Brendan Rodgers: Players showed their mentality and professionalism to reach Hampden | OneFootball

Celtic are through to the semi-final of the Scottish Cup thanks to a dominant display over Hibs at Celtic Park this afternoon.

The Celts won 2-0 thanks to goals from Daizen Maeda and Adam Idah, and they limited the visitors to very few chances over the course of the game.

There was a lot of excitement in the build-up to today’s match, with Hibs bringing 7,000 supporters to Paradise, all of whom would have been buoyed by their side’s 2-1 victory over Celtic at Easter Road a few weeks back.

However, the Hoops were in full control of today’s quarter-final from the first whistle to the last, and, speaking to Celtic TV after today’s victory, the Celts’ boss, Brendan Rodgers, praised his side’s performance as he looked ahead to the Scottish Cup semi-final.

“I thought we played well in the game,” he said. “We were controlled and compact, which you need to be because Hibs have got quality players who can hurt you on the counter attack.

“We closed the game out at the end, but I felt that we were the dominant team throughout.

“We get to this part of the season where our job for the club and for the supporters is to win trophies, but you can only get there with the mentality and professionalism which the players have showed today and throughout the season.

“I thought the players were very good, they were really professional in how we played against Hibs’ system.

“Now we can focus on our semi-final and who we’ll play and be ready for that.”

Daizen Maeda took his goal tally for the season to 27 with his first-half strike this afternoon and he had several opportunities to add to that number throughout the match.

The forward’s impact on the success of the team so far this season has been clear to see, and Brendan was keen to highlight the Japanese attacker’s relentless work ethic when he spoke to Celtic TV after the match.

He added: “It’s incredible to see the ground that he makes up from when Nicolas makes the shot.

“The keeper makes the save, but Daizen reads it and he gets there and makes the finish.

“He’s priceless for us, he’s so good and right at the very end, he’s still running in behind, getting in there and can score.

“He’s a brilliant role model for any player.”

Fixtures

Celtic Vs. Hibernian - Sun, Mar 9th 2025, 15:00 Final score: 2 - 0 Match Report