Scottish League Cup Semi-Final: Ross County v Celtic

:00:08. > :00:27.Unbelievable! A spectacular opening goal in the Derby. The shop is an

:00:28. > :00:34.absolute beauty. Is this a bit of history? It is. It is there. What a

:00:35. > :00:53.finish. It is Celtic's League Cup. Every manager wants his name in the

:00:54. > :00:57.history books. Jim McIntyre is the first ever Ross County boss to lead

:00:58. > :01:00.his team to the League Cup semifinal.

:01:01. > :01:08.The breakthrough made! Ronny Deila has already lifted this

:01:09. > :01:16.trophy, but he wants another one of the first step towards an historic

:01:17. > :01:19.trouble. Celtic have won the competition 15 times, they are top

:01:20. > :01:24.of the Premiership, 22 points ahead of Ross County. But the Highlanders

:01:25. > :01:28.do not to click back to many pages for inspiration.

:01:29. > :01:36.Ross County are going to the Scottish Cup final!

:01:37. > :01:37.We are live at Hampden Park for the latest chapter in the League Cup

:01:38. > :01:48.story. What is the storyline for the second

:01:49. > :01:53.semifinal? Do Celtic take another step towards the treble? Or does

:01:54. > :01:57.lightning strike twice for Ross County against Celtic at Hampden

:01:58. > :02:06.Park? It will unfold before your very eyes over the next couple of

:02:07. > :02:10.hours. Who will take a step closer to getting their hands on this

:02:11. > :02:24.trophy? It is the second semifinal of the Scottish League Cup, resented

:02:25. > :02:27.by Utilita. It is live on the BBC. Accompanied by Alan Stubbs, Michael

:02:28. > :02:31.Stewart and Pat Nevin. Look forward to your spying mission on your

:02:32. > :02:37.opponents? It is nice to be able to sit here, knowing that whoever we

:02:38. > :02:44.are going to face, I can relax and watch the game. Do you have a tip?

:02:45. > :02:49.No, I don't mind who we play. We are looking forward to it, we are glad

:02:50. > :02:58.we are already there, we will see what prevails. The second semifinal,

:02:59. > :03:02.the teams arrived around an hour ago, Leigh Griffiths leading Celtic

:03:03. > :03:07.off the bus. They are the firm favourites for this. Jim McIntyre

:03:08. > :03:13.hoping he can do what Derek Adams did in 2010. Jackson Irvin and his

:03:14. > :03:21.performing ponytail part of a reshuffled Ross County line-up.

:03:22. > :03:25.Details of both teams to follow. That go to our commentary team.

:03:26. > :03:35.I am not sure the weather will affect either team. A lot has been

:03:36. > :03:38.made of the 2010 results, which was phenomenal for Ross County, but they

:03:39. > :03:44.have played a lot since, and Celtic have won a lot. They will be

:03:45. > :03:47.confident of doing so again today. Ross County are listed as the home

:03:48. > :03:54.team. Jim McIntyre normally goes with two upfront. Against Celtic, a

:03:55. > :03:57.little more cautious. A debut for Paul Quinn in defence, returning

:03:58. > :04:03.from Aberdeen. An experienced player. He had to go strong in

:04:04. > :04:09.midfield. Both teams are capable of scoring goals. Ross County have

:04:10. > :04:14.conceded twice as many. If he can go in there and get parity with Celtic

:04:15. > :04:17.in midfield, he can get players forward and pick off their defence.

:04:18. > :04:25.But you have got to stop Celtic playing. Still no Liam Boyce. For

:04:26. > :04:31.Celtic, there were rumours that Scott Brown would be back today, he

:04:32. > :04:34.is, but only on the bench. It is big news, and a boost for Ronny Deila to

:04:35. > :04:41.call upon his skipper at some point today. Jozo Simunovic chapters not

:04:42. > :04:47.make it. He is injured. His place goes to Dedryck Boyata, who comes

:04:48. > :04:51.back. When they lose a player, a quality player comes in. You look at

:04:52. > :04:57.different four. Gary Mackay-Steven missed the final last year as did

:04:58. > :05:04.Stuart Armstrong, they were not want that to happen again. Ross County

:05:05. > :05:07.have to stop Leigh Griffiths. Those players were fantastic last year for

:05:08. > :05:13.Dundee United against Aberdeen, devastated on missing out in the

:05:14. > :05:18.final, but they can make amends today. Hibernian sitting at home

:05:19. > :05:22.after their victory yesterday. All except their manager, Alan Stubbs,

:05:23. > :05:26.who is in the studio, but he says he is sitting confidently. All of the

:05:27. > :05:31.Hibs fans will find out who they will face in March very soon.

:05:32. > :05:40.Those are the selections, let's get the stories behind the decisions.

:05:41. > :05:45.Three changes for you today, it looks as though you had some tough

:05:46. > :05:51.choices to make. Yes, Liam Boyce has come back into training, but we feel

:05:52. > :05:59.it is too soon for him. It is a risk we are not there to take. We have

:06:00. > :06:04.left out Brian Graham and change the system to 4-1- 4-1. We have used

:06:05. > :06:09.that twice this season before against Celtic and we have made good

:06:10. > :06:13.opportunities. First and foremost, you need to deny them space and be

:06:14. > :06:17.hard to break down, but you have to carry the threat. We did that in

:06:18. > :06:25.both matches, but we did not punish them when the chances arose. Can you

:06:26. > :06:29.take much inspiration from 2010? That team are held in such high

:06:30. > :06:34.regard, and rightly so, it was a fantastic achievement. We have got

:06:35. > :06:38.to make our own memories. It would be great to do that today. We will

:06:39. > :06:43.have to bring a top drawer performance. Hopefully we can.

:06:44. > :06:48.No real surprises in your line-up, is there a problem with Jozo

:06:49. > :06:54.Simunovic? He picked up an injury, he will be out for a while. It is

:06:55. > :06:58.good to have Dedryck Boyata back. The rain is coming down, the picture

:06:59. > :07:05.looks heavy, are you expecting a battle? It is always a battle, it is

:07:06. > :07:14.a big game, so much to play for. But you need to play and get the tempo,

:07:15. > :07:19.and we need to be in the last month, then we can have a good chance of

:07:20. > :07:23.winning. There is always pressure on Celtic. It is about performances.

:07:24. > :07:27.Ross County also want to get to the final. It will be tough, but we have

:07:28. > :07:32.good confidence, we are looking forward to the game.

:07:33. > :07:38.Celtic are aiming to reach their 86th major cup final, they have a

:07:39. > :07:44.habit of getting the job done. Yes, they are a good team. I think it is

:07:45. > :07:48.slightly harder for them to win the cups than it is to win the league,

:07:49. > :07:52.because you can slip up in the lead and you can make up for it, but in

:07:53. > :07:57.the cups, to do the trouble, it is a big ask. People together granted. It

:07:58. > :08:02.is hard to do in Scottish football. It will be tough today. The

:08:03. > :08:07.transformation in Ross County has been dramatic, a year ago they were

:08:08. > :08:13.adrift at the bottom of the Premiership, now they are one step

:08:14. > :08:17.away from a cup final. Jim has done a brilliant job, he has brought in

:08:18. > :08:21.some good players. If you look at what he had and what he has now,

:08:22. > :08:28.there has been a big overhaul. They are getting their rewards. Michael

:08:29. > :08:33.Gardyne could be an interesting player in this game. He started his

:08:34. > :08:37.career at Celtic, he is in his third spell at Ross County, he seems to

:08:38. > :08:44.have this ability to make himself and his team-mates perform. It will

:08:45. > :08:49.be important for Ross County, because they will play with one of

:08:50. > :08:54.the top, rather than the normal two, so he will be vital to get up and

:08:55. > :08:55.support. This is a perfect example of him coming in off the line. A

:08:56. > :09:05.great header. These things will be important,

:09:06. > :09:08.especially on a big part like this, getting up and supporting the

:09:09. > :09:16.striker. And finishing off well as well. He is a big player for them.

:09:17. > :09:21.Out in the wide area, attacking the full-back and finishing up with a

:09:22. > :09:27.really good strike. It seems as if he has settled, sometimes you find

:09:28. > :09:32.that with players, they are comfortable at certain clubs, it

:09:33. > :09:37.does not work for him moving around, but Ross County is a nice fit. It

:09:38. > :09:43.looks like an unfamiliar Ross County setup, it is all very simple what

:09:44. > :09:48.they try to do, Alex Schalk is upfront, he is not an out and out

:09:49. > :09:53.striker, but Jim McIntyre making the point, they have gone with one of

:09:54. > :09:58.top before. He said you need to stay in the game and be early on. If you

:09:59. > :10:04.look at the bench, they have got Liam Boyce, Brian Graham, he has to

:10:05. > :10:10.make sure they still in the game as it develops. If you go open, you

:10:11. > :10:13.could be well beaten. In the last five games, Celtic have been

:10:14. > :10:18.stunning. You need to keep them quiet for as long as possible, hence

:10:19. > :10:27.the little adaptation. I suspect a lot of the time it will be 4-5- one.

:10:28. > :10:31.It is an interesting one for the opposition manager coming up against

:10:32. > :10:35.Celtic, you have to be difficult to beat, but you cannot allow the game

:10:36. > :10:38.to be taking part in your own half, you have to offer a threat to

:10:39. > :10:42.Celtic. Sometimes when you set up like this, the game becomes what you

:10:43. > :10:49.don't want, and you are on the back foot. Guys like Michael Gardyne will

:10:50. > :10:54.be aborted as an outlet to get them up the park and pose the threat. We

:10:55. > :10:57.were looking at Allen to pick out a key player for Celtic, it is

:10:58. > :11:04.difficult to avoid Leigh Griffiths, and a lot of Ross County's plan is

:11:05. > :11:08.to stop him. He has been on fire. You only have to look at his

:11:09. > :11:13.movement as well as his golf and his linkup play. He is so clever. The

:11:14. > :11:20.way he strikes a ball is different class. Everybody wants to try to

:11:21. > :11:26.stop him, but they are not stopping him. He has really grown as a

:11:27. > :11:31.player. All of his weaker points, they have strengthened. At Celtic,

:11:32. > :11:41.you have to grow in stature as a player. You have to embrace the size

:11:42. > :11:45.of the club. He is filling in the striker's shoes unbelievably well.

:11:46. > :11:50.Do you mind if we look at the first semifinal? Not at all! Brief

:11:51. > :11:51.highlights from Tynecastle yesterday, Hibs against St

:11:52. > :12:08.Johnstone. A penalty kick. Chris Mellor takes

:12:09. > :12:14.Henderson down just inside the box. The finger-pointing in the face from

:12:15. > :12:28.Stephen Maclean. He is incensed by Henderson going down. The officials

:12:29. > :12:32.have taken the decision. Stephen Maclean the referee being told in no

:12:33. > :12:34.uncertain terms by this and Johnstone striker, who is shown the

:12:35. > :12:54.yellow card. He goes to challenge. Henderson looked very keen to go

:12:55. > :12:59.down. Regardless, Hibernian have the opportunity to take the lead at

:13:00. > :13:06.Tynecastle. Jason Cummings rolls it into the bottom corner. Hibernian of

:13:07. > :13:12.the CHAMPIONSHIP make the breakthrough. As cool as you like,

:13:13. > :13:18.Jason Cummings /sit past the goalkeeper. Could Hibernian be on

:13:19. > :13:41.their way to Hampden Park? St Johnstone are back on level

:13:42. > :13:50.terms. They have only been behind the three minutes. They will feel it

:13:51. > :13:56.is very much deserved. Joe Shaughnessy up from the free kick.

:13:57. > :13:58.There was no chance the goalkeeper was going to keep that out, superbly

:13:59. > :14:23.directed. A free kick right on the edge of the

:14:24. > :14:30.box. It is Hibs' turn to be incensed by the decision. I am not sure there

:14:31. > :14:37.was any more contact on this occasion than there was last time.

:14:38. > :14:48.It clipped the top of the bar. Inches away from putting St

:14:49. > :14:58.Johnstone in front. So unlucky. You could see he was going about.

:14:59. > :15:09.So close to his first Hibernian goal. The Hibs fans really feel the

:15:10. > :15:18.game is theirs for the taking at the moment.

:15:19. > :15:27.A beautiful goal. A blistering effort from the midfielder.

:15:28. > :15:37.Hibernian are back in front. This is no more than a half chance

:15:38. > :15:45.John McGinn. But boy, did he let rip. His fourth macro goal of the

:15:46. > :15:57.season. As he put Hibs into the final of the league cup?

:15:58. > :16:07.He can't quite finish it. That is twice Dagnall has had a good

:16:08. > :16:15.opportunity and twice he has just missed the target. It was a narrow

:16:16. > :16:32.angle. What a pass. He could not squeeze it in at the far post.

:16:33. > :16:42.Lovely turn away from Davidson. John McGinn is offside. What a run. He

:16:43. > :16:47.went past three, four defenders before a despairing challenge.

:16:48. > :16:54.It was some advert for a Scottish football. An electric atmosphere.

:16:55. > :16:58.Both teams gave are delighted. They probably created more chances but we

:16:59. > :17:03.still had good opportunities. The keeper made a great save. A couple

:17:04. > :17:07.of header Blocked. We are disappointed but we will pick

:17:08. > :17:12.ourselves up and go on with the league campaign.

:17:13. > :17:18.Poor Tommy Wright, the victim of that terrible penalty decision. What

:17:19. > :17:26.do you think of it? I have seen it a few times. I think Liam takes a

:17:27. > :17:31.really good touch into the box. The player has made an action towards

:17:32. > :17:39.the ball. And looking at it from Stephen's angle now, it looks like

:17:40. > :17:43.it is a penalty. If you see the one from behind, they are again it looks

:17:44. > :17:47.like a penalty. It does not make any difference if there is the slightest

:17:48. > :17:54.bit of contact or it is heavy contact, if I was Tommy be

:17:55. > :18:01.disappointed. The referee could not have been any closer. He could not.

:18:02. > :18:07.But watching replays, it is unfortunate for St Johnstone. As

:18:08. > :18:12.there is what you think is contact, Davidson was in Stephen McClane's

:18:13. > :18:18.line-of-sight. Any contact would have happened on the other side of

:18:19. > :18:21.Liam Henderson to where Steven MacLean is standing. I can

:18:22. > :18:27.understand why he has given the penalty. It is quite clear that

:18:28. > :18:30.there is not contact. But I can understand why Liam Henderson has

:18:31. > :18:36.gone down. If you are running into the box at pace like that, nine

:18:37. > :18:41.times out of ten Chris Mullen would have put his foot out to win the

:18:42. > :18:46.ball. But he has been unfortunate to have the penalty given against him.

