Scottish Cup

The Portuguese forward had been booked in the first half of the Scottish Gas Scottish Cup last-16 tie where the home side took the lead after 10 minutes through a Borna Barisic strike which deflected in off Roy Syla, when he tackled George Granger after the break.

Collum resisted the temptation to flash a second yellow before he soon cautioned Brown for complaining – and then Silva, on loan from Wolves, netted the second after 76 minutes to take the Light Blues into the quarter-final draw.

Gers boss Philippe Clement had on Friday backed Collum despite Rangers reportedly asking the Scottish Football Association not to appoint the official to any of their games going forward after his part as the VAR official in a contentious non-penalty decision which went against them in their Old Firm derby defeat at the end of the year.

It was Collum’s first involvement with Rangers since and former Celtic captain Brown was unimpressed.

The Somerset Park boss said: “The second goal comes from a man who probably shouldn’t be on the park.

“It was a big decision, a pressure decision and it probably was not the right decision.

“I knew he was never going to get sent off, that it was never going to be a red card. I think if it had been the other way around it could have been.

“It was the pressure, coming into these big occasions. Some people can deal with it, some people can’t.

“Willie is used to giving me yellow cards – I think he has missed me.”

Asked if he had quizzed Collum about Silva’s challenge, Brown said: “There is no point, it doesn’t change anything. I was disappointed at the time and then he goes on and scores the goal.

“So it is a harsh lesson but for me it is more about us and how we performed.

“A young team having a belief, because a lot of Premiership teams will just come here and defend but we knew we had to try and play.

“We don’t have that huge target man so we had to try and play. We had to move the ball really well, we had a shape and structure. We were fine throughout the whole game. I never felt we would lose that many goals.”

Clement disagreed with Brown’s assessment of Silva’s tackle.

He said: “No, he got a kick on his leg in that action. You need to look closely at the images.

“He showed me there were studs (marks) on the top of his leg.”

Clement took the opportunity to make seven changes to his side.

Mohamed Diomande, the Ivorian midfielder signed from Danish Superliga club Nordsjaelland and Colombian winger Oscar Cortes – on loan from Lens – were handed were handed their first starts, with the latter particularly impresssive in the hour he played.

Clement spoke about a “positive evening” in his assessment.

He said: “After three minutes we could have scored two goals. In football you also need a little bit of luck and that was not on our side today in the finishing, and all respect also to our opponents, who gave their lives to stop the goals, also in the second half by making saves on the goal line.

“It is a positive evening. The other positive thing is to play that kind of game for so many fans, that is maybe the most positive thing of the evening. In that way, I would have wished to give the fans more goals.”

A five-year contract has been agreed with the Scottish Football Association which will see the energy firm become the title sponsor of both the men’s and women’s competitions. The deal will also provide a major boost to grassroots football projects.

The deal was announced just before the SFA annual general meeting, which saw Alloa owner Mike Mulraney confirmed as president following the end of Rod Petrie’s four-year term. Hamilton’s Les Gray replaces Mulraney as vice-president.

Scottish Gas will become the first title sponsor of the Scottish Cup since William Hill’s nine-year partnership ended in 2020.

The men’s competition will be known as the Scottish Gas Scottish Cup from next season, its 150th anniversary, and the funding will also benefit the Scottish Gas Women’s Scottish Cup, the final of which was staged at Hampden this year for the first time.

The deal will help fund 120 new week-long holiday camps which will provide 6,000 opportunities for children to play football and receive free lunches.

The investment will also help Scottish Para-Football’s disability community initiatives by working with six clubs each year to set up the required infrastructure and playing conditions.

Scottish Gas will also work with the SFA to explore ways of making Hampden more sustainable and design a programme for clubs to help “reduce their carbon footprint and create more sustainable communities”.

SFA chief executive Ian Maxwell said: “I am absolutely delighted to welcome Scottish Gas on board as a committed multi-level partner and supporter of the Power of Football.

“As part of our 150th anniversary celebrations, they will help us activate the oldest and youngest cup trophies in world football, bringing new and existing fans on that famous road to Hampden.

“Through this agreement, Scottish Gas will also help reinforce the impact our national game has at grassroots level, especially among those whose need is greatest. We look forward to bringing the partnership to life and highlighting the ways in which, together, we can inspire the nation and transform lives.”

