CALLUM McGREGOR maintained his truly remarkable sequence of success when he won his THIRTEENTH Cup Final yesterday.
The Celtic skipper went into the Premier Sports League Cup Final against Rangers only seven months after making it 12-in-a-row against the same opponents when he lifted the Scottish Cup following Adam Idah’s late winner.
It was tight at the national stadium as the Ibrox side scrapped for two hours to earn a 3-3 draw and force the grand finale to penalty-kicks.
Strong nerves and brave hearts were required as the Hoops lost the toss for ends and had to shoot into the hostile environment populated by the Govan club’s fans.
If the cacophony of booing and jeering was intended to put Brendan Rodgers’ men off their stroke, the ”tactic’ failed miserably.
THE FINAL SAY…Callum McGregor shows off the newly-won League Cup as the Celtic skipper and his team-mates take a lap on honour at Hampden.
Serial winner McGregor was second up on the champions’ spot-kick list with Idah making a perfect job of the first attempt.
The 31-year-old midfield inspiration ignored the racket surrounding that part of the ground to tuck the ball beyond Jack Butland.
In a perfect procession, Arne Engels, Reo Hatate and Daizen Maeda stepped up to fire in from 12 yards while Kasper Schmeichel had denied Ridvan Yilmaz with an excellent full-length dive to his left to stop the Turkish defender’s attempt just inside the post.
McGregor and Co deservedly celebrated the first trophy of the crusade and the former Scotland international anchorman smiled as he earned his seventh medal in the competition.
There was also a personal hat-trick for the skipper. That’s the third time he has picked up a medal with Rangers providing the opposition – the first in 2019 when Christopher Jullien got the only goal of the game and four years later when Kyogo Furuhashi claimed a double in a 2-1 triumph.
Watch McGregor’s latest Hampden success – courtesy of those good folk at Celtic TV Unique Angle.
SCHMEICHEL, MAEDA ARE SILVERWARE CELTS