:18:47. > :18:51.There has not been contact. But I can understand why it has been

:18:52. > :18:57.given. Very hard to take for St Johnstone. Pat, what did you think

:18:58. > :19:02.it? At the risk of offending the manager, I think it was a soft

:19:03. > :19:07.penalty. If there is the slightest bit of contact, and I did ask Alan

:19:08. > :19:10.beforehand, and he said there was a bit of contact, if there is the

:19:11. > :19:17.slightest bit of contact, it is a penalty kick. Tommy's reaction was

:19:18. > :19:24.brilliant. OK, sometimes these go for you, sometimes they don't. We

:19:25. > :19:29.did not play as well. It was the first goal 03. St Johnstone

:19:30. > :19:32.equalised pretty quickly. In a way there was talk about who was under

:19:33. > :19:40.pressure and who was not under pressure. It kind of was St

:19:41. > :19:44.Johnstone. They came back into it. Hibs have looked really strong. They

:19:45. > :19:50.are on a great run right now. Lots of confidence. It was a hard one.

:19:51. > :19:59.Michael was mentioning it before is that five in a row? There is that

:20:00. > :20:03.big crowd behind them and that certainly helped yesterday for Hibs.

:20:04. > :20:10.Everything was against St Johnstone. They gave a good account of

:20:11. > :20:15.themselves. John -- John McGinn was a standout? He was very good

:20:16. > :20:20.yesterday. His overall game is going to a higher level all the time. His

:20:21. > :20:24.energy, his pace, his power. His cleverness. In the second half he

:20:25. > :20:29.got stronger as the game went on. He had a few chances. I think if

:20:30. > :20:34.anything, some people might look at the goalkeeper's position, but the

:20:35. > :20:38.fact John has hit it so well and he gets a little bit one-sided, which

:20:39. > :20:43.catches him by surprise, it was a great strike. When I first saw that

:20:44. > :20:48.clip, I thought Mannix might have been upset. But I totally agree with

:20:49. > :20:54.Alan, because he strikes it so early. There are a lot of bodies in

:20:55. > :21:01.the way. John McGinn rides the tackle well and strikes it so early.

:21:02. > :21:05.It was also dipping. If it was coming at a straight angle, but it

:21:06. > :21:16.was really dipping. It was quite harsh on the goalkeeper. A good hit.

:21:17. > :21:20.Whoever we get today, whether it is Celtic, it will be a hugely

:21:21. > :21:27.difficult game come for but we have got nothing to lose are fare. -- or

:21:28. > :21:32.to fear. I fully believe in the group of players I have got. They

:21:33. > :21:35.keep, not proving me wrong, but they keep getting over the questions I

:21:36. > :21:39.have asked them and they keep delivering all the time. We are

:21:40. > :21:44.enjoying what we are doing. We will see where it takes us and what we

:21:45. > :21:48.can get at the end of it. It is not just about beating St Johnstone, it

:21:49. > :21:54.is Dundee United and Aberdeen on the way to the final as well? Exactly.

:21:55. > :22:00.Hibs have had a good season. There is a lot of pressure in the league,

:22:01. > :22:05.trying to catch Rangers. But there is also something of, we can go out

:22:06. > :22:08.and enjoy ourselves. When they play in the cup games, there is pressure

:22:09. > :22:15.in every game, but may be slightly less in the cup. Celtic are under

:22:16. > :22:18.more pressure here because they are expected to win the cup, they are

:22:19. > :22:30.expected to win the trouble, they are hoping to win the travel. --

:22:31. > :22:37.trouble. Hibs strike me as a, not typical Hibs team. There has been

:22:38. > :22:41.this accusation for some time, and having been there myself I know how

:22:42. > :22:45.apprehensive the fans are, it strikes me as if this Hibs teams

:22:46. > :22:51.just embrace it. I felt that when I first came into the club. It was

:22:52. > :22:55.always a mentality of, it always happens to Hibs. It was always us.

:22:56. > :23:00.We tried to break that down. We feel there is a confidence now among the

:23:01. > :23:05.fans, that they trust the players. It is great to see. Hibs are there.

:23:06. > :23:10.Who will join them? Will it be Ross County? Will lightning strike twice?

:23:11. > :23:14.Will Celtic take another step towards what they hope will be a

:23:15. > :23:17.travel? Time to get to the action. The second semifinal. Commentary

:23:18. > :23:28.from Craig Paterson and Leah McLeod. Celtic can move a step closer to the

:23:29. > :23:34.holy grail of a domestic clean sweep if they can see off Ross County

:23:35. > :23:39.today. This coming just a few short days before a trip to their closest

:23:40. > :23:44.league challengers, Aberdeen, where they have already lost this season.

:23:45. > :23:53.Big games. But these are big game players. Ross County have had some

:23:54. > :23:59.12 months. A superb escape from relegation. They are a top 16 in the

:24:00. > :24:06.Premiership. They are in their second major semifinal. What they

:24:07. > :24:11.did in the first has provided the backdrop to this match. A lot has

:24:12. > :24:17.changed since those days and Celtic have dominated the head-to-head

:24:18. > :24:21.since, as they tend to do. Mikael Lustig continuing to set -- to

:24:22. > :24:28.captain Celtic. He has been the deputy in the absence of Charlie

:24:29. > :24:32.Mulgrew and Scott Brown. He has had that long spell out injured. We will

:24:33. > :24:42.get to him in a moment. Andrew Davies is the Ross County skipper.

:24:43. > :24:46.Paul Quinn back for a second spell. All things considered, it is a

:24:47. > :25:05.fairly unusual Ross County line-up. Ian McShane... Liam Boyce not ready

:25:06. > :25:09.to start. Craig: unavailable. There is a debut for Paul Quinn at the

:25:10. > :25:15.heart of defence. Jackson Irvine gets a crack at his old team.

:25:16. > :25:19.Scott Brown is back in the Celtic squad but only makes the bench.

:25:20. > :25:25.Simunovic is out injured. Dietrich Boyata comes back after more than a

:25:26. > :25:29.month out. Gary Mackay-Steven started his career at Ross County

:25:30. > :25:36.and you would not bet on -- against Leigh Griffiths adding to his goal

:25:37. > :25:40.tally already this season. Good news for Ronny Deila not just

:25:41. > :25:54.for today but for the rest of the campaign, Scott Brown back. Boyce,

:25:55. > :25:58.Graham and De Vita can all add -- ad attacking threat for Ross County

:25:59. > :26:03.later today. Our referee today is Craig Thomson. The 43-year-old

:26:04. > :26:10.enjoying his 14th season as a top-flight official.

:26:11. > :26:17.There is Paul Quinn. He sealed his return here in the week from

:26:18. > :26:25.Aberdeen. He scored the winner for the Dons at Pittodrie in November.

:26:26. > :26:28.He has returned. Jackson Irvine came to Ross County for first-team

:26:29. > :26:42.action. He did not get a crack of the whip at Celtic. There is

:26:43. > :26:46.Dietrich Boyata. -- Dietrich Boyata. Craig Gordon was sent off in the

:26:47. > :26:52.controversial Scottish Cup semifinal against Caledonian Thistle last

:26:53. > :26:58.spring. Ross County looking to reach their first ever Scottish League Cup

:26:59. > :27:03.final. Celtic aiming for a final number 31. They are big favourites.

:27:04. > :27:10.The right to face Hibernian in the 70th staging of this showpiece is

:27:11. > :27:14.the prize on offer back on the 13th of March. Craig Paterson, what do

:27:15. > :27:25.you think? I am really looking forward to it. Mackay-Steven has

:27:26. > :27:32.given Celtic a dream start! Inside 30 seconds. A sensational start for

:27:33. > :27:36.the holders. Unbelievable. I was just about to say and would like to

:27:37. > :27:42.see the team settle into the game and Celtic pick of Ross County in

:27:43. > :27:44.the first minute. Leigh Griffiths is through, brilliant play. He could

:27:45. > :27:51.have taken the goalkeeper on himself. Set it on a plate for his

:27:52. > :27:58.team-mate. A dream start for Celtic. A nightmare for Jim McIntyre. I

:27:59. > :28:07.thought he would go himself. Great team play. Gary Mackay-Steven got

:28:08. > :28:11.off the market earlier in the week against St Johnstone. His third of

:28:12. > :28:16.the season. That is the stuff that nightmares are made of four Jim

:28:17. > :28:19.McIntyre. Ronny Deila has just watched Gary Mackay-Steven put his

:28:20. > :28:26.team in front before we truly got started. Griffiths in again. There

:28:27. > :28:34.is a shout for a penalty. It is all Celtic. They are all over Ross

:28:35. > :28:38.County like a rash. Ross County have got to settle down and get

:28:39. > :28:42.themselves into this game. Celtic can smell blood, having scored

:28:43. > :28:50.early. This is a massive test of character

:28:51. > :28:56.for Ross County. But here is the most recent assault on the Ross

:28:57. > :29:00.County rearguard. Andrew Davies is deeper. It is a wonderful ball. If

:29:01. > :29:06.the first touch is better, he is through. No penalty but as we say,

:29:07. > :29:10.Celtic have started on the front foot, they got the goal. Ross County

:29:11. > :29:23.have got to find a way to settle. An amazing start. Ross County had a

:29:24. > :29:25.free kick. -- have a free kick. Alex Schalk one of those waiting for the

:29:26. > :29:33.delivery. This would be some time to level

:29:34. > :30:03.proceedings. Davis had to spin. Davis was

:30:04. > :30:07.practical there. Gave away an opening penalty on the opening day

:30:08. > :30:22.of the league season against Celtic. The pitch is slippery underfoot. A

:30:23. > :30:27.great day for forwards. Players who want to go by players will have a

:30:28. > :30:35.field day. We will see a few challenges like that as well.

:30:36. > :30:40.Gary Mackay-Steven putting Celtic in front on 27 seconds. T-Dog by Leigh

:30:41. > :30:57.Griffiths. Part of the Rangers squad that lost

:30:58. > :31:03.to Celtic a year ago today in this competition. Stuart Armstrong was

:31:04. > :31:10.part of the Dundee United side that beat Aberdeen, with Gary

:31:11. > :31:18.Mackay-Steven. It is a corner. The movement of the Celtic front players

:31:19. > :31:22.is causing problems for Ross County. A heavy touch, if he takes a better

:31:23. > :31:32.touch, it would have been real trouble for Ross County.

:31:33. > :31:41.Celtic looking for a quickfire second. It is off the line by

:31:42. > :31:47.Richard Foster. Ross County are right up against the rotator. Celtic

:31:48. > :31:51.are going for it, they think they can finish the game early. Good

:31:52. > :32:00.defending, stay on the line, don't get carried away. Clear your lines.

:32:01. > :32:11.Kieran Tierney has impressed so much this season.

:32:12. > :32:21.Mikael Lustig will be surrendering the armband pretty soon. Scott Brown

:32:22. > :32:25.is back among things. So many big games coming up Celtic hunt down

:32:26. > :32:30.three trophies. It is not something that happens too often, only Jock

:32:31. > :32:35.Stein and Martin O'Neill have guided Celtic to Troubles, it has only

:32:36. > :32:38.happened three times in their history, but they need somebody like

:32:39. > :32:45.Scott Brown around. To get him back on the pitch would be a massive

:32:46. > :32:50.bonus. Having him in the dressing room is one thing, but you can

:32:51. > :32:56.influence games on the park. His drive and enthusiasm are infectious.

:32:57. > :32:59.Marcus Fraser one of the several Ross County players today who began

:33:00. > :33:06.their career acts uptake. Michael Gardyne is another who began

:33:07. > :33:28.his career at Celtic. And Scott Fox. Paul Quinn has recent experience of

:33:29. > :33:35.going 1-0 down to Celtic and winning the game.

:33:36. > :33:43.It is not a badge right at all, Craig Gordon had to look very

:33:44. > :33:47.lively. A great save. That is more like it from Ross County, get into

:33:48. > :33:55.the danger area. Slick passing. That is a magnificent hit, really strong.

:33:56. > :33:56.Alex Schalk gets over the ball and fires it, a great save by Craig

:33:57. > :34:08.Gordon. Alex Schalk scored against

:34:09. > :34:13.Dunfermline in the Scottish Cup recently, in the fourth round. Ross

:34:14. > :34:16.County needed a replay against the League 1 leaders. He fouled by

:34:17. > :34:26.Martin Woods. I am sure there are many Celtic

:34:27. > :34:32.supporters who are inside Hamden today who were here almost six years

:34:33. > :34:37.ago, incredible to think it is almost six years since Ross County

:34:38. > :34:44.shocked Celtic, that it is one thing that's back one way to exorcise the

:34:45. > :34:49.ghosts, to score so early. Ross County wanted to block up the

:34:50. > :34:54.midfield area, stop Celtic playing, and from there get players forward

:34:55. > :34:59.into attacking areas. Now that plan that they have been working on is up

:35:00. > :35:05.in the air, and Jim McIntyre has to trust his players to dig themselves

:35:06. > :35:10.back into the contest. You might notice that the Celtic players are

:35:11. > :35:13.wearing black armbands, for their former player John Dowie, who passed

:35:14. > :35:21.away at the age of 60 the other week.

:35:22. > :35:29.It is the same combination that led to the opener. Jim McIntyre will be

:35:30. > :35:32.concerned, every time Celtic get into the final third, they are

:35:33. > :35:37.slicing open the Ross County rearguard. It is the movement of

:35:38. > :35:41.Leigh Griffiths, he is hard to pin down. His touch is good and he is

:35:42. > :35:49.looking to feed in team-mates. He looks like the complete player.

:35:50. > :35:57.It is Efe Ambrose again, he ought to have done better. That is a real

:35:58. > :36:03.chance. He is up and over Andrew Davies, that he has to hit the

:36:04. > :36:06.target. He knocks it a mile wide. A lot of players between him and the

:36:07. > :36:12.back of the net, but the least he has to do is hit the target and work

:36:13. > :36:17.the goalkeeper. Another sigh of relief for Ross County. They could

:36:18. > :36:38.have conceded a couple if not three by

:36:39. > :36:49.It looks as though Stewart Murdoch will be the ride's the wide right

:36:50. > :36:53.midfielder. Michael Gardyne, the only survivor from the victory in

:36:54. > :37:05.2010, in the starting XI. Scott Wood is on the bench.