Chris O’Shea, chief executive of Centrica, the owner of Scottish Gas said: “We’re delighted to be investing in our customers’ communities and I’m particularly excited about the work we will be doing to support holiday camps, Para-Football and the women’s game across Scotland.”

Mulraney welcomed the deal and promised “100 per cent commitment and focus” on his new role.

“The Scottish FA is committed to inspiring the nation and transforming lives,” the Alloa chairman added.

“We made an impassioned plea at Holyrood only last week urging government and politicians to see us as allies in improving the health and wellbeing of the country and that is something I am determined to facilitate in a practical sense.

“The national association is primarily responsible for the development of the game, the grassroots and it is imperative we work with governments both national and local, philanthropists, commercial and charitable partners, to improve the fundamental infrastructure of our game – facilities.

“We have already agreed a £20m fund with the Department of Culture, Media and Sport and need more investment.

“We need to retain and upgrade the pitches we currently have, attain new funding for new facilities, especially to meet the growth of girls’ and women’s football, and ensure we contribute to sustainable clubs and communities, both from a financial and an environmental perspective.

“This will be a key priority for me as president and I look forward to working with partners to improve our infrastructure.”

A five-year contract has been agreed with the Scottish Football Association which will benefit grassroots football.

The men’s competition will be known as the Scottish Gas Scottish Cup from next season, its 150th anniversary, and the funding will also benefit the Scottish Gas Women’s Scottish Cup, the final of which was staged at Hampden this year for the first time.

The deal will help fund 120 new week-long holiday camps which will provide  6,000 opportunities for children to play football and receive free lunches.

The investment will also help Scottish Para-Football’s disability community initiatives by working with six clubs each year to set up the required infrastructure and playing conditions.

Scottish Gas will also work with the SFA to explore ways of making Hampden more sustainable and design a programme for clubs to help “reduce their carbon footprint and create more sustainable communities”.

SFA chief executive Ian Maxwell said: “I am absolutely delighted to welcome Scottish Gas on board as a committed multi-level partner and supporter of the Power of Football.

“As part of our 150th anniversary celebrations, they will help us activate the oldest and youngest cup trophies in world football, bringing new and existing fans on that famous road to Hampden.

“Through this agreement, Scottish Gas will also help reinforce the impact our national game has at grassroots level, especially among those whose need is greatest. We look forward to bringing the partnership to life and highlighting the ways in which, together, we can inspire the nation and transform lives.”

Chris O’Shea, chief executive of Centrica, the owner of Scottish Gas said: “Our partnership with the Scottish FA is the perfect match of energy and passion for Scottish Gas as we team up to support the nation.

“We’re delighted to be investing in our customers’ communities, and I’m particularly excited about the work we will be doing to support holiday camps, Para-Football and the women’s game across Scotland.”

Todorov pounced from 10 yards to score his fourth goal in as many matches after Liam McStravick’s cross was hooked back in at the far post.

St Johnstone should have heeded the early warning signs after a poor backpass by Saints Midfielder Graham Carey let in home captain Adam Frizzell.

He ran into the box and got a shot away but it produced a superb save from Bulgarian goalkeeper Dimitar Mitov, who dived low to his right-hand side to keep it out.

Airdrie had claims for a penalty when a low cross from the left came off a St Johnstone player inside the area but referee Kevin Clancy quickly turned down the appeal.

St Johnstone had chances and new signing Benjamin Kimpioka thought he was going to mark his debut with a goal when he rounded Airdrie keeper Josh Rae, but the Swedish striker ran out of pitch as he tried to find the back of the net.

In the second half, Mason Hancock header over Charlie Telfer’s free-kick, before Todorov fired home from inside the area to put Airdrie 1-0 up.

Craig Levein’s side pressed for an equaliser with striker Kimpioka racing through on goal, but Rae was quickly off his line to tackle him. Kimpioka went down under the challenge but referee Kevin Clancy was not interested.

Carey then had a 20-yard strike saved by Rae as the home side held on.

Queens are languishing in seventh place in League One but produced a spirited display to frustrate the Scottish Premiership side until Gogic headed home from Greg Kiltie’s corner after 71 minutes.

