Brendan Rodgers hails Odsonne Edouard as Celtic aim for another domestic treble

Celtic kept on course for a second successive domestic treble when they disposed of Greenock Morton in the quarter-finals of the William Hill Scottish Cup with what proved to be an ultimately comfortable victory, despite a goalless first half. The holders enjoyed 70% of possession in the first half but could not find a way through an obdurate Morton midfield and back line, marshalled by the vastly experienced Gary Harkins.

By the hour mark of the lunchtime fixture some Celtic fans had begun to speculate on the possibility of a replay but their anxiety was soothed when Moussa Dembele met a fine cross from Tom Rogic with a header which Derek Gaston reached, but could not stop. Dembele added a second from the penalty spot soon afterwards, having gone down in a challenge from Michael Doyle, although the initial contact occurred outside the box.

Odsonne Edouard, who had replaced Scott Sinclair at half time, struck Celtic’s third in the dying seconds and – despite having missed two simple chances while the score was still 0-0 – was praised by Brendan Rodgers. “Odsonne was the key difference in the game,” said the Hoops manager.

“He shows his quality, his hold-up play, his movement, his speed, then scores a very good goal.”

The second tie of the afternoon, between Aberdeen and Kilmarnock, went ahead at Pittodrie although the South Stand was closed because its water supply had been disrupted. Kilmarnock have been the surprise package of the Scottish Premiership since Steve Clarke took over in the autumn, but their record against Aberdeen is less impressive and includes two 3-1 defeats.

The Dons seemed to be heading towards another victory when they went ahead in the first half after their captain, Graeme Shinnie, saw an attempted cross veer into the net. That advantage was, however, annulled when Shay Logan and Kari Arnason were judged to have fouled Jordan Jones for a penalty kick which was put away by the veteran Killie striker, Kris Boyd, for his 17th goal of the season, to ensure a replay at Rugby Park on March 13.

Speaking to BBC Scotland afterwards, the Aberdeen manager, Derek McInnes, disputed the award that led to the equaliser when he said: “I don’t think it’s a penalty. There isn’t any contact, he (Jones) goes down and I can understand maybe why, at first, he thought it could have been a penalty but I don’t think my players bring Jones down.   

“We got off to a brilliant start and Shinnie’s driving runs from full-back were a key part of that in the first half. We were the better team in the first half, we had the better of the opportunities and we played the game more in their half of the field.

Meanwhile, ahead of today’s meeting of Rangers and Falkirk, Graeme Murty admitted that he remains taken aback that he is in charge at Ibrox, even four months into a second interim spell in the position.

Talk of a title challenge to Celtic owes more to fanciful imaginations than sober reality, but a second-place finish and a single-figure points gap would represent progress to the Rangers faithful and advance Murty’s prospect of a longer spell as manager.

“I'm still stunned to be sitting here, to be perfectly honest,” Murty said. “I'm enjoying every moment and I am still thankful and grateful for the opportunity.

“Whether it continues will always be outwith the people in this group and it won't be down to me, but what we can do is make sure the players put themselves in a really good situation to be successful in the latter part of the season. And if we do that, you never know what might happen. It might all have a positive outcome.”

Should Rangers beat Falkirk, Murty will reacquaint himself with Hampden Park. He never played there during his four appearances for Scotland but Murty savoured a visit to the stadium when Rangers beat Ronny Deila’s Celtic in a Scottish Cup semi-final in 2016.

“I love it. It’s fantastic,” he said. “My first experience as a Rangers employee of an Old Firm game was going there and watching it and the players will tell you that they’re desperate to get there. But we have to take care of the next game and when we actually walk out at Ibrox, that game at Hampden won’t be on our minds.

“It’ll be making sure that we take care of business and perform properly and – credit to the players – they’ve done that remarkably well since Christmas and moved their own game forward, fairly significantly, I would say."

Motherwell are at home to Hearts earlier this afternoon in the other quarter-final tie and the draw for the semi-finals will be made at Ibrox after the Rangers v Falkirk match.