:37:06. > :37:10.A slight misunderstanding between Dedryck Boyata and Efe Ambrose. They

:37:11. > :37:15.will not have played together to often. Jozo Simunovic has been the

:37:16. > :37:25.preferred option since he got himself fit. He is out injured

:37:26. > :37:34.today. I wonder if we will see Erik Sviatchenko today, the Danish new

:37:35. > :37:41.signing, among the subs. Effie Armstrong was signalling to the

:37:42. > :37:50.bench earlier. The game is settling down a bit. It was a whirlwind

:37:51. > :37:52.start. Celtic looking for back-to-back League Cup triumphs

:37:53. > :38:04.after beating Dundee United last year. 2-0.

:38:05. > :38:12.Callum McGregor has worked his socks off to get back into the side. Good

:38:13. > :38:52.covering by Stefan Johansen. A good response from Ross County.

:38:53. > :38:55.That is what they need to do, have a bit of time in the Celtic off, get

:38:56. > :39:15.their foot on the ball, get over the early blow.

:39:16. > :39:25.It is another red card for Celtic in a semi-, and it is Efe Ambrose who

:39:26. > :39:29.goes. This has turned on a sixpence. It is a big decision for the

:39:30. > :39:35.referee. Effie Ambrose brings the player down. Is it a goal-scoring

:39:36. > :39:42.opportunity? I am not sure he has any option at all. The referee is

:39:43. > :39:46.having none of it. Celtic were reduced to ten against Inverness in

:39:47. > :39:58.last season's Scottish Cup final. It just crept through. Does he catch in

:39:59. > :40:02.with a knee? As soon as the referee things it is a penalty,

:40:03. > :40:06.unfortunately he has got to give the red card. A lot of people do not

:40:07. > :40:11.like the double whammy, it is like getting two prizes, but Ross County

:40:12. > :40:16.could be right back in this game. Martin Woods will take the spot

:40:17. > :40:22.kick. Liam Boyce amongst the substitutes. Effie Ambrose has come

:40:23. > :40:28.off, there will be a debut for Erik Sviatchenko in a moment. The has to

:40:29. > :40:41.decide who he will sacrifice. It will be Callum McGregor coming off.

:40:42. > :40:46.He is the unfortunate man, but this has been a huge blow for Celtic in

:40:47. > :40:51.the last minute or so. It is Erik Sviatchenko who is on for a debut.

:40:52. > :41:01.Celtic are down to ten. Ross County have a penalty. Martin Woods against

:41:02. > :41:12.Craig Gordon. Martin Woods has yet to score this season. He has now.

:41:13. > :41:13.Ross County level the semifinal, and has the pendulum swung the way of

:41:14. > :41:50.the highlanders? Celtic protested loudly in the wake

:41:51. > :41:58.when Ambrose brought down Alex Schalk. Did not look like there was

:41:59. > :42:28.too much contact. Just enough for him to point to the spot.

:42:29. > :42:36.The referee has no option. The minute he says penalty, red card,

:42:37. > :42:41.Celtic are down to ten men. Celtic do not have to look back very far to

:42:42. > :42:44.find a recent example where Ross County lost the game of football

:42:45. > :42:46.against the team playing with ten men. It was in Dingwall against

:42:47. > :43:08.Aberdeen. I am sure that will be fresh in the

:43:09. > :43:12.mind of Jim McIntyre. A very different semifinal from the one we

:43:13. > :43:18.thought after one minute. I wonder if Jim McIntyre is now looking at

:43:19. > :43:20.the formation thinking, now I have the extra man, do you bring Jim

:43:21. > :43:32.Boyce on now? Free kick. Margaret gets a yellow.

:43:33. > :44:11.The player has skinned him. How much will the recent game

:44:12. > :44:18.against Aberdeen play on the minds of these county players? It is

:44:19. > :44:24.almost the same personnel and there? Paul Quinn has arrived. Playing a

:44:25. > :44:29.team with a man less and yet you lose the game. The differences this

:44:30. > :44:34.is a semifinal. In the early part of their work goal down, Celtic were on

:44:35. > :44:49.top. It is a huge lift. I think Ross County will fancy their chances.

:44:50. > :44:58.Sviatchenko was signed for 1.5 million from his club in Denmark.

:44:59. > :45:29.Scored against France in a recent friendly.

:45:30. > :45:40.Just crept away from Leigh Griffiths. Celtic's man of the

:45:41. > :45:43.season. Almost got it back from Mackay-Steven. They have combined

:45:44. > :45:45.well in the early stages. It was that combination that led to the

:45:46. > :46:08.Celtic goal. Sviatchenko is not exactly coming

:46:09. > :46:14.and cold. He is new to Scottish football but he has played for his

:46:15. > :46:20.Danish club regularly. Trying to strike up some kind of understanding

:46:21. > :46:25.with your fellow defenders is not easy in this situation. You are down

:46:26. > :46:29.to ten men. Gary Mackay-Steven and Armstrong will have to leave Leigh

:46:30. > :46:31.Griffiths up there as a lone striker. A foul by Marcus Fraser on

:46:32. > :47:15.Armstrong. Mackay-Steven and Armstrong made

:47:16. > :47:18.immediate impressions when they arrived at Celtic. Both scored on

:47:19. > :47:53.their debut. The 16th meeting between the clubs.

:47:54. > :48:30.Ross County won only one other than that semifinal.

:48:31. > :48:36.Celtic have been relatively convincing winners in the league

:48:37. > :48:48.games between the teams. 2-0 on the opening day of the season. The

:48:49. > :49:01.second game, more recently, was a 4-1 win for Celtic at Dingwall.

:49:02. > :49:07.A young player coming through, given the opportunity. He has grabbed it

:49:08. > :49:16.with both hands. He does look a real prospect. He has been trusted by

:49:17. > :49:37.Ronny Deila in the European matches as well.

:49:38. > :49:49.Good play. Mackay-Steven has had a burst of confidence. It is amazing

:49:50. > :49:55.what a goal will do for you. It was a slow start to the season for him.

:49:56. > :50:42.Boyata is very advanced, the centre have. -- half.

:50:43. > :50:55.Armstrong... Off Fraser Forster is Celtic corner. This chance all about

:50:56. > :50:59.Tierney and his ability to drive past players. The minute you do

:51:00. > :51:01.that, defenders have to readjust. Celtic must get themselves in. A

:51:02. > :51:20.good block by the defender. That will please Jim McIntyre, that

:51:21. > :51:25.one of his players has won the ball from one of these Celtic's corners.

:51:26. > :51:31.It was Paul Quinn who dealt with that one. Efe Ambrose, before he was

:51:32. > :51:38.sent off, had a couple of headers from that situation. Yes, one good

:51:39. > :51:51.header and one poor effort. He should have hit the target at least.

:51:52. > :52:06.Griffiths. He chose his weaker foot. No offside. Armstrong was not far

:52:07. > :52:11.away! A good effort. You could see the goalkeeper scrambling. A few

:52:12. > :52:16.Ross County players switching off. You have got to react quickly.

:52:17. > :52:30.Stuart Armstrong did. It is fine margins because Ross

:52:31. > :52:36.County stopped for a split second in anticipation of an offside flag.

:52:37. > :52:37.That could have cost them dear. By all means ask the question but do it

:52:38. > :52:59.while you are getting back. Hibs already through to the final.

:53:00. > :53:05.The 70th edition of this tournament. A 2-1 win over St Johnstone at

:53:06. > :53:13.Tynecastle yesterday. The place was buzzing as Hibs marched through to

:53:14. > :53:26.another cup final. A good squad being built by Alan Stubbs. He and

:53:27. > :53:31.his men watching this with interest. Jim McIntyre might be considering

:53:32. > :53:36.throwing the dice here. I am much if it is tactical or if there is a

:53:37. > :53:48.problem. It looks as if Jonathan Franks will be on in a moment.

:53:49. > :54:00.Franks is a wide man. Maybe just more natural width. Stewart Murdoch

:54:01. > :54:04.down this side. Possibly in today for his defensive abilities. Now

:54:05. > :54:09.they have the extra man, Ross County probably want a player with more

:54:10. > :54:15.drive. It does not matter, as a player you will not like being

:54:16. > :54:22.hooked. The manager does things for the good of the club. That is why

:54:23. > :54:27.Jim McIntyre is in charge. He has to make these decisions. In particular

:54:28. > :54:28.in a national semifinal. Stewart Murdoch is being replaced by

:54:29. > :54:45.Jonathan Franks. Started his career at Middlesbrough,

:54:46. > :54:53.Murdoch. Franks is on. A right-sided player. They must have feared the

:54:54. > :55:02.worst inside 30 seconds of this game.

:55:03. > :55:08.There has certainly been plenty to talk about. Even the award of the

:55:09. > :55:09.penalty kick will cause some debate and consternation among the Celtic

:55:10. > :55:31.supporters. Celtic have been in the the League

:55:32. > :55:42.Cup final 30 times, they have won to 15.

:55:43. > :55:50.Ross County well beaten by Dundee United in the 2010 cup final after

:55:51. > :56:08.they had caused their semifinal shock.

:56:09. > :56:19.The overlap from Forster. He tried to do too much himself, Gardyne.

:56:20. > :56:25.Third spell at Ross County for Michael Gardyne. He is always going

:56:26. > :56:31.to be an important player for them. Perhaps even more so now. When you

:56:32. > :56:36.have an extra man you make the flanks as wide as possible. Get

:56:37. > :56:41.themselves right on the touchline and try to spread Celtic. There will

:56:42. > :56:45.be space in there somewhere. If you get width involved in the game, that

:56:46. > :56:49.would give all the players a chance to get themselves into the box at

:56:50. > :56:58.the right time. -- that will give other players.

:56:59. > :57:05.A third of the way through, one apiece. Mackay-Steven scoring the

:57:06. > :57:08.opener in the first minute. Efe Ambrose was sent off after spurning

:57:09. > :57:13.a couple of good opportunities himself. Red card, penalty, stroked

:57:14. > :57:25.home by Martin Woods. How do you play this now if you are

:57:26. > :57:31.Ronny Deila? All you can do is play how you are. When you get the ball,

:57:32. > :57:36.you still want Armstrong and Mackay-Steven to get forward. But

:57:37. > :57:43.when you lose possession, get back and stop Ross County. A huge game

:57:44. > :58:03.for a Ronny Deila. Aberdeen in midweek as well.

:58:04. > :58:10.I just wonder how much of his long-term prospects rest on winning

:58:11. > :58:28.all three trophies. The expectation is huge as manager of Celtic.

:58:29. > :58:53.Good challenge. It is no mean feat getting past Tierney. A good

:58:54. > :59:12.challenge by the 18-year-old. Craig Gordon looked a little bit

:59:13. > :59:15.awkward in dealing with that one. Goalkeepers will always tell you the

:59:16. > :59:29.modern-day ball moves from side to side. But you cannot take chances.

:59:30. > :59:50.Ross County's second corner of the afternoon.

:59:51. > :00:23.A potential Celtic counterattack. Ross County are getting back.

:00:24. > :00:39.East Kilbride taking on Celtic a week today in the Scottish Cup. Live

:00:40. > :00:40.on radio, television and online. And indeed the League Cup final next

:00:41. > :00:56.month. How have Celtic reacted to going a

:00:57. > :00:59.man down? Dealing with it well enough, the fact is, in order to win

:01:00. > :01:03.a semifinal, you have got to score at some point, unless we go to

:01:04. > :01:08.penalty kicks, so they have themselves settled... But Celtic are

:01:09. > :01:16.hoping for one of those from three to produce a little bit of magic.

:01:17. > :01:21.The days of replays in the League Cup long gone, and at this stage of

:01:22. > :01:24.the Scottish Cup, gone as well. County boss Jim McIntyre scored a

:01:25. > :01:47.memorable winner for Dunfermline. County are seen a lot of the ball,

:01:48. > :01:49.as you would expect, given the circumstances, ten minutes to

:01:50. > :02:42.half-time. Jackson Irvine... Taking his time...

:02:43. > :02:49.Taking too long over it. Pressure remains. Trying to be patient, Ross

:02:50. > :02:51.County, at this stage of the game, it is an advantage to get the ball

:02:52. > :02:58.into the danger area. Probing and prodding here, the stag

:02:59. > :03:17.is -- the Staggies. The one difference, the one big

:03:18. > :03:21.difference, between this game and that Ross County Aberdeen match,

:03:22. > :03:25.when county had the numerical advantage, it is the fact that the

:03:26. > :03:34.pitch is enormous in comparison to the one up at Dingwall. And you get

:03:35. > :03:39.the next wide man on. When you wide man is free it will come into the

:03:40. > :04:07.box, you need players trying to get onto the end of the crosses.

:04:08. > :04:12.Celtic maintaining their superb scoring record this season, they

:04:13. > :04:16.have only failed to score in four matches this campaign, twice

:04:17. > :04:19.domestic, against Heart of Midlothian and, incredibly,

:04:20. > :04:24.Kilmarnock. Two games in Europe. Both away from home, the Azerbaijan

:04:25. > :04:46.team, and Malmo, Sweden. Ronnie Deila is hoping that he can

:04:47. > :04:50.guide them into the group stage of the Champions League, it is a long

:04:51. > :05:02.way off though, 1-1, against a stubborn Ross County side. Davis has

:05:03. > :05:06.come of the worse. -- the Azerbaijan team Qarabag. Difficult to see if it

:05:07. > :05:11.team Qaraba . Difficult to see if it was a facial knock, he has come down

:05:12. > :05:16.awkwardly, they do not want to lose him. May have come down on the back

:05:17. > :05:31.of an Drew Davis, as they were falling. They will be hoping it is

:05:32. > :05:35.not a bad injury. Eyes on the ball. Andrew Davis, part of the Bradford

:05:36. > :05:41.side that Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, in the FA Cup, last season.

:05:42. > :06:01.Coming from behind to win that one, 4-2, in London.

:06:02. > :06:12.They get the consolation prize of a corner. Great area, difficult for

:06:13. > :06:14.defenders, goes out of a corner kick on and they are pleased to see that

:06:15. > :06:47.one. The goalkeeper does well, new knows

:06:48. > :06:52.that the boots will be flying, great flick at the front post, goalkeeper

:06:53. > :07:01.getting a hand to it, he's hoping his defenders can deal with it.