The Paisley outfit spurned several good opportunities, with Hearts loanee Harry Stone impressing in goal for the visitors.

St Mirren, who handed a debut to Celtic loanee Kwon Hyeok-kyu, dominated possession from the start, with their first real chance arriving in the 12th minute when captain Marcus Fraser’s header was tipped over by Stone.

The hosts looked to have broken the deadlock after 19 minutes through Greg Kiltie. Jonah Ayunga found space beyond the defence and his shot across goal was parried by Stone and Kiltie tapped into an empty net as the linesman raised his flag.

It appeared an incredibly tight decision but with no VAR in operation, the goal was disallowed.

Queens barely ventured into their opponents’ half during the opening half hour but Lewis Gibson spurned a promising counter-attack opportunity when he dallied on the ball in the box and Fraser made an excellent block.

The visitors’ back five were frustrating the hosts and they were forced to try their luck from range when the dangerous Kiltie fired just wide of the post on the half hour.

Queens did carry a threat on the break, though, and Lee Connolly should have scored from six yards but he inexplicably tried to take a touch and the danger was cleared.

St Mirren started the second half in the ascendancy and Elvis Bwomono was denied a certain goal with a rasping shot by a superb goal-line clearance from Efe Ambrose.

The visitors began to ramp up the pressure and Scott Tanser saw a stunning effort smash off the crossbar after 54 minutes.

The game became scrsappy after a bright start to the second half, but St Mirren eventually opened the scoring when Gogic powered a header past Stone.

Queens looked deflated and barely threatened Zach Hemming as St Mirren comfortably saw out the final 20 minutes.

The 22-year-old South Korean midfielder joined the Hoops from Busan IPark last summer on a five-year deal but had yet to play for the Scottish champions before he joined the Buddies last week until the end of the season.

During the club’s January training camp in Spain, Kwon wowed players and staff with his initiation song and also impressed manager Stephen Robinson in training.

Ahead of the Scottish Gas Scottish Cup fourth-round tie against Queen of the South in Paisley on Saturday, where Kwon could feature, the Buddies boss said: “Kwon has been excellent, he has fitted in really well.

“He’s a character as well so we have really enjoyed him and we found out he was a good singer as well. That was entertaining.

“I don’t know what he sang, it was in Korean but it was better than most of our lads.

“Football-wise he has been excellent on the pitch.

“He has taken to what we are trying to do and it is a compliment to the staff here that we have been trusted to try to develop him because he hasn’t had loads of game time.

“But Celtic signed him for big money and we can see why. He is a talented boy. He will be available to play.

“I’m looking to bring one if not two more in, another forward and potentially competition at left-wing back. Every new signing gives the club a lift.”

Kwon’s initiation song during the training camp clearly made a big impression on his new team-mates.

“The best initiation I have ever seen,” said defender James Bolton.

“The voice wasn’t great but for energy, the best I’ve ever seen.

“I don’t think anyone was expecting it either. I think everyone was just expecting him to sing a Korean song that nobody had heard of and it was a Korean song, but he got us going. He was class. He was crackers, but very good. He’s a really good lad and I think he will fit in.”

On the visit of League One side Queen of the South, Robinson said: “Everybody wants a home draw, but it will be a tough game. Queen of the South have picked up recently.

“Marvin (Bartley) is a very good young coach so we expect a tough game.

“There are no easy rides in this game and we have to be fully focused, fully prepared and start the game well.”

St Mirren dominated their League One opponents and prevented them from having a shot on target but had to wait until the 71st minute to seal the win.

Alex Gogic was left completely unmarked in the box to head home Greg Kiltie’s cross and ease any nervousness amongst the home support.

There was no VAR in operation as the impressive Kiltie had two goals ruled out for offside, and Robinson believes both decisions were questionable.

“The two goals which were offside, the second was definitely onside,” Robinson insisted. “It was a great move, stuff we have worked on during the break. The first one, we think he was onside as well. It would have made the game more comfortable.

“We’ve worked on set-plays, we scored one, we should have scored three or four. They haven’t had a shot on target, so it shows you how dominant we were but they are a very hard side to break down.

“I’m delighted we kept moving the ball and getting it into key areas.

