Celtic fans will be finally enjoying some respite after a pulsating Scottish Cup semi-final victory over Aberdeen on penalties.
On a day that will go down in the memory books as a classic, the Bhoys were at the centre of a dramatic period of normal and extra time that yielded a 3-3 scoreline at Hampden.
Bojan Miovski opened the scoring early on before Nicolas Kuhn’s equaliser put Celtic in the ascendancy for most of the first half.
Veteran winger James Forrest replaced Hyunjun Yang around the hour mark, making his presence known by driving infield and slotting low past Kelle Roos from the edge of the box.
Nevertheless, Celtic surrendered the advantage at the end of 90 and 120 minutes, with Matt O’Riley’s precise finish sandwiched between late headers from Ester Sokler and Angus MacDonald.
Of course, this led us to penalties, which resulted in Joe Hart’s heroics despite missing a chance from the spot to book our place in the final, as he saved Killian Phillips’ kick to send the sizeable Celtic support into raptures.
Despite fluffing his lines, Brendan Rodgers revealed post-match that Hart is determined to step up again from 12 yards.
He stated: “He says he still wants another penalty. We’ve worked on it the last couple of days; before the cup games, we go into them knowing who is taking the penalties. It was a great save, and he’s the hero in the end”
Joe Hart’s mind games during Scottish Cup semi-final shootout
At 37 years of age, Hart has been around the block in football, picking up his fair share of tips on how to throw off opposition players before they take their spot-kick.
Bizarrely, Paulo Bernardo narrowly squeezed past Kelle Roos during the shootout, resulting in the Dutchman receiving treatment after experiencing obvious discomfort.
Ryan Duncan was next in line to take for Aberdeen and hit the post with his effort following a delay that amplified the pressure on his shoulders.
Now, Aberdeen caretaker boss Peter Leven has revealed he was trying to get Duncan to stay away from Hart amid his attempts to play mind games with the Scotland Under-21 international.
Leven explained [Press and Journal]: “Kelle has got cramp. We were trying to tell Ryan to get away from Joe Hart.
“I don’t know if Joe Hart was trying to get into his head. In the end, Ryan missed, but I have nothing but admiration for anyone who walks up and takes a penalty.”
According to some, penalties are a lottery and purely determined by luck; however, Hart proved yesterday that you make your own good fortune in crunch situations, using every advantage along the way to put the opposition on the back foot from a psychological perspective.
Demonstrating incredible mental strength, the former Manchester City legend recovered from his own failure to convert by composing himself and saving Phillips’ effort later on, gaining deserved adulation for Celtic’s passage to the final.
Once his time comes to an end at Parkhead, Celtic will miss his leadership qualities on the field, though let’s hope Hart can have the send-off his career merits.