:07:02. > :07:09.Comes in and catches him but that is a genuine challenge. Lovely flick

:07:10. > :07:16.from Mikael Lustig. You can see where the problem lies for Scott

:07:17. > :07:20.Fox. No problem with the challenge, the goalkeeper does not have the

:07:21. > :07:27.ball gathered, you have every right to knock that into the back of the

:07:28. > :07:36.net. Looks like he will be OK. Arrived last summer, from Partick

:07:37. > :07:40.Thistle, Scott Fox. What a start Celtic made through Gary

:07:41. > :07:43.Mackay-Steven. Laid on a plate by his team-mate, and at that point,

:07:44. > :07:49.Celtic looked absolutely unstoppable. But one incident, one

:07:50. > :07:58.decision, the penalty plus the sending-off, and Ross County are

:07:59. > :08:02.right back in it. Aggrieved after the Scottish Cup final of last

:08:03. > :08:07.season, the Josh Meekings handball that was not spotted. They have a

:08:08. > :08:20.reason to be eye rake, and they are eye rake right now as well. He felt

:08:21. > :08:24.that he was fouled, rather than complain to the referee, he wants to

:08:25. > :08:58.get up and white into the challenge and he is penalised.

:08:59. > :09:24.Waiting inside the box now. Griffiths... Does not normally need

:09:25. > :09:36.an invitation, difficult one to take, that.

:09:37. > :09:46.Celtic supporters trying to rouse their side.

:09:47. > :09:51.Still a couple of minutes left in the first half, as it stands, there

:09:52. > :10:05.will be a minimum of three minutes added on at the end of it full --

:10:06. > :10:17.added on at the end of it. Fouled by Fraser, he is going to be booked.

:10:18. > :10:23.Talking about players trying to be a little bit too clever, Fraser was

:10:24. > :10:27.put in that situation, but it was cynical. He knew what he was doing,

:10:28. > :10:31.when the player gets cold side, you do not know if you are short of men

:10:32. > :10:35.at the back, taking one for the team, but the danger is not over, it

:10:36. > :10:41.is a real chance for Celtic, with the free kick. I remember Virgil van

:10:42. > :10:47.Dijk scoring a free kick from this kind of area here, into that goal,

:10:48. > :10:49.in the semifinal against Caley Thistle last season. -- Inverness

:10:50. > :10:58.Caledonian Thistle. Johannson, Armstrong, among the

:10:59. > :11:05.players over this, it is Armstrong... Could not get the

:11:06. > :11:09.purchase on the header. From the reaction from the Stig, you could

:11:10. > :11:13.see that this was a chance, good ball in there, and he gets nothing

:11:14. > :11:22.on the header. -- from the reaction from Mikhail Nastenko. -- Mikael

:11:23. > :11:24.Lustig. Only 17 appearances last season, 29 this month. He had an

:11:25. > :11:44.ankle injury. -- 29 last month. Lovely ball through... Gordon meets

:11:45. > :11:53.him. Quality goalkeeping. Off his line quickly. The action swings the

:11:54. > :11:56.other way. Three minutes of stoppage time have just been confirmed.

:11:57. > :12:23.Lively first half. Onside... Gets it all wrong...

:12:24. > :12:42.Tackled himself. Free kick. Operating on the

:12:43. > :12:48.periphery of this game, Griffiths, albeit he did set up the goal from

:12:49. > :12:50.Gary Mackay-Steven. The game has become scrappy, neither team is any

:12:51. > :13:20.good at holding onto the ball. Penny for your thoughts, to the

:13:21. > :13:23.Bernie and players on loan from Celtic who will not be able to

:13:24. > :13:27.feature for Hibs in the final if their parent club gets through

:13:28. > :13:35.today, Anthony Stokes and Liam Henderson. -- -- Darfur

:13:36. > :13:45.-- the two Hibernian players. Finishing the half strongly. You do

:13:46. > :13:54.not want to knock it in like this. Challenge on Griffiths, the referee

:13:55. > :13:59.nonplussed. It is now Ross County, in the opening minute of the first

:14:00. > :14:00.half they went behind, now they are looking to do some damage in the

:14:01. > :14:17.final minute. Vinyl first half minutes of great.

:14:18. > :14:23.It has been interesting, early on Celtic looked on stoppable, they got

:14:24. > :14:29.the goal, but things change. -- final first half minutes of Craig.

:14:30. > :14:35.The sending-off has given Ross County a real chance, Celtic, ten

:14:36. > :14:39.men, working that little bit harder, it is going to take its toll on the

:14:40. > :14:46.legs, and that is when county will hope they can take advantage. Big

:14:47. > :14:55.pitch, heavy pitch, rain continuing to tumble down onto the Hampden Park

:14:56. > :15:01.surface. Half-time. BOOING Again, the referee making headlines,

:15:02. > :15:06.Gary Mackay-Steven made the early headlines, tapping into the empty

:15:07. > :15:10.net after good setup led by Leigh Griffiths, county work are bright

:15:11. > :15:13.open, Celtic were lightning in the early stages. Efe Ambrose had a

:15:14. > :15:25.couple of opportunities before he was sent off by professional on Alex

:15:26. > :15:26.Schalk, the spot kick was converted, by Martin Woods, and that means that

:15:27. > :15:35.it is 1-1. STUDIO: Looked as if the second

:15:36. > :15:40.League Cup semifinal might be done and dusted inside the first three

:15:41. > :15:43.minutes, Celtic ahead, inside 30 seconds, and it could have been

:15:44. > :15:48.worse for Ross County, but back they came, against ten man Celtic, Efe

:15:49. > :15:52.Ambrose sent off, Martin Woods scored the penalty, and it is 1-1 at

:15:53. > :16:05.the national stadium at half-time. Let's get the thoughts of my guests.

:16:06. > :16:11.We might have thought, you know who you would be facing in the final. I

:16:12. > :16:15.think Jim would have been dreading those first few minutes, it could

:16:16. > :16:21.have been over before it started. The chances Celtic had... Luckily

:16:22. > :16:26.enough, they have got themselves back in the game, they had a nervous

:16:27. > :16:32.start. As the game has gone on they have grown in confidence and they

:16:33. > :16:37.are posing problems for Celtic. Jim McIntyre and Ross County must feel

:16:38. > :16:44.they have won a watch. It was a nervous start as we said. They were

:16:45. > :16:49.all over the place at the back and allowed Celtic to cause them real

:16:50. > :16:55.problems. That sending off and penalty has got them back into it.

:16:56. > :17:01.Not only had it allowed them back in but they have exploited that and

:17:02. > :17:06.caused Celtic problems. Where is the match now, 11 against ten? It is

:17:07. > :17:14.still fairly well balanced. Interesting substitution that the

:17:15. > :17:18.manager made. I think it is very brave, bringing on an attack minded

:17:19. > :17:25.player. He is going for it and you might as well, it is a semifinal.

:17:26. > :17:30.But right at the start, anybody who watched Andy Murray starting this

:17:31. > :17:37.morning, it wasn't very good and neither was it good for Ross County!

:17:38. > :17:43.But they got that break. I think Celtic are still well in this,

:17:44. > :17:46.Griffiths is making fantastic positional moves and getting into

:17:47. > :17:51.good areas and there are chances for Celtic to score. But we were talking

:17:52. > :17:59.about the pitch, it is heavy, tough to play on, ten against 11. We might

:18:00. > :18:04.have imagined part of Jim McIntyre's pre-match talk was to keep things

:18:05. > :18:10.tight and Celtic scored after 27 seconds. You listen to his interview

:18:11. > :18:20.and they wanted to contain Celtic and be hard to beat. And then this

:18:21. > :18:25.happens. It is played up. This is straight from kick-off, we are

:18:26. > :18:33.seeing all 27 seconds for the they were slightly asleep. They got

:18:34. > :18:37.attracted to the ball. You have one centre-back staying back and three

:18:38. > :18:43.pushing up and that leaves the gap. To be fair to Leigh Griffiths, you

:18:44. > :18:52.are expecting him to finish that himself and it is unselfish. Very

:18:53. > :18:55.unselfish. It just sneaks in from Mackay-Steven, I don't know why he

:18:56. > :19:01.hasn't taken it with his left. He could have opened his body up, but

:19:02. > :19:07.great play from Leigh Griffiths and Celtic were ruthless. As we said,

:19:08. > :19:11.there were huge gaps in the Ross County backline and you can't have

:19:12. > :19:16.that. If you are going to be hard to beat and put your stall out as being

:19:17. > :19:20.difficult to beat, you can't have three pushing up and your full-back

:19:21. > :19:28.five yards deeper because a team like Celtic will exploit it. And Jim

:19:29. > :19:33.McIntyre put in Paul Quinn alongside Andrew Davies, getting to know each

:19:34. > :19:41.other? Yes, and against very good players. Griffiths, it tells you

:19:42. > :19:49.everything about how he has mature. It is phenomenal really. He is 90%

:19:50. > :19:56.going to score but he knows it is 99% if he makes the pass. Very

:19:57. > :19:59.impressed, everybody is talking about his percentages against other

:20:00. > :20:04.fantastic players from the Celtic past but he does the might think.

:20:05. > :20:10.There were more chances -- the right thing. There were two or three

:20:11. > :20:15.minutes of chaos at the back for Ross County after that and fortune

:20:16. > :20:20.favoured them. There is Leigh Griffiths again pulling off the

:20:21. > :20:25.centre-back and he is in. As a manager on the touchline, you are

:20:26. > :20:32.thinking, come on come get yourselves together, settle down and

:20:33. > :20:38.get some shape back. He pulled into a wider area this time. Foster is

:20:39. > :20:42.running right across, Davies comes out to make the tackle and that

:20:43. > :20:48.highlights what is going on. Ambrose wins this in the air from the

:20:49. > :20:54.corner, it really was a nervous start and as a manager, you are

:20:55. > :20:59.hoping that somebody at the back can grab it and say, let's concentrate.

:21:00. > :21:04.A lot of that is down to a lack of concentration. The chance for

:21:05. > :21:08.Griffiths, Paul Quinn is in a position where he has to see that

:21:09. > :21:15.Davies is five yards further deep and he has to drop off as well.

:21:16. > :21:20.Whether that is through not playing a lot of late, I don't know, but it

:21:21. > :21:25.is a lack of concentration. Luckily for Ross County, they got away with

:21:26. > :21:29.it. They did start to collect themselves and get a foothold in the

:21:30. > :21:35.game. This was a sign of their growing confidence. A good effort.

:21:36. > :21:41.They started playing better, Gardyne got quite involved. There were a

:21:42. > :21:48.couple that Craig Gordon had to parry out. I thought this was a good

:21:49. > :21:56.save because it is dipping, almost like the one against Hibs yesterday.

:21:57. > :21:59.The keeper gets down well. They needed something like that to give

:22:00. > :22:03.them a lift and a bit of belief because it had been sucked out of

:22:04. > :22:10.them and they just about survived and then they got lucky. But is it

:22:11. > :22:20.like? Or should be defended not be going in? 13th minute, unlucky for

:22:21. > :22:27.Celtic. What about this? You look at it, initially you wonder if there

:22:28. > :22:32.was contact but when you see the replay there is another angle that

:22:33. > :22:40.will show you that his knee comes across and catches him. He does not

:22:41. > :22:45.alter his stride pattern, he keeps running and he catches him. Do you

:22:46. > :22:53.think Craig Gordon might have got the ball? This is a great penalty,

:22:54. > :22:58.but, obviously it's a free kick, if he's not getting their then it's not

:22:59. > :23:03.a red card because he will not get it. You can talk about that all day

:23:04. > :23:09.long but it is poor defending. You look along the line as well, an

:23:10. > :23:13.absolute disaster, the full-backs are the deepest players, the centre

:23:14. > :23:19.halves are in front of them and that is a nightmare for a defence.

:23:20. > :23:25.Ambrose is further in front, he is reacting slowly. We were in line

:23:26. > :23:29.with the run and you think, you've got to stop. You have to be aware of

:23:30. > :23:36.the fact that he's going to collide with him and he simply ran into him.

:23:37. > :23:40.Either make the tackle and run the risk of a penalty, but he just ran

:23:41. > :23:47.into him full sucked it is absolutely craving defending. Efe

:23:48. > :23:51.Ambrose has looked a bit clumsy at big moments at times this season.

:23:52. > :23:59.You can't do that at the back, if you turn off for a minute, it only

:24:00. > :24:06.takes a minute as a centre-back. Maybe it was best to have just left

:24:07. > :24:11.it for Craig Gordon. It was well done by the referee. I did not see

:24:12. > :24:17.the touch. And well done to Martin Woods because what a delay there was

:24:18. > :24:20.between a penalty being awarded and taken because they made the

:24:21. > :24:27.substitution. They are supposed to be at an advantage. They are making

:24:28. > :24:32.the substitution, he has to wait and keep his composure and he has dealt

:24:33. > :24:36.with it really well and put it away. We were talking about it, I don't

:24:37. > :24:41.know what the roles are but it strikes me as odd, was County have

:24:42. > :24:46.got the penalty and Celtic can make the substitution. -- Ross County.

:24:47. > :24:53.Surely it has to happen after the penalty has been taken. I believe it

:24:54. > :24:58.is in the laws that you can do it. If that's the case, there are

:24:59. > :25:01.enough, that I think it was a bit odd that they had to wait even

:25:02. > :25:08.longer for the substitution. We talked about Ross County

:25:09. > :25:17.re-gathering themselves after the start and Celtic did so and then got

:25:18. > :25:24.back into it even with ten. Again it is Leigh Griffiths who was central

:25:25. > :25:32.to it. He looked sharp. This looked like it was dipping in, he has

:25:33. > :25:36.caught it so well. A lot of the Celtic fans in front of us thought

:25:37. > :25:43.it was in, it catches the top of the net. You wondered if it had gone in.

