Canceled before even kicking a ball for Celtic following a loan from Norwich in January, Adam Idah probably felt he was fighting a losing battle when he arrived in Glasgow.
With fans clamoring for a blockbuster, big-money signing, signing an inexperienced and inexperienced young striker from the English Championship wasn’t exactly what they had in mind.
However, over these past few months, Idah has been worth her weight in gold. After scoring some important goals in the title race, she popped up in the dying seconds of this Scottish Cup final to score the only goal of the match.
It wasn’t entirely easy, but it got Celtic out of jail after what had been by far their worst Old Firm performance of the season.
Rangers were the better team in the second half and were furious that referee Nick Walsh disallowed a goal by substitute Abdallah Sima after he was sent to the VAR screen.
Adam Idah came off the bench to score Celtic’s 90th-minute winning goal in the Scottish Cup final.
Idah pounced after Jack Butland made a rare error, missing Paulo Bernardo’s effort.
Idah’s winning goal capped what has been a hugely impressive loan spell for the striker.
Despite being ravaged by injuries, Philippe Clement’s side bounced back and looked the stronger of the two teams as a tense and cagey final drew to a close.
However, as the clock ticked down in the 90th minute, it was Idah who took advantage of a rare error by Rangers goalkeeper Jack Butland.
Butland appeared to lose sight of Paulo Bernardo’s long-range shot and could only deflect it into the danger area, where Idah put the ball into the net.
On the Hampden side, which housed the Celtic supporters, there were scenes of wild celebration. Despite being far from their best form, Brendan Rodgers’ team had achieved a league and cup double.
Idah’s fingerprints are on both trophies. The reality is that he has scored some vital goals at key moments for Celtic over the past few months.
Scoring in the 3-3 draw against Rangers at Ibrox in early April, the Irishman joked that he would never have to buy a drink in his hometown of Cork again after meeting family and friends again.
This surely applies tenfold now. In total, he has scored nine goals during his loan spell at Parkhead. Dismissed as a failure, it has been Idah who has had the last laugh.
For Rangers, this is the first time they have failed to beat Celtic in a full season for the first time since the 2017-18 campaign.
In the first Old Firm Scottish Cup final in 22 years, they will lament the lack of a lethal touch up front despite considering them the better of the two teams.
Rodgers’ record of never losing a game at Hampden continues. The same goes for Celtic captain Callum McGregor’s record of never losing a final.
Incredibly, Rodgers’ record against Rangers now extends to 14 wins in 18 games. That is equivalent to almost half a season of games.
Rodgers arrived at Hampden with the luxury of a team that largely chose itself, such was the burst of form that had carried Celtic to the league title during the final weeks of the season.
In truth, the main event lacked quality until Idah’s final intervention at Hampden Park.
Abdallah Sima’s goal for Rangers was disallowed after Nicolas Raskin pushed goalkeeper Joe Hart.
The polar opposite would be true for Clemente. The Rangers boss admitted during the week that he would probably have to bet on the fitness of certain players and take some risks.
Ridvan Yilmaz started at left back despite only training for the first time on Friday, and Leon Balogun also arrived to partner Ben Davies in central defence.
Abdallah Sima was only fit enough for a place on the bench, while John Lundstram was benched despite returning from suspension following his red card in the match at Celtic Park a fortnight ago.
Balogun was forced into action after just a couple of minutes when he made an excellent sliding tackle on Daizen Maeda, who had gotten away from James Tavernier too easily.
The battle between Maeda and Tavernier always seemed significant. In recent Old Firm matches, Celtic’s Japanese winger has given the Rangers captain a torrid time.
It was a cagey affair in the first half. In the 18th minute, Rangers striker Fabio Silva broke free from Alistair Johnston, but his shot was tame and easily saved by Joe Hart.
This was the last game of an illustrious career for Hart, and the 37-year-old former England goalkeeper is now set to retire.
Celtic cried out for a penalty in the 23rd minute when a quick move from Kyogo Furuhashi caused the ball to bounce and hit the hand of Rangers defender Davies.
Given some of the handball and VAR decisions witnessed this season, Davies could perhaps consider himself lucky that referee Nick Walsh was not sent to the screen to take a look.
After all the concerns Rangers had in central defense before the game, Balogun and Davies were having a decent game.
It says something about how this Rangers team has been allowed to stagnate that a half-fit 35-year-old still appears to be the club’s best centre-back, but that’s where Rangers are with Balogun.
Without a contract in the summer, you can understand why so many fans are interested in the club at least keeping him as a squad player for next season.
Celtic’s midfield never clicked for the first 45 minutes. Reo Hatate and Matt O’Riley were quiet, while Callum McGregor was booked for throwing at Todd Cantwell.
Mohamed Diomande was an influential figure for Rangers in central midfield, but their attacking options took a hit when Cyriel Dessers left at half-time.
Dessers, a much-maligned figure for much of the season despite scoring 22 goals, spoke before the match about how he felt as if he had been made a scapegoat at times during a difficult debut season at Ibrox.
But he suffered a knock that he was never able to shake off and was eventually replaced by Sima as the teams emerged from the tunnel again for the second half.
Sima’s first involvement was receiving a rather ridiculous yellow card after tangling with Celtic defender Johnston.
However, just two minutes later, it was Sima who thought he had broken the deadlock when he reached the far post to push the ball into the net following a Tavernier corner.
However, the goal was disallowed after Walsh consulted the VAR screen, where he saw an apparent push on Hart by Nico Raskin.
If that decision was unpopular with Rangers fans, what happened just a couple of minutes later didn’t endear Walsh any more to them.
In another laborious and impressive performance, Dujon Sterling slid in to make what appeared to be an excellent tackle on Celtic defender Greg Taylor.
However, inexplicably, Walsh not only deemed him worthy of a foul but even booked the Rangers man. Clearly, it was a ridiculous decision.
Kyogo Furuhashi, often a thorn in the Rangers’ side, was having a quiet game and was eventually replaced by Idah just after the hour mark.
It meant Brendan Rodgers lifted another trophy with Celtic while maintaining his impressive record.
During these last few months, Idah, on loan from Norwich City, has been worth his weight in gold.
Rangers were the better team in the second half and came close to making a breakthrough when Raskin lofted a ball across goal, only for Cameron Carter-Vickers to step in and direct it to safety.
The truth is that it had been a match with little quality and clear chances. With extra time just around the corner, it looked like one mistake could very well solve it, and it did.
Butland has been Rangers’ best player this season by far, but he will know he should have done much better in his efforts to deal with Bernardo’s shot.
Idah swooped in and a sea of green would soon invade Hampden. Having played a huge part in delivering the silverware, Celtic fans rose to cheer their unlikely golden boy.
