Celtic vs Inverness CT. Scottish Cup Final.
Hampden Park.
Match report as Celtic beat Inverness 3-1 in the Scottish Cup final at Hampden Park; Kyogo Furuhashi, Liel Abada and Jota score for Ange Postecoglou's side, with Dan Mackay grabbing a consolation goal for Inverness; Celtic have now won a record-breaking eight domestic trebles
Saturday 3 June 2023 21:36, UK
Celtic sealed a record-breaking eighth domestic treble as they eased to a 3-1 win over Inverness Caledonian Thistle in the Scottish Cup final.
Having already secured the Premiership and League Cup titles, Ange Postecoglou's side arrived at Hampden Park with a remarkable fifth treble in seven years well within their sights.
Inverness were not expected to pose too much of a problem for Scotland's dominant side and that ultimately proved to be the case, with Postecoglou - who is a target for Tottenham as they search for a new manager - claiming his fifth trophy in just two seasons as Celtic boss.
Kyogo Furuhashi and Liel Abada gave Celtic a comfortable lead and, after Dan Mackay pulled a goal back against the run of play, Jota struck in stoppage time to spark the celebrations and seal an historic treble.
Inverness' status as a Championship side that had been reinstated to the competition by Queen's Park's disqualification in the fourth round made them huge outsiders against Celtic, but they held firm for the majority of the first half.
Celtic struggled to muster any opportunities - aside from a wayward effort from an off-balance Matt O'Riley - as the game headed towards half-time, but Furuhashi suddenly sprung into life to open the scoring in the 38th minute.
The forward had been an injury doubt before the game and barely touched the ball as Inverness frustrated Celtic, but he made sure he was first to O'Riley's low cross from the right of the penalty area, wrapping his foot around the ball and directing it high into Mark Ridgers' net.
Furuhashi almost scored his second just moments later, clipping the ball wide when one-on-one with Ridgers, but Celtic remained in control after half-time and doubled their lead through substitute Abada.
Ridgers avoided calamity when he saved from O'Riley after shanking the ball straight to Celtic's attackers, but the Hoops looked happy to play out the remnants of a one-sided encounter.
However, that plan was scuppered by Mackay, who came off the bench to power in Wallace Duffy's excellent cross with just six minutes remaining and spark hopes of a stunning comeback.
But Inverness' goal merely woke Celtic from their slumber, with Sead Haksabanovic drawing a good save from Ridgers before Jota powered in from close range after bringing down Abada's cross.
With the treble secured, thoughts will now turn to Postecoglou's future, with Spurs keen on speaking to the manager that has transformed Celtic's fortunes since arriving from Japan two years ago.
Postecoglou praised his Celtic side for working through their nerves, while he also sidestepped any questions on his future.
The Hoops boss told BBC Scotland he was "very proud", adding: "It's always harder when you're defending things, and the challenge for us this year was to push on and win the one trophy that eluded us last year.
"It feels great. It's a great day. I've loved every minute.
"It's been our mantra from day one - we want to be relentless in every way. They do it every day in training. They're a great group. They go down as history-makers.
"I thought we were a bit nervous at times today, trying to overdo things and not keep the game simple. We had to work our way through that but credit to the lads, they always find a way."
Asked about whether he would still be at Celtic next season, Postecoglou said: "I'm going to be a little bit selfish here because people around me, my family, have worked really hard to enjoy this moment.
"As disappointing as that may be, that's what I'm going to do. I will enjoy it as long as I can until people drag me away to talk about other things."