:25:44. > :25:50.Ross County had a lot of bodies behind the ball but Celtic have the

:25:51. > :25:55.quality to still fashion a chance. And a glorious scramble inside the

:25:56. > :26:00.box after a corner. Fox made a couple of saves and he was brave and

:26:01. > :26:06.he had to be. The ball was just dropping. He does it twice, goes for

:26:07. > :26:12.the first and gets a good palm on it, it comes back and he reacts

:26:13. > :26:19.quickly. He is brave again and throws his body on the line. It

:26:20. > :26:23.underlines again, Celtic, typical Celtic, a man down but they are not

:26:24. > :26:28.sitting back, they are trying to win the game. This is where it becomes

:26:29. > :26:35.an interesting tactical battle between the managers. Jim McIntyre

:26:36. > :26:46.has gone with two wide men, bring on Franks and push Gardyne on. It was

:26:47. > :26:51.partly to stop Tierney. There has been a lot of action where Tierney

:26:52. > :26:57.has had to defend. Irvine has picked up a lot of balls and there has been

:26:58. > :27:01.a lot of two against ones. He has shown himself to be a good defender

:27:02. > :27:08.but it is difficult at full-back when it is too on one. For Jemima --

:27:09. > :27:13.for Jim McIntyre, he might take a lot of insight from the semifinal

:27:14. > :27:16.last year where the Inverness kept laying against Celtic down to ten

:27:17. > :27:24.men and that is what they have to do -- kept playing. Let's have a look

:27:25. > :27:29.at the roller-coaster of emotions on the touchline and they have been

:27:30. > :27:34.ever-changing. Jim McIntyre must have been suffering in the opening

:27:35. > :27:40.moments as Ronny Deila's team made such an impressive start. Then the

:27:41. > :27:48.sending of an all change, they have been practising that! They have been

:27:49. > :27:52.spending too much time together! How have Ross County done with 11

:27:53. > :27:58.against ten? They have grown in confidence. Since the penalty, it

:27:59. > :28:03.gave them a lift and more belief to get on the ball. They have been

:28:04. > :28:10.better with the ball. Early on they could not get hold of it. Now they

:28:11. > :28:14.have started to cause Celtic a few problems, vetting into better areas

:28:15. > :28:20.and they are starting to play further up the pitch -- getting.

:28:21. > :28:27.Will there be a time for Liam Boyce, Craig Curran? I am sure Jim McIntyre

:28:28. > :28:34.will have an idea in his head, especially for getting boys onto the

:28:35. > :28:41.park. We looked at their formation and wondered if Schalk would be

:28:42. > :28:45.isolated. -- Boyce. But they will have to continue to push up in the

:28:46. > :28:50.second half. Will there be a time for Scott Brown? That might be the

:28:51. > :28:54.most interesting thing, the subsidiary is made by Ronny Deila

:28:55. > :29:11.burqas he will have to -- the substitutions made by Ronny

:29:12. > :29:17.Deila because he will have to use them. What he does from here on in,

:29:18. > :29:26.big moments. It is intriguingly poised. This is the story so far.

:29:27. > :29:33.Celtic striking inside 27 seconds, Gary Mackay-Steven set up by Leigh

:29:34. > :29:37.Griffiths. It could have got worse but it got better for Ross County

:29:38. > :29:43.with a red card for Efe Ambrose and the penalty expertly converted by

:29:44. > :29:49.Martin Woods and that is where we are. 11 man Ross County against ten

:29:50. > :29:54.man Celtic. 1-1 at half-time. Over to the second half with Craig

:29:55. > :30:01.Patterson and Liam McLeod. COMMENTATOR: It would be a big risk

:30:02. > :30:06.bringing on Scott Brown unless they have to, he has not played since the

:30:07. > :30:11.21st of November, a draw at home against Kilmarnock. No further

:30:12. > :30:20.changes at the interval for either team. County have beaten a united,

:30:21. > :30:27.Falkirk and the cup-holders Inverness Caley Thistle to get to

:30:28. > :30:34.this stage -- Ayr United. Leigh Griffiths scored what he described

:30:35. > :30:48.as his favourite Celtic goal at Tynecastle. Ross County Boss last

:30:49. > :30:54.win over Celtic was in 2013. -- Ross County's last win over Celtic. Their

:30:55. > :31:01.only other victory over them was here in that Scottish Cup semifinal.

:31:02. > :31:02.It is Celtic attacking the east end of Hampden Park. In the green and

:31:03. > :31:20.white. Ross County in the navy blue. We have seen him score goals with

:31:21. > :31:27.his head many times in the Celtic shirt. CO-COMMENTATOR: Too far away

:31:28. > :31:30.for Leigh Griffiths, not enough on the ball, tries to generate power

:31:31. > :31:36.but never going to beat the goalkeeper. Scored a terrific goal

:31:37. > :31:40.for Hibernian in that sensational 4-3 victory over Falkirk in the

:31:41. > :31:44.Scottish Cup, proved to be the winner, the day after, Celtic came

:31:45. > :32:01.here and won 4-3 against Andy United! Scored the winner. Usual go

:32:02. > :32:05.to player. In situations like this. Some afternoon for him if he can

:32:06. > :32:09.help Celtic through to the final against his boyhood heroes, does not

:32:10. > :32:13.disguise the fact that he loves Hibernian football cup, they lie in

:32:14. > :32:20.wait for the victors of this tussle. -- he is your go to player. Extra

:32:21. > :32:27.time and penalties can be the decider tonight. But you would bet

:32:28. > :32:31.against that. Extra time, that reduces the ability to make

:32:32. > :32:36.substitutions for the manager, you have got to hold one back for extra

:32:37. > :32:39.time, in case there is sudden cramp or an injury, so before the end of

:32:40. > :32:47.the 90 minute I should imagine there will only be one change by either

:32:48. > :32:57.manager. Playing the same system as the end of the first half. Woods and

:32:58. > :32:59.Irving trying to support Alex Schalk through the middle. Celtic

:33:00. > :33:13.conserving energy, dropping back. Squeezing it through... Could not

:33:14. > :33:17.find Alex Schalk. What a ball. Horrible ball for the defender to

:33:18. > :33:22.deal with, and he does so well, superb ball through, great run,

:33:23. > :33:31.onside, one touch, get it in early... Brilliant defending,

:33:32. > :33:40.absolutely brilliant. Would will take the corner, first of the second

:33:41. > :33:46.half. -- Woods. Headed back across, and into the net it goes! Would you

:33:47. > :33:50.believe it, Paul Quinn, on his debut, who scored the winner against

:33:51. > :33:55.Celtic for Aberdeen early in the season has given Ross County the

:33:56. > :34:00.lead early in the second half in the League Cup semifinal! What a story!

:34:01. > :34:05.Would you believe it, we have been talking about set pieces. The two

:34:06. > :34:10.centre-backs, brilliant by Davis, and Paul Quinn, burying it into the

:34:11. > :34:14.back of the net, great flick back, and a lovely finish from Paul Quinn.

:34:15. > :34:20.That is one from the training ground. Here at Hampden, the big

:34:21. > :34:26.occasion, it has worked a treat for Jim McIntyre's side. He was brought

:34:27. > :34:36.back for his defensive qualities, but what a moment it is for the

:34:37. > :34:44.returning hero. A complete turnaround for Ross County. It seems

:34:45. > :34:51.a world ago that Gary Mackay-Steven put a vibrant Celtic in front at the

:34:52. > :35:00.start of the game. And now, Ronnie Deila faces a mammoth 41 minutes of

:35:01. > :35:06.his Celtic career here at Camden, he has had some big matches in the

:35:07. > :35:09.past, in his Celtic career, but defeat today would be unthinkable in

:35:10. > :35:15.the eyes of many of the Celtic supporters with regards their

:35:16. > :35:20.manager. -- Hampden He needs his team back into the game, he needs to

:35:21. > :35:35.think about players like Scott Brown and James Forrest, game changers.

:35:36. > :35:40.It is the Ross County supporters enjoying their afternoon. Really

:35:41. > :35:52.dodgy opening period. If they weren't favourites after the

:35:53. > :36:05.red card, surely Ross County are favourites now the first time since

:36:06. > :36:22.the draw was made. Alex Schalk now...

:36:23. > :36:27.County supporters who made the trip down the a nine motorway today have

:36:28. > :36:34.been rewarded at the moment, horrible conditions. That Italy over

:36:35. > :36:40.the last 24 hours. -- A9. The band of fans who have made the trip have

:36:41. > :36:48.seen their team come from 1-0 down, to lead, Paul Quinn, hero, near as

:36:49. > :36:53.return. -- horrible conditions particularly over the last 24 hours.

:36:54. > :36:59.Ironically, Paul Quinn went to Aberdeen in search of trophies,

:37:00. > :37:08.Aberdeen Art out about competitions, his first game back at Ross County

:37:09. > :37:12.is a semifinal. -- Aberdeen are out of both competitions. He was on the

:37:13. > :37:15.bench in Aberdeen's one and only League Cup tie at Easter Road, he

:37:16. > :37:29.did not play. Making his Celtic debut, Erik

:37:30. > :37:48.Sviatchenko, because he had to, more than anything else.

:37:49. > :37:54.If it does go against Celtic today, the pressure will mount on Ronnie

:37:55. > :37:58.Dilo, but circumstances have dictated this is the way it has

:37:59. > :38:03.gone, because they started on fire. They looked like they were going to

:38:04. > :38:11.run away with it. Running to try to get back, clips a player, finds

:38:12. > :38:18.himself giving away a penalty. Armstrong to his left. Just delayed.

:38:19. > :38:49.To the ire of the Celtic fans. Really good positive play by Stuart

:38:50. > :38:53.Armstrong down the left flank. That is what they need, they need players

:38:54. > :38:58.to take responsible at it, move players on, move the defence, see if

:38:59. > :39:06.they can create space for the striker. Who will take this himself.

:39:07. > :39:18.Hibernian so close to -- McShane on the six yard line got

:39:19. > :39:27.that one away. Armstrong again. Second bite for him.

:39:28. > :39:31.Never looked very convincing, coming across the park, slightly away from

:39:32. > :39:49.goal, never gets hold of it at all. Jim McIntyre took a while to get

:39:50. > :39:56.going at Ross County, when he replaced Derek Adams. Last year.

:39:57. > :39:58.Just two of his last 21 in charge. Winning 11 of the last 13, that took

:39:59. > :40:13.them from 12 to ninth Ross County had their feet in the

:40:14. > :40:22.alligators mouth last season. Thematic recovery. That is a foul by

:40:23. > :40:23.Erik Sviatchenko. This is a chance for McShane to whip the ball into

:40:24. > :40:43.the mixer. Paul Quinn waiting again. Davis was up, but the legally. --

:40:44. > :40:47.but illegally. The referee figuring that he was climbing over the top of

:40:48. > :41:28.the Celtic player to get there, arms over the top.

:41:29. > :41:32.Scott Fox would not have been too keen to see that come back to him

:41:33. > :41:59.there. Talking about goalkeepers not

:42:00. > :42:10.wanting the past, conditions making that difficult for him. More about

:42:11. > :42:23.him in just a moment, here come Ross County. Celtic free kick. We will

:42:24. > :42:26.get back to Craig Gordon he was booked in the wake of the second

:42:27. > :42:32.Ross County goal scored by Paul Quinn, felt he was being found, does

:42:33. > :42:39.he have a case? Certainly looks like it, no chance the referee will spot

:42:40. > :42:45.that. He has his arms around him, he cannot come off his line, so many

:42:46. > :42:50.bodies, so much going on, there is not much chance the referee can pick

:42:51. > :42:56.that out. So of you see decisions like that go in favour of the

:42:57. > :43:04.goalkeeper. It inevitably petulant, Mikael Lustig has talked his way

:43:05. > :43:08.into the book as well. Down to ten men, 2-1 down, you still have a

:43:09. > :43:12.chance, but if you go down to nine men, then the opportunity is gone,

:43:13. > :43:17.you have got to keep your cool in this situation.

:43:18. > :43:31.Celtic players certainly driven on by a sense of injustice. At the

:43:32. > :43:37.moment that they saw the referee flash the red card in the direction

:43:38. > :43:53.of Efe Ambrose. Who will be yellow carded next?

:43:54. > :43:59.Andrew Davies felt he was up early, you can see the arm over the

:44:00. > :44:00.shoulder, that is what he has been pinged for, his reaction almost got

:44:01. > :44:33.him yellow carded. Celtic have more than enough quality

:44:34. > :45:09.out there to win a football match. Scrappy at the moment. Inserting a

:45:10. > :45:26.little bit of cool into the situation.

:45:27. > :45:35.Gary Woods the sub goalkeeper for Ross County. They have so many

:45:36. > :45:43.options on the bench, including Raffaele De Vita.

:45:44. > :45:54.Here is Tierney. Tracking was Ian McShane who concedes a needless

:45:55. > :46:00.corner. How often do you see these punished? These are the situations

:46:01. > :46:05.when you have to think safety first, 2-1 ahead, you don't want to be

:46:06. > :46:09.clever, he could have cleared his lines but he has put his team-mates

:46:10. > :46:15.under pressure. We are beyond the hour mark, Celtic have been posed

:46:16. > :46:24.one of the biggest questions of their season. Do they have an

:46:25. > :46:30.answer? They do have another corner. They are winning a lot in the air,

:46:31. > :46:34.Celtic. Set pieces are key because you can load up the box and put in

:46:35. > :46:41.the centre-backs and if you win the first header it can fall to anyone.

:46:42. > :46:51.'S Stefan Johansen will take from the right. It was not the worst ball

:46:52. > :47:01.in. Now they are away on the counter. Too much on it for Schalk.

:47:02. > :47:06.Why does he try to play the killer ball? Play it right, you are on the

:47:07. > :47:28.break, it is great ambition but the final pass...

:47:29. > :47:54.Lifted up by Foster. Woods trying to help it on its way.

:47:55. > :48:02.A real midfield battle going on as Irvine twist it into the path of

:48:03. > :48:15.words who has found Schalk, big chance! It looks like deja vu here

:48:16. > :48:20.at Hamden! Alex Schalk puts Ross County into a 3-1 lead against the

:48:21. > :48:26.holders! Great finish from Alex Schalk but I tell you what, Martin

:48:27. > :48:30.Woods was super cool with the penalty and what a ball this is,

:48:31. > :48:36.perfect weight and Schalk just has to pick his spot. Wonderful finish

:48:37. > :48:44.but what a ball, he put it perfectly for his team-mate. He still had a

:48:45. > :48:54.lot to do, the Dutchman, but it was Woods to Schalk, to the net, and it

:48:55. > :49:03.is Ross County 3-1 Celtic. Celtic Boss travel macro -- treble hopes

:49:04. > :49:08.potentially in smithereens again, being put to the sword by the

:49:09. > :49:13.highlanders of Ross County. Does the Celtic manager go for it? Put on a

:49:14. > :49:18.couple of substitutions to see if that makes a difference? Ross County

:49:19. > :49:25.will be looking to hit them on the break if they push forward. That

:49:26. > :49:30.might just be the biggest goal of the game because that 2-goal

:49:31. > :49:33.cushion, as well as the new marital advantage on the pitch, that is

:49:34. > :49:41.cushion, as well as the new marital massive as we head towards the final

:49:42. > :49:52.quarter -- numerical advantage. Hibs are waiting for the victors. This is

:49:53. > :49:55.a mountainous task for Celtic. There credentials as Scottish champions

:49:56. > :49:57.and holders of the League Cup are being tested to the max here also it

:49:58. > :50:15.is a long way back. Some Celtic fans in the wake of that

:50:16. > :50:20.are heading for the exit door. No doubt about the finish. Before the

:50:21. > :50:25.game, we were talking about how much of a blow it was for county not to

:50:26. > :50:32.be able to call on Craig Curran and Liam bench only being on the bench

:50:33. > :50:38.but Alex Schalk, arguably more of a wide player that are sent forward,

:50:39. > :50:48.has not mattered, not yet. -- than a centre forward.

