Daizen Maeda plunges Celtic dagger into Rangers hearts before reminding them 'only WE can win the Treble now'
Daizen Maeda plunged the dagger into Rangers hearts yet again – and the Celtic spot-kick star twisted the knife even further this time.
The Hoops running machine admitted he SCLAFFED his penalty decider to claim the Premier Sports Cup at Hampden. It might have looked like a bulleted effort from the stands on and the TV but Maeda revealed he didn’t quite catch his crucial spot-kick to pile even more agony on rivals Rangers. If that was possible.
There would have been a few Hoops fans slightly worried at the sight of the wide man stepping up to hit the fifth penalty with a chance to seal it after Kasper Schmeichel had saved from Ridvan Yilmaz. Maeda is loved by the Parkhead faithful and inflicted more damage when he fired Celts 2-1 ahead on a wild afternoon at the National Stadium. But, if folks are honest, composure from the spot is not exactly what he’s renowned for.
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Yet the man himself insisted he wasn’t jittery – even when he duffed his drive. Maeda said: “I wasn’t nervous at all. But because I was tired, and it was also a mis-kick, so it was a great goal. Was I worried? Not really, because of that the ball went the opposite side of the keeper. So, it was a very good moment.”
Talk about understatement of the year. Maeda sent the Celtic end into ecstasy – and left the Rangers fans crushed. And that was what mattered more to the attacker than the personal glory.
Maeda said: “The celebration from the supporters shows you a lot and we had to win this game, so it was good to get the result.”
Again, Maeda is not a man for hyperbole. The guy has ice in his veins at times – like when he pounced to fire Celtic ahead early in the second half.
It was a sensational first touch and lethal finish – even if there was much more drama to come. Maeda has become one of the chief tormentors of Gers with four goals and four assists against the Ibrox men and he was thrilled to maintain the torture.
He said: “When you control well then it’s easy to score the goals. That’s how I went for that. It was kind of a reminder for me to control well before I got the shot. Personally, I don’t feel anything [about the Rangers’ record]. But the supporters feel more for that, so I’m happy to make them feel good. At this club you have to win, you can’t lose or draw. It’s league games, it’s cup games. I’m very glad we’ve got the first title this year.”
Maeda is a man of few words but there is one beginning with T now on the lips of a lot of Celtic fans. One trophy in the cabinet and a huge lead in the Premiership has paved the way to another record season. Maeda said: “Now we’re the only one who has the chance to win the Treble, so yes. But right now we just enjoy the moment – and after we have a rest and we will try to focus on the next game.”
Maeda might be a cool customer but he does enjoy these moments. And also relishes the chance to take them in with his family around. Kids Soyo and Tensei are regularly spotted on the Parkhead pitch kicking a ball around with their dad after matches and this time they were on the Hampden surface soaking up the celebrations.
Maeda said: “Now it has become a part of the normal recovery for me, so it is good. Everything I achieve is for my children, especially my son as he now understands football and he sees me playing and how I play. I like to make him smile.”
There were a good few thousand more grins in Glasgow as well. Celtic had to dig this one out though. Rangers threw everything at it and the Hoops were not quite at their fluent best. Yet the Parkhead men know how to win – even when things are not going to plan.
They overturned the Rangers lead with a second-half blitz and even after getting pegged back again to 2-2 they went ahead late on. Gers responded once more to set up extra time and by that stage it looked like the Hoops had the more energy.
They needed penalties to get the job done and midfielder Paulo Bernardo insisted Celtic’s character got them over the line. He said: “I feel very good, I’m very happy with this achievement. We are Celtic so we always try to win and we did it. Our mentality is to win every game. We had a very difficult game, the opponent was very good. They didn’t make things easy but we showed our quality and mentality in the penalties. I’m very happy for Daizen Maeda – what a run, what a goal. Everything was good there.”
Bernardo got the nod ahead of Arne Engels and put in a huge shift to complete his personal clean sweep of medals. He said: “I played three competitions that I could win and we won them all as a team. Everything is perfect right now. I’m very happy for this moment.
“The fans support us every game and this game was fantastic. They always push us for the win in the final moments. I’m very happy we can celebrate this moment with them.”