“It’s a credit to Queen of the South who were organised, as we expected, Marvin (Bartley) is a bright young coach. I thought we dominated the whole game.”

Premiership sides Ross County and St Johnstone were both knocked out by lower league opposition and Bartley was left ruing Lee Connelly’s glaring missed chance in the first half as Queens failed to record an upset.

He said: “If you get an opportunity then you need to take it.

“Lee was in a good area and on any other day then he probably hits it first time because he’s too close to the goal for the goalkeeper to save it. I would have taken it first time but I’d probably have sent it straight into the stand.

“Can I take heart from it? No, because I go into every game expecting to win it.

“I’m proud of the players but we are talking about a goal that was avoidable and a chance that we should’ve taken.

“I’m never going to sit here and say that I take heart from losing. I’ll never, ever do that and the day that I do then I might as well stop managing.”

The 27-year-old’s initial deal was due to expire this summer, but he has earned an extension after establishing himself as a key man for the Jambos this term.

Naismith praised Forrest for the way he has handled the step up since moving to Hearts from Livingston in 2022.

“Alan needed to prove to the fans he’s good enough and understand the demands at the club and I think over his time here he’s done that,” said the manager.

“I think this period is the most consistent he’s been. That’s something I challenged him with at the start of the season in terms of impacting games more and needing to be one of the most consistent performers, and he’s done that as well.

“It’s great that we’re keeping a valuable asset, but Alan deserves it more than a lot of the boys in the group.” 

Hearts are in contract talks with several other players, including Craig Gordon, Beni Baningime, Craig Halkett and Lawrence Shankland.

“There are a few more (beyond those listed) that we’re talking to, whether it be younger players in the full-time environment or first-team players, but I’m hoping a fair few will have signed new contracts in the coming weeks,” said Naismith.

Shankland’s future has been the main talking point among supporters, with the free-scoring forward’s current deal expiring in the summer of 2025.

“We’ve been in conversations for weeks,” said Naismith. “We’ve not had any interest or offers.

“I think a lot of that speculation is coming from outside, punditry and the media. Lawrence is playing the best football of his life and he needs to weigh up the pros of staying at Hearts while also understanding that it’s a short career.

“He’s got to do the best he can for him and his family. Everybody within the club and supporters need to appreciate that and respect it and just enjoy him while he’s here, whether that’s for the rest of this contract or beyond.”

Andy Halliday’s Hearts career effectively ended on Friday after he joined Motherwell on loan until the end of the season, with a view to making the move permanent when his Jambos deal expires.

“Andy’s found it tough to get his minutes in the first half of the season, but professionally he’s been top level in training,” said Naismith.

“At his age he wants to play. There might be a couple of others who go out, but there’s no pressure from the club to lose any players.”

Hearts kick off their Scottish Gas Scottish Cup campaign with a short trip to northern Edinburgh to face cinch League Two side Spartans on Saturday.

“It will be an awkward game,” said Naismith. “You’ve got the beauty of the Scottish Cup and going to new surroundings, which will be tricky.

“There’s also the expectation that we should just turn up and roll these teams over, but it’s never the case.

“Nowadays, in the professional game, the athleticism and organisation of teams is very good.

“We’ve got a good understanding of Spartans because we’ve got a good link with them as a club.

“Our B team play their games there (at Ainslie Park), they’re a fantastic community club and we played them earlier in the season in a bounce game. It will be a tough game.”

The 41-year-old’s career looked in jeopardy when he suffered a double leg-break away to Dundee United on Christmas Eve of 2022, but after a stirring recovery, he returned to the Hearts squad last month and was then rewarded with a start for the short trip across Edinburgh to Ainslie Park.

Gordon made one impressive first-half save to deny Spartans’ Callum Booth but he was helpless as James Craigen’s stunning second-half strike cancelled out Kenneth Vargas’s early opener before Hearts defender Frankie Kent secured a 2-1 win with a stoppage-time header.

“It was good to get him involved in a competitive game and he has the save in the first half which was a good one,” said manager Naismith.

“He probably didn’t have that much to do but it is brilliant to have him back.

“I think that will be good for him. Getting back in the swing of it is probably the main thing he will take.

“I’ve seen him for about a month or so now and I’m comfortable that he’s back to where he was.

“That was always going to be the question mark for someone his age but he has shown that.

