Adam Idah said it had been an “amazing feeling” to score the only goal of the game in the 90th minute as Celtic beat Rangers to add the Scottish Cup to their Scottish Premiership title.
Norwich City loanee Idah pounced when Jack Butland could only parry Paulo Bernardo’s shot into his path, giving the Hoops victory in the first Old Firm game to form the final since 2002.
“I said I’d come here to try and score as many goals as I could,” the forward told BBC Scotland. “I didn’t think I’d score a goal like this in front of all these fans.
“It’s an amazing feeling. It’s hard to put into words. Anyone here can see what it means to the fans, to the players. I’ve always supported Celtic, it’s amazing.”
Off the bench and on the scoresheet – Adam Idah has just won @CelticFC the @scottishgas Men’s Scottish Cup 🤯#ScottishCup pic.twitter.com/eKDh0GlGQi
— Scottish Gas Scottish Cup (@ScottishCup) May 25, 2024
Rangers had taken a point from across their four league encounters with Celtic in 2023/24 but the underdogs thought they had taken the lead when Abdallah Sima converted at close quarters from a corner in the 59th minute.
A VAR check redeemed Celtic, referee Nick Walsh adjudging goalkeeper Joe Hart to have been pushed in the back by Nico Raskin as the delivery came in.
Walsh officiated an increasingly ill-tempered game and Rangers will find plenty of reasons to believe they should have won it, although their wasteful finishing impeded their hopes.
The Gers triumphed 3-2 with a 90th-minute winner of their own when the teams last met in the final in 2002.
“Rangers came in with a big motivation,” said Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers. “We knew there would be challenges in the game. It’s all about the defining moments and we were able to get the winning goal because of that.
The trophy lift 🏆#ScottishCup pic.twitter.com/gnbzZdRDvk
— Scottish Gas Scottish Cup (@ScottishCup) May 25, 2024
“It’s a game where you don’t need to be perfect. You just need to win and we did that by the end. We found an energy and a will and desire to keep pushing. Thankfully, we got a winner.
“It’s been a fantastic season, to win a double. The problem is that when you win trophies, it becomes an expectation. That’s not a problem. You can’t take away what the Scottish Cup means for this club and our supporters.”
Republic of Ireland international Idah, who scored nine goals in 19 matches after making his Rangers debut in February, said he did not know whether he would make the move permanent from his Championship parent club.
“Football is tricky,” he reflected. “I love it here. I’ve said it previously: it’s a great club but I’m still contracted to Norwich. I’ll go back in the summer and who knows?”
