'A cup triumph built on character, bravery and belief'
- Published
In the aftermath of Sunday's exhilarating (but exhausting) League Cup final, Brendan Rodgers said the outcome on the day came down to two key factors.
A strong mentality, and a strong desire to win. His Celtic side have both qualities in abundance.
It is generally accepted that the team who scores first in a cup final more often than not goes on to lift the trophy. But someone forgot to tell Daizen Maeda. And Kasper Schmeichel. And Cameron Carter-Vickers.
There's no doubt Celtic were below their best and the sharpness and intricate passing we've enjoyed during the season so far was largely lacking at a windswept Hampden.
Moments of slackness contributed to all three of Rangers' goals, a fact that will have given cause for concern to both the manager and fans.
However, in football sometimes it is less about the errors you make, and more about how you respond to them that can make all the difference.
Greg Taylor made a huge mistake in the lead-up to Rangers' opening goal, and then followed up with a repeat that almost saw us go two down.
And while he had Carter-Vickers to thank for saving the day on that occasion it was Taylor's own desire to atone for his errors that was most impressive.
While others may choose to hide and play safe he continued to show for the ball in tight areas and ultimately was the man who dragged us back in to the game with his 56th minute strike.
Massive goals then followed from the machine that is Daizen Maeda, and the clinical Nicolas Kuhn, and we all thought we were headed for a stress-free Sunday.
However, that wasn't to be and so the Bhoys had to again regroup and refocus for what would eventually become 'the lottery' of a penalty shootout.
A lottery, however, is described as a game of chance, and if anyone thinks that the execution of Celtic's five perfect penalties, and the heroics of Schmeichel - all at the Rangers end of Hampden - were anything to do with luck then they haven't been watching closely enough.
It takes character, bravery and belief to finish off a contest in such a way but these are the characteristics of a Rodgers side, and of a side who continue to write their own piece of Celtic history.
And while we fans will bask in the glory of this one for a few days yet, Rodgers has already turned attentions to Dundee Utd this weekend.
That, as they say, is why we're champions.
