Callum McGregor’s smart finish helped Celtic on their way to the Scottish Cup final as they beat Glasgow Rangers 2-0 at Hampden Park.
Celtic’s Callum McGregor celebrates scoring
Callum McGregor has told Celtic’s official website that he was especially pleased to score a goal in the Scottish Cup semi-final due to the faith that Brendan Rodgers showed in him by selecting him for the game.
McGregor’s place in the Hoops side for the Hampden Park showdown with Rangers was arguably one of the decisions that was up for debate with Tom Rogic recently returning to action.
But Rodgers decided to keep faith with the 23-year-old, who took just 11 minutes to vindicate the call by breaking the deadlock with a brilliantly composed finish as he latched onto a Moussa Dembele lay-off to virtually pass the ball into the back of the net from the edge of the box.
And he suggested that the manager’s faith in him made the goal all the sweeter.
“The manager has been praising me quite highly over the last few weeks so it as great to go out and play like that and get a goal like that on a big occasion,” he told the club’s official website.
“Tom (Rogic) was back fit and he has done incredibly well this year and it was good for the manager to back me and put me in the team and I have repaid him with the goal.
“Everyone in the squad this year has been outstanding. It’s hard to get in and stay in, especially with so many talented players and the way we have been getting result after result.
McGregor has arguably had a difficult time since emerging into the Bhoys first-team, with nearly half of his Scottish Premiership appearances coming from the bench.
Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers
And with the quality in Celtic’s midfield, it may not have surprised many previously if the academy graduate became something of a forgotten man at Parkhead at some stage.
However, after making a key impact on the big stage, McGregor will now be hoping that working for Rodgers can have the kind of impact on his career that has seen the likes of Stuart Armstrong, Kieran Tierney and Dembele take their games to the next level.
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