FRANK McGarvey, the former Celtic striker who it was this week revealed is battling cancer, received a rousing welcome from the Parkhead crowd yesterday when he took to the field before kick-off in the cinch Premiership match against Hibernian.
The man who scored over 100 goals for his boyhood heroes – the most famous of which was the diving header he netted to win the Scottish Cup final against Dundee United at Hampden in 1985 – was not just greeted warmly by the home supporters.
McGarvey revealed that manager Ange Postecoglou had given him a cuddle as he waited to go out on the pitch and spoken in glowing terms about his both his ability as a footballer and his achievements in the game.
The Greek-Australian must have felt like hugging his players – not least his evergreen winger James Forrest – after a one-sided rout of Hibernian that sent his side five points clear of Rangers at the top of the league table.
There has been much criticism of Celtic’s play up front of late. They needed a Giorgos Giakoumakis strike in the fifth minute of injury-time to beat St Johnstone in Perth in the Premiership last weekend. They once again passed up a raft of chances in their Champions League defeat to RB Leipzig in the East End of Glasgow on Tuesday night.
This emphatic triumph showed the Scottish champions remain as dangerous as ever going forward as ever and will, even though their city rivals can reduce their lead to two points again if they defeat Motherwell at Fir Park today, be very difficult to depose.
Hibs may have lost 1-0 to United at Tannadice in midweek. But the Leith outfit had beaten Kilmarnock, Aberdeen, Ross County and Motherwell and moved up to third place before that narrow reverse. Lee Johnson and his charges will have fancied their chances of causing an upset as they headed along the M8 given the form they have been in.
Yet, when Forrest, who was making his first start and only his seventh appearance of the 2022/23 campaign, got on the end of a Sead Haksabanovic cross and slotted beyond his old Scotland team mate David Marshall in the sixth minute it was obvious there was only ever going to be one outcome.
Cameron Carter-Vickers and his team mates forged three ahead in the opening half an hour. Giakoumakis, preferred to Kyogo Furuhashi, added a second following good work by Haksabanovic and Alexandro Bernabei down the left wing. The latter squared between Paul Hanlon and Lewis Stevenson and the striker gave Marshall no chance.
The veteran keeper, though, should have done far better for the third. He fumbled a Forrest half-volley over his own line. He swatted the ball clear. But referee Steven McLean and his linesman Frank Connor correctly ruled that it had gone in.
Johnson was clearly not impressed with the visitors’ display in the opening 45 minutes. He made a quadruple substitution as the second-half got underway. Mykola Kukharevych, Stevenson, Harry McKirdy and Chris Cadden, who had endured a torrid time against Bernabei and Haksabanovic, were replaced by Kyle Magennis, Marijan Cabraja, Elie Youan and Rocky Bushiri.
Youan gave the travelling fans something to cheer nine minutes after coming on when Magennis and Martin Boyle linked and teed him up with a scoring opportunity. The substitute showed great composure to fire beyond Joe Hart. But any hopes of a Hibs fightback proved short-lived.
Forrest completed his hat-trick just two minutes later after Nohan Kenneh fresh-aired a clearance in the middle of his own half. Aaron Mooy fed the wide man and his low drive spun off Paul Hanlon and arched over Marshall. It took his haul of goals in a green and white jersey to 100.
The 31-year-old, who has netted in 14 consecutive seasons for Celtic, received a standing ovation when he was replaced by Liel Abada and was a deserved recipient of the Man of the Match award. His showing was a reminder that he still, despite his age, has a huge amount to offer this term.
Oliver Abildgaard took over from O’Riley and Furuhashi replaced his countryman Reo Hatate. Abada set up Giakoumakis for his second and his side’s fifth in the 73rd minute after a powerful run down the right flank and Furuhashi struck the post. Daizen Maeda, who had come on for Haksabanovic, added a sixth with a minute of regulation time remaining.
Postecoglou was pleased to give the supporters something to cheer and hoped that McGarvey had enjoyed his afternoon.
“The players were great,” he said. “We wanted to put on a good performance and I thought the energy and intensity we showed from the start was brilliant. The quality of our football was excellent with some well worked goals. We created good opportunities and credit to the lads for taking them. It was a great performance.
“I caught up with Frank. I’ve got a little connection to him, not that he knows. I was a Liverpool supporter and when King Kenny (Dalglish) went to Liverpool my allegiances were to both clubs.
“Then when Frank moved from Liverpool to Celtic I followed his career after that. It was great to see him before the game as well as his kids. He’s going through a tough time, but he had some strong words about what I needed to do which you wouldn’t be surprised to hear. He made it clear we should score in the first 20 minutes. Hopefully it lifts his spirits.”