“Even his reflexes for the save today, he’s an unbelievable footballer and person. We will cherish him for as long as he can play.”

Asked if Zander Clark, who has deputised for Gordon throughout his absence, will return for Tuesday’s cinch Premiership match at home to Dundee, Naismith said: “We’ll see.”

Hearts talisman Lawrence Shankland, whose future has been the subject of intense speculation recently, missed the Spartans match, with Naismith claiming the 18-goal striker was out due to illness.

“He’s been ill for two days,” said the manager. “On the advice of the medical staff, he hasn’t been in the building because he isn’t wanting to spread it. I don’t know whether he will make Tuesday or not. We will wait and see.”

Naismith was content with the way Hearts played overall even though they needed a last-gasp goal to avoid being taken to extra-time by their fourth-tier hosts.

“I wouldn’t say it was a relief,” he said. “I think when they score we continued to keep doing the same stuff, we didn’t start firing long balls and panic. That’s the positive for us.”

Spartans boss Dougie Samuel was proud of his team for giving themselves a chance of a famous upset.

“I was quite emotional after the game just to scan the stadium and see what we’d been able to put on,” he said.

“For the players to go out and produce a performance that kept us in the game and for a wee while in the second half had people daring to dream says everything about their character. I couldn’t be prouder of them.”

The Jamaica international right-back – who spent the first half of the campaign with Rotherham – joined the Jambos on loan from Wolves until the end of the season and the Jambos support got their first sight of him at Ainslie Park when he entered the fray just before the hour mark.

At that point Hearts were leading through Kenneth Vargas’ third goal in as many games but they were pegged back by a stunning equaliser from Spartans midfielder James Craigen before Frankie Kent spared the cinch Premiership side from ignominy when he headed the winner in stoppage time.

When asked about Lembikisa’s encouraging start, Naismith said: “That urgency and intensity I speak about, he gave us it.

“First time he gets the ball, he takes his man on, beats him and puts it in the box. He was also in at the back post a couple of times.

“He’s a good addition for us and that’s why we got him in as early as we could.

“The level he has played at and in the last year, in terms of becoming an international, he’s a good player to have in our squad. And it’s one where you will probably see the best of him as he goes on.”

On the day when 41-year-old goalkeeper Craig Gordon made his first start in 13 months following a double leg-break, another Hearts debutant against Spartans was 16-year-old attacker James Wilson, who came on at the same time as Lembikisa.

Japanese forwards Yutaro Oda and Kyosuke Tagawa were the two players who went off at that point after they failed to shine in the absence of talismanic striker Lawrence Shankland who missed out through illness.

Wilson signed a new contract with Hearts last summer amid interest from several clubs, including Manchester United and Aston Villa, and Naismith felt the teenager merited the chance to go on and help his team find a second goal.

“James came on because we needed him,” said Naismith. “He is somebody who is very intelligent with his movement and he’s a goal threat.

“I didn’t think we had enough goal threat at times and that’s why we put him on.

“He’s somebody who has come in full-time and has to learn and work on the aspects of physically where he is at compared to who he is coming up against. He’s definitely got the intelligence for it.”

The Jags had taken a 2-0 lead through a first-half thunderbolt from Kerr McInroy and Aidan Fitzpatrick’s low near-post finish on the hour mark.

But Joel Nouble tapped home shortly after to pull a goal back for the Premiership strugglers and the striker then grabbed his second, firing home superbly from a tight angle to send the game to extra time.

Livingston had the better of the additional 30 minutes but the match looked to be heading for penalties until Yengi’s flicked header in the dying seconds completed the comeback to send the visitors into the quarter-finals.

Partick manager Kris Doolan made just one change from his side’s draw with Airdrieonians, as Ben Stanway replaced Scott Robinson, while Livingston made three changes, with Michael McGovern, Nouble and Stephen Kelly returning to the side.

It was the first time the two sides had met since 2018, when Livi defeated Thistle in the Premiership play-off final to gain promotion to the top flight.

Brian Graham had the first chance of note in the 10th minute, firing straight at McGovern before Dan Mackay’s shot deflected off Lewis Neilson and flew narrowly wide as the visitors looked to respond.

