’re in with a chance to get in the starting team.
“So, that’s the message for everybody in the team and in the squad – knowing how great a squad we’ve got, being able to push each other and maximise the performance.”
