CALLUM McGREGOR shot into double figures as he rifled in the barrier-breaking opening goal in the 5-0 Scottish Cup romp against St Johnstone at Hampden yesterday.
The Celtic captain will return to the venue where he has NEVER lost a Cup Final with his team-mates on Saturday May 24 where they will face Aberdeen with a world record ninth treble on the line.
McGregor produced a Man of the Match performance against shell-shocked Saints as he dictated the flow of play in the Hoops engine room and managed to get forward in the 34th minute, accept a cute backheel from Reo Hatate, take a couple of touches as he eased into the penalty area before whipping a low left-foot drive past keeper Andy Fisher.
TEN AND OUT…Callum McGregor races away to be congratulated by Alistair Johnston after hitting Celtic’s first goal – and his tenth of the season – against St Johnstone. James Forrest races to join in as helpless keeper Andy Fisher lies helpless on the ground.
The roof collapsed on the Perth side as Daizen Maeda (2) and Adam Idah added three more in a breathtaking 12-minute spell that made certain the holders would be returning to the southside of Glasgow to defend their trophy next month.
To add a little sprinkling of magic dust, Filipe Jota netted No.5 in the 67th minute.
A jubilant McGregor reflected on a fine individual and team performance and said: “In the first-half, it was very, very good – four goals and it probably could have been more, as well, after the team had started with that intensity again.
“Semi-finals are always difficult. The opposition make it difficult for you to break them down and so the first goal is always important.
“Once we got the first one we started to click into gear again and probably that 10-15 minute period before half-time takes the game away from St Johnstone.
“So, it was excellent – ruthless in the way that we’re working. Another five goals and now we have the Final to look forward to at the end of next month.”
A BIG HAND…Callum McGregor applauds the fans as Celtic book a Scottish Cup Final spot against Aberdeen at Hampden next month.
McGregor now has a personal target as he edges closer to his best scoring tally of 13 which he achieved in the 2019/20 season.
Now on 10 goals with six games to play, the 32-year-old onfield leader, speaking to Celtic TV, added: “It’s nice, playing at the base of midfield, so it’s good numbers.
“Sometimes you have those wee spells where you hit things and they just seem to go in, so it’s always nice to contribute.
“Like I said, the first goal in a semi-final is always important.
“That broke the deadlock for us and gave us a good platform in the game to go and finish it off, so a really good day’s work and we’re happy that we’re into a Final.
“Now we can take care of the rest of the games and it’s obviously a big chance to get another trophy when we return to Hampden next month.”
RAMPANT HOOPS SET UP GRAND FINALE