:50:49. > :50:59.What do Celtic have left here? This is Griffiths, if anybody can get

:51:00. > :51:06.them back into it it is he. Armstrong. They need the next goal.

:51:07. > :51:11.They have the next corner. The problem was that Griffiths is going

:51:12. > :51:17.out wide to get involved and there is not a soul in the box for Celtic.

:51:18. > :51:22.He looked up and there was not one green and white jersey. When there

:51:23. > :51:28.is an emergency, affordable team would love to be able to call upon

:51:29. > :51:34.their captain and that is exactly what Celtic are about to do. Celtic

:51:35. > :51:39.has not played in over two months. The skipper of his club and his

:51:40. > :51:51.country is going to be on in a moment but not before this corner.

:51:52. > :51:58.Not quite. I tell you what, it is a tall order for Scott Brown. It is

:51:59. > :52:06.Nir Bitton who he is going to replace.

:52:07. > :52:12.Scott Brown normally a sitting midfielder, controlling the game, I

:52:13. > :52:17.wonder if that is the position he will play. When he broke into the

:52:18. > :52:22.team at Easter Road as a youngster, he was electric, bursting forward

:52:23. > :52:27.and looking to score goals and Celtic need something like that just

:52:28. > :52:33.now. Certainly the man for the big occasion. Perhaps a little earlier

:52:34. > :52:43.than Ronny Deila and the player himself might have thought. He had a

:52:44. > :52:52.knee ligament injury which savaged part of his season. Heavy, slippery

:52:53. > :53:01.Hampden Park pitch, he has got the armband back from Mikael Lustig.

:53:02. > :53:07.Here is Johannson, lovely touch, he was cynically tripped by Ian McShane

:53:08. > :53:16.who is the latest to go into Craig Thomson's little black book. --

:53:17. > :53:21.Stefan Johansen. He realised he was always going to be booked for that,

:53:22. > :53:25.he just brings him down, plain and simple. The second yellow card for

:53:26. > :53:34.County, Marcus Fraser was booked earlier. Gordon and Lustig have both

:53:35. > :53:42.been hooked. Celtic's need is urgent, we are into the final

:53:43. > :53:48.quarter. They would rip your arm off for extra time right now. That is

:53:49. > :54:12.the keeper's. There has been some serious

:54:13. > :54:18.inconsistency in Ross County's recent form, loss, win, loss, win,

:54:19. > :54:24.win, loss, draw, win, win. They are winning the odd game, and that is

:54:25. > :54:31.what is keeping them up. They have played a couple games more than that

:54:32. > :54:37.closest challenger. It is a good way to go about your business, just one

:54:38. > :54:48.point for a draw so they are doing it the right way. Into their fourth

:54:49. > :54:58.season as a top-flight side. Armstrong, took a deflection. Fox

:54:59. > :55:02.holds on. Stuart Armstrong, side foot from there, he has to put his

:55:03. > :55:07.laces through it. More chance of hitting the target but Celtic need

:55:08. > :55:16.one to fly into the top corner at this stage. Celtic have won six of

:55:17. > :55:20.their last seven League Cup semifinals, defeat to St Mirren

:55:21. > :55:34.three years ago the only loss. That is towards Mackay-Steven from

:55:35. > :55:39.Griffiths. Johansen. The Celtic fans and indeed the players felt he was

:55:40. > :55:46.impeded in the box but nothing doing. I think that is more in hope

:55:47. > :55:52.than anticipation, they are looking for anything to get back into the

:55:53. > :55:59.game. Shoulder to shoulder. A big shout but the referee having none of

:56:00. > :56:08.it. Ross County are going to bring on Brian Graham. He is on for Alex

:56:09. > :56:13.Schalk, who scored their third. What an impression he has made today with

:56:14. > :56:20.just his second goal of the season. He scored against Dunfermline in the

:56:21. > :56:26.Scottish Cup at East End Park. This will mean so much more can certainly

:56:27. > :56:29.as things stand as it is the goal that has given Ross County and

:56:30. > :56:35.insurance policy against the holders. The manager stuck him up

:56:36. > :56:40.there, he had a good effort saved by Craig Gordon in the first half, he

:56:41. > :56:45.is involved in the big incident, going down for the penalty, and he

:56:46. > :56:53.has also scored the third gold which has put Ross County in the box seat.

:56:54. > :56:57.-- third goal. It is a bit huff and puff for Celtic at the moment as

:56:58. > :57:04.they try to work out a way back into this. 19 minutes left of the 90.

:57:05. > :58:07.Mackay-Steven. Corner. That is better from Celtic, the passing was

:58:08. > :58:11.sharper and the running better and they get a corner. The centre-backs

:58:12. > :58:17.come forward yet again to see if they can get their head on this.

:58:18. > :58:24.Sviatchenko one of those waiting for this delivery.

:58:25. > :58:36.It is over. Again, an opportunity for Mikael Lustig. I think he has to

:58:37. > :58:41.flick this on, he is trying to generate power and go for goal. He

:58:42. > :58:51.is ahead of the front post and it is very difficult to score from their,

:58:52. > :58:56.he just has too flicked it on. This would not be the kind of shock it

:58:57. > :58:59.was six years ago simply because Ross County were a First Division

:59:00. > :59:07.side in those days against a Celtic team, albeit struggling at the time.

:59:08. > :59:14.The end of the failed Tony Mowbray era. But it was still -- is still a

:59:15. > :59:19.result that will send shock waves. You talked to so many people in the

:59:20. > :59:24.game, and they hate that decision where the referee had to send a man

:59:25. > :59:29.off. The penalty is a big enough problem for the team, and to lose a

:59:30. > :59:39.man makes it impossible. There was no flag there. County snuff it out.

:59:40. > :59:43.It just has not fallen for Griffiths. When he teed up

:59:44. > :59:48.Mackay-Steven for the opener, you thought Celtic could win this by

:59:49. > :59:53.however many they wanted. He is still the man Celtic need, working

:59:54. > :00:00.away, in the wide areas and through the middle but that first touch let

:00:01. > :00:06.him down. Leigh Griffiths has scored 47 goals in his last season and a

:00:07. > :00:10.half, it is phenomenal. His record stand up with any of those who have

:00:11. > :00:18.gone before him in the green and white hoops. It has not been his

:00:19. > :00:25.day. There are still 15 minutes and despite the fact that it is 3-1, it

:00:26. > :00:28.will still be a slow 15 minutes for their supporters, unless they can

:00:29. > :00:39.add another and then it would surely be game over. Johansen. Could be a

:00:40. > :00:48.break here. Griffiths. Celtic need something to happen. Griffiths.

:00:49. > :00:56.There were plenty back in the end for Ross County. Ian McShane ran

:00:57. > :01:02.back to cut that out. About eight of their players got back to make sure

:01:03. > :01:06.there was no space in the box. It has been a feature of how they have

:01:07. > :01:10.gone about their business, they have looked sharp. They started poorly

:01:11. > :01:15.but when they got themselves level, they have been a good match for

:01:16. > :01:21.Celtic. Forrest and Ciftci still on the bench for Celtic, Ciftci was a

:01:22. > :01:26.winner for Dundee United in this competition last year.

:01:27. > :01:32.Less than 15 to play. Celtic corner... They are keeping the

:01:33. > :01:50.pressure on the Staggies. Celtic, one man down, hamstrung

:01:51. > :01:59.since the 13th minute of the game. Efe Ambrose was red carded. Corner

:02:00. > :02:03.from Johannson. It is a penalty! Handball! And used inside the box,

:02:04. > :02:09.Craig Thomson has pointed straight to the spot, this is a lifeline.

:02:10. > :02:14.Looking at Ross County players, one or two players asking the question,

:02:15. > :02:19.comes in here, he has gone to head it, headed it onto his own hand...

:02:20. > :02:23.It is the substitute... He has managed to shut his eyes, certainly

:02:24. > :02:27.the referee sees that, I don't know if the referee sees it coming from

:02:28. > :02:38.his head but they has given a penalty. Celtic were about to bring

:02:39. > :02:41.an James Forrest, who I just mentioned. Leigh Griffiths has the

:02:42. > :02:54.chance to launch a stunning fightback.

:02:55. > :03:05.Saved by the Ross County goalkeeper! The lifeline has been spurned,

:03:06. > :03:11.Celtic let down in the semifinal. That sums up the afternoon for

:03:12. > :03:14.Celtic. You would have put your mortgage on Leigh Griffiths whacking

:03:15. > :03:20.that into the back of the net. The goalkeeper has made a good save. He

:03:21. > :03:24.has gone for power. Shades of the Scottish Cup semifinal for

:03:25. > :03:30.Hibernian, where he eventually got one past the goalkeeper before

:03:31. > :03:33.scoring that wonderful winner, denied from the spot against yellow

:03:34. > :03:41.not his best penalty, nowhere near the corner. Good height for the

:03:42. > :03:45.goalkeeper to save. Celtic have time... Would have been a wonderful

:03:46. > :03:51.situation to put themselves in. Fox is there. Would have just given them

:03:52. > :03:54.the impetus, would have got the supporters onside. Ross County

:03:55. > :04:04.survive thanks to goalkeeper Scott Fox. All you can do is make yourself

:04:05. > :04:14.big and hope for the best. If that goes into the back of the net,

:04:15. > :04:17.really nervous for Ross County. Scott Fox left in limbo for six

:04:18. > :04:22.months when he left Celtic initially because they were demanding a

:04:23. > :04:27.training feed for him. Nobody touched him until his contract ran

:04:28. > :04:29.down. Scott Fox will be feeling good about that penalty save. Retribution

:04:30. > :04:53.for him. The two substitute combining. Claims

:04:54. > :05:01.of handball against Fraser, bounced back off him, potentially. The Ross

:05:02. > :05:04.County sub digit upfront, Graham, he will be breathing a massive sigh of

:05:05. > :05:12.relief, because he conceded the penalty. The referee reaching for

:05:13. > :05:16.the yellow card again. Not his first foul, you see the referee gesturing

:05:17. > :05:25.to all points of the park. The totting up process means that he has

:05:26. > :05:32.been booked for persistent fouling. Griffiths standing over this

:05:33. > :05:39.commonly made fancy a pop for goal. -- Griffiths standing over this, he

:05:40. > :05:48.may fancy a pop for goal. If he does, it may go in, conditions dicey

:05:49. > :05:53.for the goalkeeper. Getting there... Slightly awkward for the goalkeeper,

:05:54. > :06:04.but does the job. Cleans up at the second time of asking. Ten to play.

:06:05. > :06:10.Another historic victory. Ross County against Celtic at Hampden.

:06:11. > :06:19.Lovely ball in! Irvin! Had the chance to seal it. Could not take

:06:20. > :06:31.it. -- Irvine. How important will that proved to be? -- prove. Foster

:06:32. > :06:38.has stuck to his guns. Still the Celtic supporters believe

:06:39. > :07:04.they can get back into this. Ross County so close to going 4-1

:07:05. > :07:06.up. Another lovely move, set up on the far post, straight at the

:07:07. > :07:09.keeper, Michael Gardyne sets it up nicely. Irvin shoots straight at the

:07:10. > :07:20.keeper. -- Irvine. Wonder what is going through the

:07:21. > :07:28.mind of Ronny Deila, right now, as it's turns, -- as he stands on the

:07:29. > :07:32.edge of his technical area. He was confident his side could deliver on

:07:33. > :07:33.all fronts this season. Another campaign of European

:07:34. > :07:57.disappointments... Change coming for Ross County, this

:07:58. > :08:02.will be music to the ears of the supporters, Liam Boyce is going to

:08:03. > :08:16.come on, after a hand injury, still having to wear bandages on his hand

:08:17. > :08:21.because of the break. Could have been a Celtic player, Liam Boyce.

:08:22. > :08:26.Spotted while at Cliftonville, in Belfast. Playing against Celtic for

:08:27. > :08:40.Cliftonville, in a Champions League qualifier.

:08:41. > :08:43.Jim McIntyre, just over seven minutes away from replicating what

:08:44. > :09:09.Derek Adams's team did. Tortuous debut for the Dane, Erik

:09:10. > :09:14.Sviatchenko. A goal now, for Celtic, and you never know...!

:09:15. > :09:23.Again shouting for handball. Not even sure if the referee has any

:09:24. > :09:28.chance of seeing that stop the player sliding across. Johannson

:09:29. > :09:33.tries to get the ball across goal. It is actually off the need and then

:09:34. > :09:37.of the arm. Got a shout for the penalty, not sure if you are going

:09:38. > :09:43.to get it. I have seen them even. Here comes the corner...

:09:44. > :09:56.Very good game pulling the strings, Gary Woods, on loan at Ross County

:09:57. > :10:13.last season. -- Martin Woods. He had his contract cancelled. Returning to

:10:14. > :10:20.county. Header away by Davies. Boyce.

:10:21. > :10:29.Bounced straight back up, in any case.

:10:30. > :10:41.We just did not see this coming after the first minute of this game.

:10:42. > :10:52.Mikhail listed now... -- Colly stick -- Mikhail Lustig. Running out of

:10:53. > :11:13.time, just over five minutes to play.

:11:14. > :11:23.Scooping it out to Mikael Lustig. There is a man in navy blue winning

:11:24. > :11:27.every ball inside the box right now, look at this run... Burning away

:11:28. > :11:38.from Brown, trying to eat up the clock on Jonathan Franks... He has

:11:39. > :11:42.won his team a throw as well. That is exactly what you want from your

:11:43. > :11:46.wide player, get the ball, head to the touchline, get yourself a throw

:11:47. > :12:15.in as far away from your goal as possible.

:12:16. > :12:26.Dream debut for Quinn, underneath that. Scoring county's second, and

:12:27. > :12:37.resolute in defence. Good run ahead of him. Spotted quickly enough.

