ADAM IDAH banished the nightmare of his previous visit to Tynecastle as he rifled in a double in Celtic’s 4-1 triumph over Hearts on Saturday night.
Last time out, the Republic of Ireland powerhouse squandered an early penalty-kick as Brendan Rodgers’ side toppled to a highly-controversial 2-0 loss in March.
That defeat acted as a springboard for the champions to go full pelt as they lifted their third successive title with nine points to spare two months later.
It was the last occasion the Hoops sampled a domestic reverse as they went into overdrive to get the job done and they have maintained that momentum into this campaign as they moved three points clear of Aberdeen at the Premiership pinnacle.
On the same day, Phillipe Clement watched in horror as his side drew 1-1 with Dundee United and were jeered off the pitch with his strugglers now ELEVEN points adrift of their city rivals.
BY THE RIGHT…Adam Idah strokes in Celtic’s third goal as hapless Hearts defenders look on.
The capital city was smiles better for Rodgers’ men with Kyogo Furuhashi and Nicolas Kuhn adding to the grin factor with strikes to add to Idah’s double, one from an expertly-taken penalty-kick past the blameless Craig Gordon.
The burly £9.5million hitman could even see the funny side of raging and mindless home fans pelting him as he celebrated his goals that kept the team on course for a 55th crown in their history.
Idah said: “I definitely enjoyed it. They were giving me a bit when I was warming up, so I thought I’d give a bit back.
“I could probably buy all my Christmas presents with the amount of coins on the pitch!
“But, look, it’s a bit of banter and I was happy to celebrate in front of both sets of fans. You want to make an impact. I was delighted to get the goals and three points.
“It was a good day overall.”
CHEERS AND TEARS…Adam Idah races away in triumph with James Forrest in hor pursuit to congratulate the hitman, but (below) the Hearts support don’t see inclined to join in the festive merriment.
JEER WE GO…Adam Idah and James Forrest attempt to share the joy as Hearts fans react.
However, Idah, speaking to the Daily Record, admitted: “The first-half wasn’t great, it was a bit slow. But in the second-half we came out and showed what we are all about.
“It turned out really good.”
Referring to his spot-kick howler on the previous visit, the attacker said: “It was nice to make amends. It was in my head when I stepped up to take the penalty. I knew I wanted to score to put it right.
“Thankfully, I did that and I was really pleased with the two goals. To get the three points was great.”
Idah made an impact after coming off the substitutes’ bench for Kyogo in the 75th minute before claiming the third goal three minutes later with his third touch of the ball.
He was set up by Paulo Bernardo who had come on five minutes earlier as a replacement for £11million man Arne Engels.
Idah added: “With the squad we’ve got, everyone is capable of playing their part. I think that’s why we’ve been really good this season.
“It doesn’t matter who starts the game, it’s about making an impact.
JOY BHOYS…Adam Idah is congratulated by team-mates James Forrest and Yang Hyun-jun as Celtic power to three points at Tynecastle.
“Saturday showed the depth again. A couple of us spoke about it the other day, you could play anyone in the squad from the start.
“It’s probably the best problem for a manager to have. Everyone has been fantastic. It’s so good to have that with the amount of games we have and with Europe and everything.
“We know this period is going to be busy and it’s important for us to stick together. Everyone will be needed to play their part.”
Now it’s all eyes on the Champions League matchday five against Club Brugge at Parkhead on Wednesday night.
Once again, Idah hopes to be among the cheerleaders.
