Celtic Reach Scottish Cup Final

Celtic beat a battling St Johnstone this lunchtime in the Scottish Cup Semi Final at Hampden Park to keep alive the prospect of a double but you have to say they made hard work of it really.

It was the strangely named Dutch striker Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink who scored a penalty early on for Celtic but the side from Perth, on the east coast of Scotland, struck back with a lob from Martin Hardie.

However, it was the Dutchman who then grabbed his second goal with a straightforward header from a corner.

The First Division side wanted to put on a good display and not let themselves or their fans down and they certainly did that and turned in an impressive display to keep the Celtic defence busy throughout the game, which was played in glorious sunshine in Glasgow.

Celtic will now meet the winner of tomorrow’s second semi, also to be played at Hampden Park, between Hibernian and Dunfermline.

Apparently Hibernian’s Dean Shiels has recovered from a thigh problem but he and fellow midfielder Michael Stewart will not be in the squad for tomorrow’s game.

Scott Brown’s upcoming three-match ban does not apply to the Scottish Cup.

On-loan Hibs player Stephen Glass, suspended midfielder Stephen Simmons and cup-tied striker Tam McManus are all unavailable for the Pars.

Stevie Crawford is struggling with a back problem, but defender Scott Wilson should return from a muscle strain.

Whichever team wins tomorrow, I think I can say without too much contradiction, that they will go into the Final against Celtic as underdogs!

The Soccer Blogger