Treble looms as Brendan Rodgers stands on cusp of Celtic history

Ruthless, aggressive, relentless, a goal in each half from Callum McGregor and Sinclair didn’t just tee up Celtic’s first Treble since 2001, but one which put down the marker. In an opening period that brought forth just one goal but utterly hit the wind out of Rangers, Celtic’s hunger and drive was evident from the first whistle.

It is has been 92 years since Celtic beat Rangers in a Scottish Cup semi-final but the odd revelation post-match from Rangers boss Pedro Couxinha that he changed his team-talk because his players looked nervous in the warm-up confirmed just how much of a swagger Celtic brought to the game.

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The Ibrox side looked beaten before a ball was kicked. There was a modicum of a fightback in the latter stages of this contest with Kenny Miller attempting to drag them into the tie but by the then the game was long gone as a contest.

The opening period was essentially a procession for Celtic whose energy and movement suggested an extra man at times.

The only aberration from that came three minutes before the break when Miller lobbed an effort from distance over the bar, the only time in that first 45 minutes that Rangers managed to escape the clutched of a Celtic side who kept a firm grip of the game.

With a back three protected by Scott Brown – impervious throughout the 90 minutes - Stuart Armstrong and McGregor had free license to dominate the central pastures. Andy Halliday’s lunge on Patrick Roberts drew the first booking of the game in just three minutes, with the player fortunate that it wasn’t a red. It was a pattern that would be ubiquitous throughout the encounter.

Youngster Myles Beerman took a pop at the on-loan City winger too, an infringement that earned him a caution that could have proved costly when he took a nip at the player again just minutes later. He escaped further sanction but Roberts’ bruises this morning will be indicative of the influence he exerted on the affair, running Brown close for the man of the match award.

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Yet, if there was an early suspicion that Halliday’s crunch on Roberts would set the tone for an afternoon in which Rangers set out to get in the faces of Celtic, it simply didn’t materialise.That perhaps owed much to the pace of the game set by Rodgers’ side or of Rangers’ psychological frailties in squaring up to a side who have dominated the five meetings between them this season.

It essentially said much about the afternoon and the dominancy of Celtic that the biggest cheer to emerge from the Rangers end came when Moussa Dembele pulled up midway through the opening period with a hamstring strain.

The French striker had caused havoc before his departure with the Ibrox defence spooked whenever he ran at them. Dembele’s hand in the opener was show of strength and technique and he brought down a long ball from Mikael Lustig on the edge of the box before sliding it into the path of McGregor.

Free from anyone tracking him, McGregor’s finish was Celtic’s afternoon in microcosm; unflustered, composed, confident. The midfielder picked his spot and sidefooted the ball with pace from the edge of the box into the bottom corner.

Celtic had posted notice immediately prior to the goal of their threat when Armstrong had come close with a dipping effort that curled just wide of the post, and the pace with which Celtic started the game rarely dipped.

If there was a criticism of Celtic in that opening period it was that they didn’t have further goals to show for the way in which they had controlled the game.

There was an inevitability about the changes rung at the interval from Rangers with Halliday and the relatively anonymous Joe Garner hooked, but the players had barely warmed up for the second period that the game was unequivocally put of Rangers’ reach.

Griffiths did well to chase a ball he looked second favourite to get and Wes Foderingham dithered too long before coming off his line. It left James Tavernier up against Griffiths and his sliding challenge took out the striker.

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From the subsequent penalty Scott Sinclair sunk, with some luck, his 24th goal of the season to essentially put Celtic into the final of the tournament. Foderingham got a hand to the kick to palm it off the inside of the post before the ball cannoned back and crossed the line.

In the immediate minutes after that second goal, Rangers were all over the place. Griffiths’ confidence showed no ill-effects after a frustrating season after he drew a fingertip save from Foderingham following a fluent spin in the box.

By the time Rangers steadied themselves and forced their way up the park for the first time really in the game, the tie was gone.

Craig Gordon had a header from Miller to collect and a low effort at his near post from Barrie McKay but it was the first serious involvement that the Celtic keeper had had in the game.

Miller was pivotal to the brief revival as he worked hard to find something to unnerve Celtic. The veteran forward tried an effort from distance that went over the bar while he was vociferous in his appeals that a clearance had caught the hand of Jozo Simunovic, although TV pictures appeared to exonerate the Croatian defender.

In any case, there was no panic. Celtic were denied a third when Tom Rogic, McGregor’s replacement, cracked a ferocious drive off the post.

There is just one game that stands between Rodgers now and another piece of Celtic history.