Neilson was then involved at the other end as the Jags took the lead in emphatic style in the 27th minute.

The centre-back carried the ball forward superbly before laying it off to McInroy, who unleashed a powerful low strike into the bottom right-hand corner from 25 yards.

Livingston lost Scott Pittman and Shaun Donnellan to injury but they thought they had equalised just before half-time as Yengi headed in Kelly’s corner at the near post but referee Nick Walsh had spotted a push.

Livingston had improved significantly after a slow start but they were soon facing an uphill task as Thistle doubled their lead around the hour mark.

Fitzpatrick, who had impressed throughout the match, jinked into the box and fired in a low near-post shot that squirmed beyond McGovern, who perhaps should have done better.

The 2-0 lead did not last long, however, as Livingston pulled a goal back five minutes later.

A deep Kelly corner was met at the far post by Ayo Obileye and although Jamie Sneddon pulled off a brilliant one-handed stop, Nouble was on hand to tap in from a couple of yards out.

Partick were then inches away from making the game safe with 15 minutes remaining as Tomi Adeloye’s shot from the edge of the box came back off the post.

That moment would prove pivotal as the clinical Nouble levelled the match with a brilliant goal minutes after.

After exchanging passes with Andrew Shinnie on the right wing, the striker drove inside before firing in off the woodwork from a tight angle with the outside of his boot to force extra time.

Livingston had the better of the extra-time period and Yengi and Bruce Anderson both forced strong saves from Jamie Sneddon in the second period.

The visitors completed the comeback in the dying seconds as Jamie Brandon crossed for Yengi, who headed in off the far post from six yards to seal the win and send Livingston through to the last eight.

Hearts raced into a three-goal lead with just 21 minutes on the clock after goals from Lawrence Shankland, Kenneth Vargas and Calem Nieuwenhof had them on easy street.

Adam Frizzell restored some hope for the hosts, though that would be extinguished when Shankland dinked home his 24th goal of the season with 17 minutes remaining.

“It was a really good performance, we scored early goals, scored four goals and it’s a comfortable night,” Naismith said.

“On top of that, the detail that we’d worked on, nearly all of it was right and the players executed it brilliantly.

“There was loads of positives. I’d say we’re still a good bit away, we could be more clinical and in some moments I think when it went 3-0 we picked the wrong option and were forcing it.”

Hearts will now travel to Morton in the quarter-finals, hoping to reach Hampden for the second time this season having already made the semi-final of the Viaplay Cup.

Dougie Imrie’s cinch Championship side shocked Motherwell to book their place in the next round, and Naismith is anticipating a tough encounter.

“Everybody in the last eight thinks they have a chance,” he added.

“Our tie away to Morton, people will think we are favourites, but think there’s a potential upset there.

“I think if we’re not at it then it’ll be a really difficult game, they’ve shown on Friday that they are a good team and are in form.

“We want to go as far as we can, one of the games this season that is disappointing is the semi-final in the last cup – we want to get to the semi-final and do well this time.”

Despite a night filled with positives for the Tynecastle side, there was one major disappointment as Craig Halkett limped off after 25 minutes.

Halkett had only recently returned from a year long lay-off with a ruptured ACL, though Naismith is hopeful the defender will make a speedy recovery.

“It’s just something with his knee, it doesn’t seem to be major but we don’t know at the moment,” he explained.

“We’ll just have to wait and see, at that moment in the game there wasn’t any major risk to continue on.”

Airdrie boss Rhys McCabe felt his side were competitive against their Premiership opponents, despite coming out on the end of a comprehensive defeat.

“I thought for large parts of the first half we were competitive,” McCabe said.

“We started the game really well with intent and didn’t sit off the game as probably a lot of smaller clubs would do against a big club like Hearts.

“You give a player the quality of Lawrence Shankland three or four opportunities then he’s bound to take one or two.

“There are loads of positives going around this club, yes we lost the game and are disappointed, but we’ve just come up from League One through the play-offs, got into the last 16 of the Scottish Cup and have the final of the Challenge Cup against The New Saints in a couple of weeks’ time.”

The first time the two sides had met in the final of the competition was also the first time the showpiece finale was hosted at the national stadium where second-half goals from Natasha Flint and O’Riordan saw the Hoops retain the trophy with a 2-0 win.