:12:38. > :12:41.Write down into the corner. Another fine season that Liam Boyce is

:12:42. > :12:49.having. -- what a fine season. Jackson Irvine losing sight as it

:12:50. > :12:55.goes out for the goalkick. Ticks down the clock. We saw John McGinn

:12:56. > :12:58.picking up a Man of the Match award in the first semifinal yesterday

:12:59. > :13:05.against St Johnstone, midfield masterclass from the man who proved

:13:06. > :13:10.to be the matchwinner. We are going to get to today's Man of the Match

:13:11. > :13:13.in just a moment. There comes Celtic, James Forrest, and now Gary

:13:14. > :13:18.Mackay-Steven. Griffiths was hunting.

:13:19. > :13:41.Brilliant goalkeeping by Scott Fox. That took at least one deflection!

:13:42. > :13:50.How is that for improvisation. Keep That took at least one deflection!

:13:51. > :13:56.it out of the back of the net, nicks off the heel, magnificent save,

:13:57. > :14:03.great goalkeeping, because he makes it so awkward, how he gets it over

:14:04. > :14:11.the bar, I have no idea. In it comes again. The goalkeeper does not...

:14:12. > :14:13.Does just enough there... He saved a Griffiths penalty earlier, I think

:14:14. > :14:19.he is thinking that he was failed, it may have been his own man who

:14:20. > :14:23.took him down. Smaller goalkeepers have a problem when they come into

:14:24. > :14:35.traffic, it does not look like they are being fouled. Court Davies when

:14:36. > :14:38.he went up for the original ball, scrambled behind, and it comes off

:14:39. > :14:42.Graham and out all the corner, he has gone down injured, need is not

:14:43. > :14:45.want treatment, need is not want to go off. About to go into the final

:14:46. > :15:00.minute. Celtic wait and wait to take go off. About to go into the final

:15:01. > :15:12.the corner. Does not have long to score twice. That misses everyone.

:15:13. > :15:17.It has been one of those afternoons for Celtic, nothing has fallen for

:15:18. > :15:21.them, really up against it, as soon as Efe Ambrose was sent off, I

:15:22. > :15:26.mentioned John McGinn's Man of the Match performance, Craig Paterson

:15:27. > :15:30.needs to tell us who his Man of the Match is in the League Cup

:15:31. > :15:34.semifinal. Martin Woods has impressed me all afternoon, great

:15:35. > :15:38.composure, in the middle of the park, high-pressure penalty, to get

:15:39. > :15:42.his team back into the game, and what a through ball for the third

:15:43. > :15:48.goal which sealed the victory. Martin Woods is my Man of the Match.

:15:49. > :15:55.Special mention to Scott Fox, penalty save. Celtic will have to

:15:56. > :15:59.pick themselves up double quick. They go to Aberdeen in midweek. Four

:16:00. > :16:05.minutes of injury time added on at the end. This is looking all the way

:16:06. > :16:09.like a Hibernian Ross County League Cup final. Andrew Davis off, getting

:16:10. > :16:14.attention, you can clearly see the blood draining away from him. He

:16:15. > :16:25.will be feeling no pain in a few minutes, you would think!

:16:26. > :16:29.Decided to retain possession, Irvine was rather fortunate to retain it

:16:30. > :16:46.himself. Could we be in the position in a

:16:47. > :16:49.month and a half where both Scotland's national trophies will be

:16:50. > :16:58.sitting in the Highlands, for a couple of months at least? Caley

:16:59. > :17:04.Thistle the Scottish Cup holders, Ross County look to be one game away

:17:05. > :17:18.from winning the League Cup. Both of those clubs have only been in the

:17:19. > :17:20.senior Scottish ranks for 22 years. Certainly in the major football

:17:21. > :17:38.leagues in this country. Johansen chasing, this is Lustig.

:17:39. > :17:49.Thomson keeping his BDI on this. Irvine just does enough. -- BD I.

:17:50. > :17:54.That is frustration, that is all that is, Craig Thomson will be under

:17:55. > :18:02.pressure to red card and a Celtic player. It is a poor challenge and

:18:03. > :18:10.born of frustration. When it broke out wide, seven Johansen has --

:18:11. > :18:14.Stefan Johansen has thrown himself into the challenge and the referee

:18:15. > :18:20.has a big decision to make. The game is over as a contest but will this

:18:21. > :18:25.be red or yellow? Celtic's domestic season has been underpinned by the

:18:26. > :18:31.mention of the treble at every single opportunity. Ronny Deila has

:18:32. > :18:37.been asked about it on an almost weekly basis. He was confident his

:18:38. > :18:42.team could do it this season. It was a double last season and for many

:18:43. > :18:45.people, anything less than the league, the League Cup and the

:18:46. > :18:51.Scottish Cup this season was not going to be good enough will stop it

:18:52. > :18:58.is certainly a naughty challenge. The referee decides yellow will

:18:59. > :19:04.suffice. Faster and Griffiths get involved and they picked up yellow

:19:05. > :19:10.cards as well -- Foster. Five yellow cards for Celtic today as the red

:19:11. > :19:13.card to Efe Ambrose which was a massive turning point in the game

:19:14. > :19:22.because therefore that Celtic were lightning. 1-0 up inside 28 seconds.

:19:23. > :19:30.Mackay-Steven is stroked into an empty net and Celtic pounded at the

:19:31. > :19:35.Ross County defence for the next ten minutes, they could have been 3-0 up

:19:36. > :19:42.but in the blink of an item of Ambrose brings down Schalk, a red

:19:43. > :19:46.card, a penalty, 1-1 and it is Ross County will be going into the final

:19:47. > :19:54.here on the 13th of March. A stunning turnaround. Woods, the Man

:19:55. > :20:01.of the Match, he finds Brian Graham. It's all over! Ross County are into

:20:02. > :20:06.the League Cup final! It is disaster for Ronny Deila! What will the

:20:07. > :20:12.repercussions be for the big Norwegian? There will be no treble

:20:13. > :20:20.for Celtic, but joy for the Staggies, this is Thaiday! Look at

:20:21. > :20:25.the facial expressions of those wearing a Ross County badge, and so

:20:26. > :20:32.proudly they do so -- this is their day. Mackay-Steven put Celtic in

:20:33. > :20:38.front inside 30 seconds, County levelled through the woods spot kick

:20:39. > :20:42.after Ambrose was sent off. Second-half goals from Quinn and

:20:43. > :20:47.Schalk have sent the Staggies through to their second major final

:20:48. > :20:49.and their first in the League Cup. It finishes here, Ross County 3-1

:20:50. > :20:59.Celtic. STUDIO: Year ago Ross County were

:21:00. > :21:02.staring relegation in the face but they are fourth in the top division

:21:03. > :21:11.now and through to the second major cup final. On both occasions they

:21:12. > :21:14.have beaten Celtic in the semifinal. Celtic's semifinal misery continues

:21:15. > :21:19.and their treble dream is over. We can hear from the Ross County

:21:20. > :21:24.manager, Jim McIntyre. Congratulations your thoughts

:21:25. > :21:30.initially? I thought the players were magnificent, to lose their goal

:21:31. > :21:34.the way we did, the exact opposite of the game plan. We had to show

:21:35. > :21:41.courage and character to come back from that. The goal knocked the

:21:42. > :21:45.stuffing out of us and Celtic were all over us and we had to hang in

:21:46. > :21:52.there. We get the penalty, a good through ball and obviously Martin

:21:53. > :21:56.Woods sticks it away and from then on, at times we could have

:21:57. > :22:02.controlled it better but I'm thrilled with the effort they gave

:22:03. > :22:10.us. Celtic are a top side. Absolutely thrilled. Did you fear

:22:11. > :22:14.the worst after the first goal? Of course. We set up to be tight and

:22:15. > :22:21.have a threat on the counterattack and we have gifted a goal. You have

:22:22. > :22:25.to credit Celtic, Leigh Griffiths is brilliant at playing on the shoulder

:22:26. > :22:30.and that was the worst possible start but the character this team

:22:31. > :22:34.keeps showing, when they go behind, we might not always win but we

:22:35. > :22:39.always come back into it and make chances. I'm absolutely chuffed for

:22:40. > :22:44.them will stop you mentioned character. Not many gave you hope

:22:45. > :22:50.before the game, does that make it all the sweeter? That's normal. They

:22:51. > :22:55.are favourites and rightly so. There was a belief in the dressing room.

:22:56. > :22:59.We created chances against them in both games this season and even

:23:00. > :23:04.though we lost them, we knew that if we could create again it was a

:23:05. > :23:09.matter of taking them and I can't ask for any more than what they

:23:10. > :23:12.gave. I'm delighted for the chairman because he has put so much into this

:23:13. > :23:16.and they have been tough times in the last couple of years so for him

:23:17. > :23:24.to get to a final, delighted. Well done. That is one League Cup final

:23:25. > :23:30.and it, let's hear from the other, Alan Stubbs. What about that from

:23:31. > :23:33.Ross County? Fantastic for them, they had to enjoy a difficult start

:23:34. > :23:38.and they have come through it and they have managed to see themselves

:23:39. > :23:42.through to a final against ourselves. We are looking forward to

:23:43. > :23:49.it. It is the stuff of dreams for Ross County. Definitely. Jim touched

:23:50. > :23:55.on it, the chairman and everything he has put into the club. You look

:23:56. > :24:00.at the comparisons between 2010 when they beat Celtic and this team, and

:24:01. > :24:04.the thing that springs to mind for me is the character and they needed

:24:05. > :24:10.that in abundance with how they started. Let's hear from the Man of

:24:11. > :24:16.the Match, Martin Woods. Congratulations, how does it feel?

:24:17. > :24:19.Absolutely brilliant, delighted for the boys and the staff, we have

:24:20. > :24:25.worked hard and it was a big result. Although they've went down to ten,

:24:26. > :24:28.it is still a fantastic result to beat Celtic. Not many would have

:24:29. > :24:38.given new hope after the first 30 seconds? Some of the journalists

:24:39. > :24:43.were asking Alan Stubbs questions and it gave us some motivation, what

:24:44. > :24:51.it would be like to face Celtic in the final. It made us go at it. I'm

:24:52. > :24:57.just delighted. Your heart pumping as you stepped up to take the

:24:58. > :25:03.penalty? Yes, it was a big delay! He is a big frame in the goal so I was

:25:04. > :25:08.delighted. Can you go all the way? Of course, if you beat Celtic it

:25:09. > :25:13.gives you great confidence. We have them next week in the league and we

:25:14. > :25:17.want to finish top six. We are looking for a fourth position, to

:25:18. > :25:23.finish as high as we can. We have a good squad and of course we can with

:25:24. > :25:28.it. Well done, you have some bubbles as well, you are the Man of the

:25:29. > :25:39.Match. Thank you. The secret to their success, Alan Stubbs! I will

:25:40. > :25:45.take the credit! When I spoke yesterday, it was about we will see

:25:46. > :25:48.who we get. Obviously Celtic were favourites. That has not

:25:49. > :25:54.materialised and Ross County deserve to come through it. I know Martin, I

:25:55. > :25:59.was at Sunderland with him so I will have a few words! Hopefully we will

:26:00. > :26:08.hear from Ronny Deila before we go. We will have action from the English

:26:09. > :26:12.FA Cup, MK Dons against Chelsea which is 3-1 to Chelsea at the

:26:13. > :26:17.moment. We hope to hear from Ronny Deila. What do you think he will

:26:18. > :26:21.tell us? He will be hugely disappointed and it will be down to

:26:22. > :26:26.one massive talking point at the start. You have to make that sort of

:26:27. > :26:32.decision, who is going to play as your centre-backs. Celtic fans, all

:26:33. > :26:36.of the fans, have noticed the mistakes he has made and he has been

:26:37. > :26:42.a bit rash with the challenge. And it changes in that moment, 11th

:26:43. > :26:49.against 11, Celtic are massive favourites. They had started great

:26:50. > :26:55.and looked good. It might have sounded odd at the start, it is

:26:56. > :26:59.sometimes harder for Celtic to win the cups because even slip up in the

:27:00. > :27:06.league and you can't in a cup and that slip-up was one tackle. It was

:27:07. > :27:12.looking ominous for Ross County and strong for Celtic inside 27 seconds.

:27:13. > :27:16.You heard Jim McIntyre saying that is what Leigh Griffiths is all

:27:17. > :27:20.about, playing on the shoulder. It was great awareness and it showed

:27:21. > :27:29.his maturity to cross it for Mackay-Steven. This is it, the

:27:30. > :27:36.moment we are talking about. Not a lot of contact but enough and he

:27:37. > :27:41.definitely can't keep on running. I might be clutching at straws for

:27:42. > :27:45.ducted fans to say Craig Gordon might have got to -- Celtic fans.

:27:46. > :27:51.And most referees will send the player off for that. No doubt he

:27:52. > :27:57.will do that, big moment in the game have an impact and they went for

:27:58. > :28:01.Ross County. Ultimately, it is the decision of the manager who plays

:28:02. > :28:06.and far too often when Efe Ambrose is on, he makes mistakes and they

:28:07. > :28:11.are costly. That is something that ultimately cost Celtic the game. Was

:28:12. > :28:19.the match still not there for them even with ten against 11? You still

:28:20. > :28:25.fancied it at 1-1, even though they were a man down because of their

:28:26. > :28:30.quality. Ross County started to come into it and yet more belief and get

:28:31. > :28:35.further up the pitch and ask questions of Celtic more. There were

:28:36. > :28:44.a few moments in the second half, we can talk about them, pivotal

:28:45. > :28:47.moments. And they have probably contributed towards the final

:28:48. > :28:52.outcome. What a return to Ross County for Paul Quinn. Not a bad

:28:53. > :29:01.start to your Ross County career. Fantastic. Obviously we came with a

:29:02. > :29:05.game plan, circumstances change in the game but we are delighted to get

:29:06. > :29:09.to the final, it is huge for the club and ourselves. Is there a

:29:10. > :29:16.growing feeling you can go there, are you the favourites? I don't

:29:17. > :29:19.know, Hibs are probably playing a lead below where they should be,

:29:20. > :29:24.they have fantastic players and staff but we have to go with the

:29:25. > :29:29.attitude that we had today, we came here to win even though we were the

:29:30. > :29:32.underdogs. We came to progress and it is about looking forward to the

:29:33. > :29:39.final and enjoying ourselves just now and focusing on another positive

:29:40. > :29:44.result. It looked like a tough shift, the manager talked about

:29:45. > :29:48.character and it was there. It was called into after the first minute.

