Joe Hart reflects on Celtic penalty miss vs Aberdeen and explains confidence from spot

Joe Hart has revealed where his penalty confidence comes from after stepping up to take one in Celtic's Scottish Cup semi-final with Aberdeen.

The now retired ex-Hoops goalkeeper was a shock spot kick taker as he stepped up to take one in a tense shoot-out as the sides battled to make it to the final after a thrilling and goal-laden 120 minutes. He looked relaxed and self-assured but not so much when he watched his effort come back off the base of the post.

Luckily for him, he was able to redeem himself by saving the next Dons kick and that won the tie for his side and sent them into the final, where they were triumphant over Rangers. Hart had previously taken one for England under-21s and for Manchester City in a friendly against Roma.

"I took a penalty for Celtic in a shootout to decide the Scottish Cup semi-final against Aberdeen in April,” he said in his BBC Sport column. I hit the post but I made up for it immediately with the save that sent us through.

“That was the first competitive spot-kick I had taken since 2009. I had scored that time, for England against Sweden in the semi-final of the European Under-21 Championship when we won on sudden death. But I missed the first one I ever took, in 2005 for Shrewsbury Town against Sheffield United when I was 18. I hit the stanchion...and we lost, but I suppose I can say I never had a spot-kick saved.

“On all three occasions, though, I was one of the first five takers, because I have always put my name forward to take them – I have not been stepping up reluctantly as 10th or 11th in line. I took plenty more in pre-season games too. I know they are not as important but I always wanted to let the manager know that I felt confident, because I did.

“Whenever I took a penalty I would always think that if I executed what I planned to do, it could not be saved. Probably the best example of that is the one I took for Manchester City in a friendly with Roma in 2015.

“As a goalkeeper I know what is possible when you are standing on the line, in terms of what you can and cannot cover. With the right practice, I always felt I should be able to put it somewhere it cannot be reached. When I took it, I just tried to get myself in a mode where I felt confident and comfortable standing over the ball. Even then obviously you can still miss, but I was happy with the way that one went.”