After the game, watched by a crowd of 10,446, Republic of Ireland international O’Riordan said: “Obviously, that shows a stepping stone in the right direction in the women’s game to be able to put it on such a stage, the progression that the SFA have been able to put into the women’s game and the support and exposure that has come with that.

“It can only mean that the game can utilise that and continue to grow and again, it is really important for women’s football here in Scotland and around the world.”

Celtic missed out on the league title last week after Glasgow City’s dramatic last-gasp winner against Rangers at Ibrox rendered the Hoops’ 2-0 win over Hearts at Celtic Park irrelevant.

O’Riordan said: “Obviously, it was difficult finishing off the season the way we did last week but in some ways, we took the positives, another record crowd at Celtic Park (15,822) and another three points to finish off the league season.

“And we just got back into work as we do every day, every week and we reaped the rewards today.

“It was a tough task but the most important thing was we stuck together and grinded out the result.”

Hoops boss Fran Alonso admitted the victory was “the perfect ending” for his side.

He said: “This week was very hard to pick the girls up, which was our dream.

“Credit to Glasgow City, they deserved it but football was cruel to us.

“We transferred this anger and disappointment into aggression and passion and today – against a superb team – we dominated the game.

“We could have scored more. I am extremely proud and it was what the girls deserved. They never give up and never let me down.

“I told them before game even if we don’t win the game that I was proud of them – they have been 10 out of 10 this season. But that is the perfect ending. It is a very special day for me and my family.”

It was Malky Thomson’s last game as Rangers boss before he returns to the club’s academy.

The Light Blues secured the Sky Sports Cup earlier this season but came third in the league before their Scottish Cup final disappointment.

He said: “You get to the latter stages of any competition and you want to try and win it, so there are a lot of emotions.

“We have given a good account of ourselves across a long, hard season.

“There are fine margins. When you create opportunities you have got to take them.

“I have to say that no matter what, we have always been playing for something this season. That is a major positive.

“We won one trophy, we got to the Scottish Cup final and we came close to retaining the title so there are a lot of positives.

“It is a work in progress. That is three years we have been professional.

“There have been massive expectations at this club. The learning experience they have gained will stand them in good stead for next season.”

Despite sitting three points clear of Old Firm rivals Rangers at the top of the cinch Premiership, the Parkhead boss has come under fire for the Hoops’ style of play this season and also for his recruitment.

The holders were shorn of defenders Alistair Johnston, Cameron Carter-Vickers and Greg Taylor through injury but Japanese duo Kyogo Furuhashi and Daizen Maeda netted against a spirited home side to earn a home quarter-final tie against Livingston.

Rodgers, who returned to Celtic Park for a second spell in the summer following the departure of Ange Postecoglou to Tottenham, noted that it is now eight wins and a draw in nine games for the Hoops – difficult to construe as any sort of a crisis.

He said: “It’s obviously (a narrative that’s) been created outside.

“But I don’t expect anything less to be honest. We just focus on ourselves.

“We are a winning club. When you’ve won consistently over a number of years, people will look to jump on you and bring us down – and bring me down.

“I am here to win. For sure we will have our day, and have many days going forward.

“We’ll get our influential players back and the squad will be very strong to the end of the season. We’ll continue to fight.

“We just have to prove a point to ourselves and our supporters. I think that’s always the best attitude. You are always looking to prove a point.

“It’s a part of the world where there is a lot of noise – and this year in particular when it (Celtic’s play) maybe hasn’t been as fluent.

“We get compared to the squad of last season but one, it’s not the same squad as last season, and two, a lot of those players who were starting last season have not been playing all of this season.

“But it hasn’t stopped the negativity.

“But I use it in a different way and look logically at it. We’ve missed some important players for long periods and we made some changes in the summer.

“This is a young group of players here who are giving everything, who are looking to develop and improve. If they keep doing that we’ll keep winning games.”

On Israel winger Liel Abada’s omission from the squad altogether, Rodgers said: “He wasn’t in a right frame of mind.

“I’ve spoke a lot to Liel and it has been a challenging time for him. I just felt when he came into the game (at Hibernian) the other night, it just wasn’t him.

“So we gave him this chance to have a few days and clear his mind. I’ll have a chat with him again next week, see where he’s at.”

