Posted by Sandy Thin

Sandy Thin

In a weekend in which regular SPL fixtures failed to impress, it was vital that the two Scottish Cup Semi-Final ties stepped up to the plate, and thankfully, they delivered. A fantastic first half display from Motherwell and a superlative second half display from Celtic saw off St Johnstone and Aberdeen respectively.

Stephen Craigan put Motherwell ahead within the first five minutes of the match as the 34 year-old skipper headed home following the Saints’ failure to clear a well struck corner. Ten minutes later Motherwell doubled their lead as the pace and skill of Jamie Murphy proved too much for the opposition defence, weaving his way through to the box before slotting the ball low into the far bottom corner. The first half rout was completed with a stunning volley by John Sutton from 35 yards, catching Peter Enckelman by surprise and seeing off any hope the Saints had of a recovery.

In the second Semi of the weekend, Aberdeen took on a Celtic side that had already scored 17 goals against them this season, conceding only one. Aberdeen’s luck took a turn for the worse as Andrew Considine brought SFA Player of the Year Nominee, Gary Hooper, down in the box and was duly sent off. However, Dons keeper Jamie Langfield saved Stokes’ penalty taking the teams into half time even. Charlie Mulgrew put the Bhoys ahead early in the second half, curling his free-kick over the wall and over the keeper scoring for the second time this season against his former club. A driven effort from Joe Ledley and a penalty from Kris Commons took the score to 3-0 before Shaun Maloney sealed their place in the final with a tap in, his first goal since returning from an injury that had kept him out for 4 months.

Celtic and Motherwell will return to Hampden on the 29 May, where Celtic could face the prospect of completing a League and Cup double for the first time since 2007. If the weekend’s football is anything to go by however, Celtic will have no easy job defeating a Motherwell side that will be looking to win their first piece of silverware in 20 years.
In the SPL, a second half penalty from Stephen Whittaker gave Rangers a 2-1 victory over St Mirren, taking them a point clear off Celtic, who have a game in hand, and leaving the champions to essentially be decided on the Easter Sunday winner-takes-all Old Firm match next week. Elsewhere, Hearts and Inverness drew 1-1 and Hamilton beat Hibs 2-1 to maintain the glimmer of hope that still remains with the Accies that they may avoid relegation from the League.