:29:49. > :29:52.We were sloppy to start with and we don't in and got a break which

:29:53. > :29:59.changed the game and we took advantage -- we dug in. We worked

:30:00. > :30:06.ever so hard, the goalkeeper made saves, all-round delighted and the

:30:07. > :30:13.character was evident. Well done. A great linkup between Davis and Quinn

:30:14. > :30:16.for the goal even though they struggled to link up defensively

:30:17. > :30:23.earlier -- Davies. Was there a foul on Craig Gordon? We have a look at

:30:24. > :30:26.him in the middle and he is held. He doesn't have a chance. This happens

:30:27. > :30:33.all the time in football and at the top level but he is getting shoved

:30:34. > :30:39.off the ball and can't react. You can argue, it is a free header, but

:30:40. > :30:43.Gordon is seriously held back. You are right, it is a foul, it is

:30:44. > :30:50.difficult for the referee to see with the bodies around them but as

:30:51. > :30:55.much as Gordon is being held, Celtic, defensively, allowed Davies

:30:56. > :31:00.to spin around the back and it was Bitton and Lustig, they were on the

:31:01. > :31:05.six yard box marking Quinn and Davies and Davies get a free header

:31:06. > :31:10.and Quinn is first to react. Then there is the argument of men on the

:31:11. > :31:14.posts. It is tough when you are a man short anyway. On top of that,

:31:15. > :31:17.the keeper is held, it is tough. Celtic have to get on with it

:31:18. > :31:25.because you can't guarantee the referee will be looking at that.

:31:26. > :31:30.A lot of incidents going on, in Ronnieis, I would expect the

:31:31. > :31:38.defenders to be reacting better when the ball goes their head will

:31:39. > :31:47.they stop, the ball drops to Quinn, there is a lot of incidents. They

:31:48. > :31:54.should deal with the cross better, Mikael Lustig and Nir Bitton. Lovely

:31:55. > :31:59.pace on the pass from Martin Woods, great finish here from the Dutchman,

:32:00. > :32:03.Alex Schalk. You see as the ball is played in, it is about pass

:32:04. > :32:08.appreciation, plays it right into the path of Alex Schalk, great

:32:09. > :32:12.finish, looking at the next angle, I wonder why Mikael Lustig narrows so

:32:13. > :32:15.much rather than deepening of many goes far too far in the field rather

:32:16. > :32:20.than trying to get background the other side, but you have got to give

:32:21. > :32:28.credit to Ross County, great ball, slide rule pass, fantastic finish.

:32:29. > :32:31.Celtic had a lot of the play before that, you have got to remember,

:32:32. > :32:35.there were breaks and they looked dangerous on the break, before that,

:32:36. > :32:38.slide rule pass which was not a slide rule, it was too long, this

:32:39. > :32:42.time, it was perfect, and the take was perfect. Understandably

:32:43. > :32:49.completely delighted with that but still it was not all over, Celtic

:32:50. > :32:54.had chances. Even though it was 3-1, you could not write them off. We

:32:55. > :32:57.will delay joining the in dish FA Cup action, because we would like to

:32:58. > :33:00.wait to hear from Ronny Deila, Celtic manager, the door of the

:33:01. > :33:04.dressing room shut at the moment, unsurprisingly, when he emerges, we

:33:05. > :33:09.will get a word with him, the treble dream for Celtic is over. Of course,

:33:10. > :33:17.they had the chance, late on, to bring the game back to life, with a

:33:18. > :33:21.penalty. Given against Graham's handball. You could argue whether it

:33:22. > :33:27.was deliberate. I think when you look at the player reaction, Graham

:33:28. > :33:30.is not arguing against it being given, but when you see Leigh

:33:31. > :33:33.Griffiths stepping up to take it, everyone was expecting this to go

:33:34. > :33:38.into the back of the net, tries to blast it down the middle, Scott Fox

:33:39. > :33:42.manages to get it away. When that happens, you realise that it is not

:33:43. > :33:46.going to be your day. The big moments have gone in the favour of

:33:47. > :33:50.Ross County, they have capitalised. The remarkable an orthodox saved

:33:51. > :33:57.late on by Scott Fox, when you are making those, you are not losing the

:33:58. > :34:01.game. More and more you could see the belief as it went on, that it

:34:02. > :34:06.was going to be their day, you could see their heads go down, with the

:34:07. > :34:10.Celtic players knowing that as time went on it was not going to be their

:34:11. > :34:18.day. Moments have gone against them today. But, you have got to give a

:34:19. > :34:21.lot of credit to Ross County because from a really difficult start the

:34:22. > :34:29.game they have stuck in there, they been adopted when they had to. --

:34:30. > :34:32.they have been dogged. A couple of really good goals, they deserve to

:34:33. > :34:41.be in the final. A lot of headlines tomorrow will centre on Celtic's

:34:42. > :34:47.treble dream in tatters, but Dingwall, population 5000, this is a

:34:48. > :34:50.fairy tale. We almost take it for granted because they have grown so

:34:51. > :34:54.well so quickly but it is an astounding thing that they have

:34:55. > :35:00.managed to do this, that group of players look fantastic. They had one

:35:01. > :35:08.or two injuries as well. A really good job that has been done. They

:35:09. > :35:14.have rebuilt a strong looking group, a strong looking squad. It is a

:35:15. > :35:20.fairy tale, of course it is, every time you beat 18 the size of Celtic,

:35:21. > :35:25.it is, a should be applauded. There will be a lot of column inches about

:35:26. > :35:33.Ronnie Deila, there will be a few about Efe Ambrose as well, but that

:35:34. > :35:38.is the real story. -- when you beat -- every time you beat a team the

:35:39. > :35:42.size of Celtic. We will try to get the smile wiped off the face of Alan

:35:43. > :35:45.Stubbs, if we can, could be difficult, all started with a

:35:46. > :35:51.controversial penalty award leading to Jason Cummings firing Hibernian

:35:52. > :35:57.in front, much has been said about it. Quite clearly for me, it is not

:35:58. > :36:05.a penalty, but we have spoke about it at length, you can see commonly

:36:06. > :36:09.goes right across. -- you can see, he goes right across, as he makes

:36:10. > :36:20.the tackle. You can understand why he has given it. Pictures show there

:36:21. > :36:25.was not a great deal of contact. Are you pleased he is still your player?

:36:26. > :36:32.We were never in any doubt, as a football club, we had no desire to

:36:33. > :36:36.lose our best players, Jason falls into that. I was comfortable at the

:36:37. > :36:41.start of the month and I am comfortable at the end of the month.

:36:42. > :36:44.What about in the middle of the month? LAUGHTER

:36:45. > :36:50.Probably even more comfortable in the middle of the month(!) LAUGHTER

:36:51. > :36:54.He's getting better and better, we feel that... We are in negotiations,

:36:55. > :37:00.we would love him to sign a new deal. He is part of what we want to

:37:01. > :37:06.build. If we can get that done, fantastic. We feel as if being at

:37:07. > :37:13.Hibernian right now is the best place for him. First goal of three,

:37:14. > :37:20.St Johnstone equalising here, at that point, came on against. What

:37:21. > :37:24.takes some of the sting out of it... The way that they reacted to it, you

:37:25. > :37:30.understand, his team were probably second-best, good fight, good

:37:31. > :37:34.battle, a lot of pressure and expectation on them. His team have

:37:35. > :37:42.played better. Tough round recently. It tends to happen, but when they

:37:43. > :37:51.are flying, they are fantastic to watch. They all worked really hard,

:37:52. > :37:56.but in comparison to what Hibernian had... You were a top-class

:37:57. > :38:02.Hibernian midfielder in your time, so you have told me, anyway, not

:38:03. > :38:07.sure I believe it(!) but John McGinn is also fantastic. He is coming onto

:38:08. > :38:11.his game, when he joined Hibernian, I thought that it was a weak player,

:38:12. > :38:14.but he has impressed me the times I have seen in this season, taking it

:38:15. > :38:26.to a different level. This goes to prove it. Is becoming an all-round

:38:27. > :38:29.midfielder, driving forward, tackling, pitching in with important

:38:30. > :38:32.goals, as a manager armour that is something that you want to look for,

:38:33. > :38:39.he has a promising career in front of him. -- as a manager, that is

:38:40. > :38:46.something you want. You will have your feet up watching this, looking

:38:47. > :38:52.forward to the final. We are delighted that we can involve them

:38:53. > :38:56.in the final now... Are you still cup tied by Celtic? LAUGHTER

:38:57. > :39:05.Bringing a lot of quality to the team... Henderson, he had some

:39:06. > :39:08.really good moments in the game and played a good part and it would have

:39:09. > :39:11.been a shame for him not to be involved in the final, once we get

:39:12. > :39:15.Anthony Stokes up and running, he will play a huge contribution

:39:16. > :39:20.towards the end of the season. This is the way that it is, live and

:39:21. > :39:27.exclusive on the BBC, March 13, Scottish League Cup final.

:39:28. > :39:32.How does that change the whole complexion of the occasion,

:39:33. > :39:36.delighted to be there, in a sense, does not matter who you play,

:39:37. > :39:41.Hibernian are there already, but it is not Celtic, it is not scanty.

:39:42. > :39:46.What is your immediate reaction? It is different, if we were playing

:39:47. > :39:52.Celtic, then we would have been huge underdogs, to face the game, no

:39:53. > :39:57.point lying about it. It would have been a really difficult game to come

:39:58. > :40:02.through. And to overcome. But now, we enter the game, both sides will

:40:03. > :40:07.probably be fancying their chances to win the game. We know that it is

:40:08. > :40:11.going to be difficult. You only have to look today at how many problems

:40:12. > :40:15.they will be able to cause us. We will be able to cause Ross County

:40:16. > :40:19.and Jim and Billy problems ourselves. It is going to be a good

:40:20. > :40:25.game, it will be intriguing, it will be exciting... It will be two teams

:40:26. > :40:30.trying to win a game of football and have a realistic chance as well. Is

:40:31. > :40:34.what we were talking about, it is two teams that will have a genuine

:40:35. > :40:40.belief that they can go out there and win it, not a case of trying to

:40:41. > :40:44.hit one on the counterattack... It is a completely different dynamic,

:40:45. > :40:47.two teams squaring up, going toe to toe, it should make for an

:40:48. > :40:55.interesting match. 4-1 Chelsea, in the FA Cup, beating MK Dons.

:40:56. > :41:01.Hat-trick from Moscow. Who are the favourites for the Scottish FA Cup

:41:02. > :41:07.final? The bookies will think long and hard. In the end, if you are the

:41:08. > :41:10.lower league team, you should not be favourites, but actually I think

:41:11. > :41:14.there is nothing between the two teams, showing no offence

:41:15. > :41:17.whatsoever, talking about what will happen, if there is half as much

:41:18. > :41:21.incident as we had this afternoon, we will all be very entertained.

:41:22. > :41:26.That is something you have always got to remember at the end of these

:41:27. > :41:29.games. People upset and happy but a lot of entertainment and decent

:41:30. > :41:36.football. What exciting season for you and the Hibernian fans. Chasing

:41:37. > :41:41.promotion at Greenock, and League Cup final and you have an Edinburgh

:41:42. > :41:46.derby coming up in the Scottish Cup. This could be incredible. It could

:41:47. > :41:50.be, but all that we have done is give ourselves an opportunity right

:41:51. > :41:57.now... We are in the final, in one competition, still in the mix for

:41:58. > :42:00.the league. And we have a really exciting game against our local

:42:01. > :42:05.rivals next week, however you look at it, fantastic tie. And we are all

:42:06. > :42:11.looking forward, everyone is looking forward to it. Two really good

:42:12. > :42:16.teams. Full house, Tynecastle again, great atmosphere. And you know, this

:42:17. > :42:21.is what we want, we want to be involved in big games, somebody

:42:22. > :42:25.asked me today about pressure. It is not pressure, it is excitement. It

:42:26. > :42:31.could be a fantastic end to the season for us, we are certainly

:42:32. > :42:40.hoping it is going to be. Our main objective is to get promotion. The

:42:41. > :42:45.cup is a complete bonus for us. Amey fans will you take back for the

:42:46. > :42:49.League Cup final? Certainly more than 20,000. -- how many fans. The

:42:50. > :42:53.support we have had not just from the club from the fans since I have

:42:54. > :42:59.come in has been nothing short of remarkable. There will be a huge

:43:00. > :43:06.following. I think that we will bring 20 5000. That speaks volumes,

:43:07. > :43:10.for the club, we want to get the club first and foremost back into

:43:11. > :43:17.the top division. Fundamental, priority number one. We want to have

:43:18. > :43:20.a good day out here, on March 13. If you have missed any of the second

:43:21. > :43:25.League Cup semifinal, you can catch up with it at 10:30pm. A Celtic fan

:43:26. > :43:29.League Cup semifinal, you can catch probably will not want to! You will

:43:30. > :43:31.have seen enough of it already, if you are a Ross County fan, you can

:43:32. > :43:44.see it over and over. Final word today before we head to

:43:45. > :43:48.the English FA Cup, for Ross County, what a performance, what a day for

:43:49. > :43:53.them, what a night, dancing in the streets of Dingwall(!) we talked

:43:54. > :44:00.about comparisons with 2010, real character shown, great night to

:44:01. > :44:03.celebrate, and a final to look forward to. Not just Dingwall, but

:44:04. > :44:10.the rest of the country, will be looking forward to it. The other

:44:11. > :44:15.side of the calling? I remember looking down when John Collins was

:44:16. > :44:19.manager, fantastic day for Hibernian fans, so emotional. Fantastic win

:44:20. > :44:25.for them, and Hibernian fans will want to see that again. I want to

:44:26. > :44:28.see a good open game of football. We have a couple of teams that will

:44:29. > :44:33.play a very good open game of football. We have given it our best

:44:34. > :44:38.shot to have a word with Ronnie Deila but that dressing room door is

:44:39. > :44:44.nailed shut! There will be some harsh words being said in that

:44:45. > :44:49.particular area, we will have the reaction later on the BBC sport

:44:50. > :44:54.Scotland website, and so you may be able to get the reaction there are,

:44:55. > :45:01.we have run out of time, thank you very much to my guests. All of the

:45:02. > :45:05.best for the final on March 13, Alan Stubbs. We wondered whether

:45:06. > :45:07.lightning can strike twice between Ross County and Celtic in a