Johnston picked up a head injury in the midweek win over Hibs and Rodgers said: “We’re just waiting to see again on him.

“A slight fracture on the side. The thinking is we’ll have a look in 10 days to see where he’s at.

“But it could be 10 days to four weeks. We’ll just have to wait and see.”

St Mirren boss Stephen Robinson was both “proud” and “frustrated” about his side’s performance as they exited the cup.

He said: “I’m proud of them, but frustrated at the same time because we had chances and we weren’t clinical enough

“There has to be credit given to Celtic for the two chances they take, they are clinical, and they defended very, very well in their box.

“There were two or three blocks that were fantastic, and ultimately they were better in both 18-yard boxes.

“So, for all the stuff we did in between, they deserved to win the game.”

The cinch Championship side are big underdogs for their Scottish Cup final showdown with Celtic, who are bidding to complete a domestic treble.

Welsh knows it will take a huge effort to pull off an upset at Hampden but the 33-year-old is adamant his team have a chance.

“It ranks at the very top for me,” said the former Partick Thistle and Falkirk midfielder when asked about the size of the game in the context of his career.

“It’s not very often you get to play on an occasion like this, especially at my age getting to the latter stages of my career. I am thoroughly looking forward to it.

“We’ve got to believe, I’ve said that to the lads all week. We’ve got to believe we can pull off a miracle.

“We don’t just want to go there for a day out and get caught up in the occasion.

“We know it’s a massive challenge in front of us, but we’ve got to have belief in ourselves.

“We know we have a good group and we know we are going to be up against it at times in the game but we’ve got to stick together and have that belief that we can do it.”

Celtic won only two of their closing six Premiership matches as they had the title wrapped up with time to spare, but Welsh dismissed any notion that his team can draw encouragement from the champions’ recent form dip.

“I don’t think you can look too much into that,” he added.

“They wrapped up the title early doors and then had a few results they probably weren’t happy with but you saw at the weekend (when they beat Aberdeen 5-0) they can turn it on when they need to. I’m sure they’ll be right up for this.

“It’s not going to make much difference to us, we know how hard the challenge is going to be.”

Inverness will have gone more than four weeks without a competitive game by the time they run out at Hampden on Saturday.

Although Welsh admits it is “not ideal” in terms of maintaining match sharpness, he feels the month-long break has at least allowed them to banish any lingering disappointment after they lost to Ayr in their final Championship fixture and missed out on the play-offs.

“It was good to get some time to get over what happened in the last game of the season,” he said.

“That was a difficult night and we were all very disappointed to miss out on the play-offs so the time away was good for us to clear our minds and get over it.

“We didn’t want that lingering going into this massive game.

“We’ve come back in refreshed and excited and we’re looking forward to it.”

The Norwich City loanee, who arrived from Carrow Road in February on a deal until the end of the season, was the hero at Hampden Park as the Scottish Premiership champions completed the double in dramatic fashion.

Substitute Idah reacted quickest in the 90th minute, with the final goalless and seemingly heading for extra-time, pouncing on the loose ball to slot away the rebound after Jack Butland could only parry Paulo Bernardo's fierce strike.

And the Republic of Ireland international revealed his joy at delivering the goods for Brendan Rodgers' side at such a crucial moment.

"I came here to try and score as many goals as I can," he told BBC Scotland. "I didn't think I’d score a goal like this, in front of all these fans – it's an amazing feeling.

"It's hard to put it into words. Everyone can see what it means to the players, the fans. Especially from a boy, being Irish, always supporting Celtic, it's amazing.

"Football's a tricky situation. I do love it here. It's a great club. I'm still contracted with Norwich City, who knows what will happen?"

Meanwhile, skipper Callum McGregor saluted the character demonstrated by his team-mates in securing the double against their bitter rivals.

"The mentality in this group, inside this building, inside this club, the fanbase – we just want to win trophies," he said.

"We know it's never going to be perfect, you're never going to turn up in all the cup finals. Rangers are a good team, they made it a good old-fashioned derby game, big tackles in there.

"But this group – they find the moment of quality, they stick together and they come out winners.

"Honestly, I’m delighted. If we turned up today and didn't win, everyone forgets about the league, we understand the pressure we're under."