Scottish Cup
Quarter-final
Sunday, March 10, 2024
Celtic Park, Glasgow
CELTIC… 4
(Maeda 7, 22 & 86, Kyogo 90+5)
LIVINGSTON… 2
(MacKay 12, Yengi 54)
Daizen Maeda marked his 100th appearance for Celtic with a hat-trick to put the Hoops into the semi-final of the Scottish Cup.
Kyogo also scored in added time to give Celtic a 4-2 win over a resolute Livingston side and ensure Brendan Rodgers maintains his record of having never lost a Scottish Cup tie.
Celtic started the match strongly, with Nicolas Kuhn looking lively on the right wing, although there was a scare in the fourth minute as Livingston hit the post when Ayo Obileye shot from inside the area, but the referee blew for a free-kick in any event.
And just three minutes later, Celtic took the lead. Kuhn cut inside from the right a floated a ball over the top of the defence for Maeda, who had raced beyond his marker.
The attacker took a touch before slotting the ball beyond Michael McGovern in the Livingston goal.
Just three minutes later, Maeda had another chance, but this effort went over the bar, and in the 12th minute, Livingston equalised.
A long ball found its way to Daniel MacKay, and he raced into the box before firing beyond Joe Hart and into the net to make it 1-1.
However, Maeda was intent on marking his 100th appearance for the Hoops in the best possible style and he restored Celtic’s lead on 22 minutes.
The Hoops hit Livvy on the counter-attack, and Matt O’Riley had two efforts on goal. The first was blocked by a defender while his second shot was saved by McGovern, but he only pushed the ball into the path of Maeda who headed home to make it 2-1.
And the Japanese internationalist had further efforts to grab a first-half hat-trick.
On 27 minutes, he surged past his marker before shooting from a right angle, with the keeper pushing the ball away. Then, just before half-time, his header at the back post from a Kuhn cross was saved on the line by McGovern.
And just before the break, Adam Idah had a chance, meeting a Liam Scales cross with his head, but it was saved at the near post.
Livingston had an early opportunity in the second-half to equalise when a cross from the right found Tete Yengi in space, but he couldn’t direct his header on target.
On 50 minutes, Paulo Bernardo latched on to a clever ball over the top from Kuhn, but his effort went just wide, and just three minutes later it was 2-2.
The visitors capitalised on a defensive mistake in the middle of the park, with the ball fed through to Yengi. He did well to fashion a chance to shoot, and fired a powerful shot beyond Joe Hart to level the tie.
The Hoops continued to push forward in search of a third goal and McGovern in the Livingston goal produced a superb save to tip over an Alistair Johnston shot, before he denied Kuhn with another good save.
James Forrest, on as a substitute for his first appearance since the game against Livingston just before Christmas, tried his luck with a curling effort from the edge of the box that went just wide.
But with five minutes remaining, Celtic got their third goal of the game and it was Maeda who slotted a Tomoki cross home from close range to claim the match ball.
And there was still time for Kyogo to add a fourth goal in added time.
He raced through on goal and slotted the ball beyond McGovern, and although the effort was initially ruled out for offside, a VAR check reversed the decision to give Celtic a 4-2 win and a place in Monday night’s Scottish Cup semi-final draw.
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