BRENDAN RODGERS lifted his tenth trophy as Celtic boss – after preparing like it was his FIRST.
The Hoops boss saluted his players for holding their nerve to lift the Premier Sports League Cup at Hampden.
Daizen Maeda netted the decisive spot-kick to leave Rangers gutted.
And Rodgers beamed: “I think I know the magnitude of this game.
“It’s Celtic and Rangers and it’s worldwide for both sets of supporters
“It means so much to people’s lives.
“It’s maybe, what, my 20th game?
“But I always treat it like the first and prepare that way.
“But it’s all about coming out on the other side.
“And the guys showed a big heart to come back from being behind in the game and then to obviously show that composure in the penalties.
“And the most important thing has been at the podium at the end and they achieved that.
“It was a great, great game to be involved in.
“It’s one of those ones where you you never get it all your own way.
“Rangers played well in spells and we had moments spells in the game as well.
“Ultimately, it’s about coming out on top and we were able to do that.
“We obviously made mistakes and then I thought Rangers punished it really well.”
Celts scored all five of their spot-kicks and Rodgers beamed:
“I think it’s twice now we’ve been here – but we practised them a lot.
“The coaches do great work on that.
Celtic & Rangers player ratings
By Derek McGregor and Kenny MacDonald
CELTIC
KASPER SCHMEICHEL: Early stop from deflected Hagi shot. Held Balogun header. Pushed out Igamane shot for Bajrami tap-in. Beat away Cerny shot. Poor at Cerny cross for Danilo header. Shoot-out save turned it…7
ALISTAIR JOHNSTON: Recovered from a hip knock but troubled by Hagi. Also had Raskin over him like a rash during attacking forays. Solid second half. Replaced at 70 minutes and he was a miss…6
CAMERON CARTER-VICKERS: Unsure header from Tavernier long ball created Hagi chance. Magnificent defending to get a block on Bajrami when Gers were 4 on 2. Always a strong figure at back. Booked…7
AUSTON TRUSTY: Commanding presence, strong when he had to be in challenges and composed on ball, faultless use of it. Hefty collision with Balogun. Subbed half time, likely injured…5
GREG TAYLOR: Celts future up in air, didn’t do popularity with fans any good with shocking pass for Gers opener. Got away with another blunder. Levelled with 20-yard shot deflected of Raskin. Subbed…5
CALLUM MCGREGOR: Skipper unusually subdued first half but whole of Celtic midfield was stifled. Never question his competitiveness, got stuck in. Nerves of steel with shoot-out penalty. Equal with Billy McNeill on 23 trophies…7
PAULO BERNARDO: He’s ahead of Engles just now and that comes with a pressure to prove he’s better than £11 million man. Free-kick blocked. Reasonable game. Replaced after 70 minutes…6
REO HATATE: At times looked pedestrian, had to do more to move his Gers counterparts about. Big early chance saved by Butland. Improved second half and had close range effort parried. Shoot-out penalty…7
NICOLAS KUHN: Stunning pace to get in behind and leave marker for dead, tried to cut across Butland but keeper denied him. BIG chance. Skinned Jefte, shot saved. Clinical finish for Celtic’s third. Subbed…8
DAIZEN MAEDA: Found Tavernier lot more difficult but also surprisingly got little of the ball. Second half lively, brilliant opportunistic goal, control and finish. Faded towards extra time. But then emphatically struck shoot-out winner…8
KYOGO FURUHASHI: Scourge of Gers with eight goals but struggled. One effort easily saved. Lucky to remain on for second half. Point blank shot saved. His deflection past Schmeichel. Subbed…5
SUBS: Liam Scales (6) flashed header wide, booked and lucky not to concede penalty; Tony Ralston (5) replaced Johnston, wanting at Danilo header; Arne Engels (6) superb assist for Kuhn. Shoot-out penalty; Adam Idah (6) took over Furuhashi, shoot-out penalty; Alex Valle (5) and James Forrest (3) on in extra time to move level with Bobby Lennox on 25 trophies as most decorated Celt.
RANGERS
JACK BUTLAND: Crucial early save at feet of Kuhn then from Hatate’s rebound. Another big save from Hatate at 1-1 and helpless at the Celtic goals. Slotted shoot-out penalty. 7
JAMES TAVERNIER: Gers fans were fearful of their skipper against Maeda’s pace but he mostly coped well against the Japanese. Sent extra-time free-kick over then blazed great opening across goal. Booked. 7
LEON BALOGUN: Third final in a year for veteran and he made a key early tackle on Maeda then saw header saved by Schmeichel. Early booking contributed to him being subbed. 6
ROBIN PROPPER: Looked like being a long day when he was skinned for pace by Kuhn in opening 15 minutes but recovered to be solid. Nothing flashy but dealt with Celtic strikers capably. 7
JEFTE: Little impact. A first-half booking was practically his only contribution and he was hooked immediately after Maeda’s goal. It all looked a bit much for him. 5
NICO RASKIN: Has had better days but stuck at it. Deflected Taylor’s drive past Butland then his slack pass played Balogun into bother and let Maeda through to score. Booked. 6
MO DIOMANDE: Ivorian was disciplined and important to his side while Rangers were on top. After the break forced Schmeichel into a big save then forced ball in for equaliser. 7
VACLAV CERNY: Saw a drive charged down in first-half stoppage time then forced a save from Schmeichel as his side chased. Pinpoint cross for Danilo equaliser. 6
NEDIM BAJRAMI: Albanian pounced on Taylor’s poor pass to score Rangers’ first goal against Celtic in nearly four hours. Stayed close to McGregor in key shadowing role for his side. 6
IANIS HAGI: Forced an early save from Schmeichel in what was the Romanian’s first Rangers Final. But he found it hard to make an impression and passing was slack. Booked. 5
HAMZA IGAMANE: Recovered from early clash with Carter-Vickers but never quite imposed himself and didn’t look like continuing scoring run. Sent a second-half effort wildly off target. Booked. 5
Subs : Ridvan Yilmaz (Jefte 60,4) sold himself badly at Celtic’s third then saw shoot-out penalty saved; Dujon Stirling (Balogun 66,5) pace helped him handle situations, booked; Danilo (Bajrami 85,6) got ahead of Ralston to score bullet header 21 seconds after re-start; Cyriel Dessers (Igamane 100,4) instant booking; Connor Barron (Diomande 105,3) little impact; Kieran Dowell (Cerny 105,3) no impression.
“A lot of the players take a couple of penalties each day.
“So we knew when the final whistle goes who was taking them and the importance of the order in which they go.
“But you’re still looking for your goalkeeper to come out and, obviously, Kasper makes a really good save for us.”
The Hoops boss gave his players permission to party after their Hampden shoot-out heroics.
He added: “It’s about celebrating this one.
“It’s about celebrating it well and being with your families and enjoying it.
“Then we’re back in on Wednesday, getting ready for Dundee United. And that is it. That is it.
“They can enjoy it, put it to bed, and then it’s our next game that is the most important one.
“And then we see how the season progresses from there.
“It’s such a special win for us today and we’ll then get ready for our next game.’
“We’ve done so, so well since pre-season.
“You always want to put a marker down if you can win that first trophy.
“It can give you that huge lift and it’s really a reward for how the players have been up until this point.”
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