Alistair Johnston discovered that every triumph was special at Celtic when seeing the joy on serial winner Callum McGregor’s face as the captain lifted the first two trophies of the season.
Johnston is one match away from completing a clean sweep of major honours in Scotland five months after joining Celtic from Montreal.
McGregor is going for his 20th winners’ medal on Saturday when Celtic face Inverness in the Scottish Cup final and Johnston expects it would mean just as much for his skipper to again meet the demands and expectations of fans.
The 24-year-old said: “I know the extraordinary has become ordinary a little bit at this club with how many trophies they have lifted over the past decade. But still, for guys like myself, this would be my third-ever trophy in my entire career.
“And I know Cal is probably on 40 or whatever it is but even for him, when you see how much excitement and joy it brings to him and guys like that – James Forrest, I mean he might be on 50 for all I know – you can really tell how much it means.
“When you see that from the older guys who have been there and done that, especially as a new guy, you are like ‘okay, yeah, this is really big’. I am really excited and I would love to be a part of it.
“When you see over the past decade, not only the trophies but the trebles that have been won, you almost take it for granted a little bit that ‘oh, Celtic won another one, it’s not that big of a deal’.
“But now, being here and truly understanding and seeing the work that goes on behind the scenes and just the amount of effort that each guy puts in, it really rings true to me. It’s like ‘wow, each one of these is special’.
“Just because some guys have won a lot of them, it doesn’t make that next one any less special.
“I am just really excited to be in a position where I could potentially be walking out of here after six months with a treble. That is everything and more I could have asked for, but when I came in those were the expectations, that was what was put on me, it’s trophies or nothing.
“I am just really happy we are delivering for our fans so far but it will be a big match this weekend, it won’t be easy.”
Johnston’s appetite has been further whetted by seeing clips of previous Hampden success, including the penalty shoot-out that won Celtic the Scottish Cup against Hearts in 2020 to clinch the quadruple treble.
The Canada international said: “It gave you that hunger as one of the new players: ‘I want to be part of that, I want to leave my mark on this club as well’.
“As you get closer to these finals, some of those clips come up and it really puts things in perspective. You can just see the joy it brings to the fans and players. That’s something you want to be part of as a footballer.”
At one stage Johnston feared he would not be part of it after suffering a leg injury in a tackle on Rangers full-back Borna Barisic in the semi-final, but he fought back to fitness to play in the final match of the league season against Aberdeen last weekend.
“When I made the tackle, I thought it could be an issue,” he said. “Just because when I stood up and realised I couldn’t put any real weight on it.
“But the scans were better than expected and I have done a lot with the medical team, they have been unbelievable. They have been in every day pretty much with me doing the long hours because I made it really clear I wanted to be back, not only for the cup final, but I wanted to be back to be in contention for selection for the Aberdeen match because I wanted to be out on that pitch.
“You could probably see the joy it brought me being out there, I was loving life. Even though I got a bit tight, it was just precautionary to get me off.
“Now all the focus is on the cup final. I feel good enough to be able to go. I don’t think anyone is perfect at this point of the season.
“They are long years, a lot of matches, a lot of minutes on everyone’s bodies. But it’s a cup final, an opportunity to lift a trophy, and you can get through some pretty serious pain for that.”
KC, C'Bar blank Camperdown, Charlie Smith in Group A double-header
Former champions Kingston College and Calabar continued their upward trend in Group A of the ISSA/Digicel Manning Cup, as both registered 2-0 and 3-0 victories over Camperdown and Charlie Smith respectively at the Anthony Spaulding Sports Complex on Wednesday.
Both Kingston College and Calabar, who lost their opening contests, have rebounded nicely with these being their second win on the trot in a competitive group that is expected to go down to the wire for the top two positions.
In the opening contest, Alex Hislop (fourth) and Kelvin Brown (65th) got the job done for Kingston College over Camperdown, while Javel Watson (20th), Fitzroy McLeod (79th) and Kimani Thompson (90+2), were on target for Calabar in the feature encounter.
With the win, both Calabar and Kingston College moved to six points, along with leader Hydel, who hammered Penwood 10-0 in their fixture. Charlie Smith remains in fourth on three points, with Camperdown and Penwood yet to put a point on the board.
After Hislop fired Kingston College in front, the tempo of the young North Street-based team dropped significantly but picked up when the game resumed from a short break due to severe weather conditions.
Kingston College should have added a second from the penalty spot, but Dejuan Green tried to be too fancy and hit the 12-yard kick wide, as the score remained 1-0 at the break.
The purples continued their dominant show on the resumption and though Camperdown tried to play their game, the failed to really trouble Dominic Robinson in goal for Kingston College.
Vassell Reynolds’s side eventually added to their tally when Brown waltzed his way around three defenders before finishing a right-footer with aplomb to seal the win.
Though not impressed, Reynolds welcomed the improved second half display and, by extension, the win.
“I think we rose to the occasion; it is still a work in progress, but the youngsters are learning very quickly. I am pretty satisfied with how they recovered from the first half. I thought the break helped us really, we were giving away possession of the ball and we lacked the composure in the first half, but they came out and equipped themselves in the second half,” Reynolds said in his post-game assessment.
His counterpart Lebert Halliman cited indiscipline for his team’s defeat, their second of the season. They also have against Hydel in which they are down 0-5 to be completed.
“Indiscipline is why I took off my captain because he wasn’t playing his role. But overall, I think the team did well, it’s a young team and a long season, so it’s a learning process for them,” Halliman said.
The feature contest was much more eventful, as both Charlie Smith and Calabar were evenly matched for the most parts.
Both displayed individual flair and some colorful plays in patches, but it was Calabar that proved the most clinical in the end.
The Andrew Price-conditioned Calabar opened the scoring in the 20th minute when an unmarked Watson, easily headed home at close range from a Jaheim Rankine cross.
They almost doubled the lead 12 minutes later, as Sheridan Wilson’s stinging right-footed shot from a distance had Deonte Gary, in goal for Charlie Smith beaten, but the effort came back off the crossbar.
With no changes to the scoreline at the break, Charlie Smith showed more purpose on the resumption in their hunt for the equalizer. However, they not only found themselves with a numerical disadvantage when they lost Gary to straight red in the 61st minute for stomping on an opponent, but they also found themselves with a two-goal deficit to make up.
This, as Anthony McDonald’s weighted free kick found McLeod, who made no mistakes.
And if that wasn’t bad enough, Thompson rubbed salt on an already wounded Charlie Smith with an easy close range finish in time added.
Wednesday’s results
Zone A
Kingston College 2, Camperdown 0
Charlie Smith 0, Calabar 3
Penwood 0, Hydel High 10
Zone B
Meadowbrook 3, Cumberland 2
Jamaica College 3, Spanish Town 0
Zone D
Excelsior 7, Cedar Grove 1
Bridgeport 2, Clan Carthy 1
Zone E
St Catherine 7, Edith Dalton James 0
Innswood 2, Holy Trinity 0
Mona 9, St Mary’s College 1
Kelechi Iheanacho and Kasey McAteer fire Leicester to win at Norwich
Leicester moved back into the top two of the Championship with a hard-fought 2-0 win at Norwich.
The Canaries had won all three of their previous games at Carrow Road this season and proved to be spirited opponents on a miserable evening in Norfolk.
But the visitors turned in a disciplined display to take all three points, with a Kelechi Iheanacho penalty on the stroke of half-time and a late tap-in from Kasey McAteer securing a sixth win in seven games for Enzo Maresca’s men.
A dull first half sprung to life in the dying minutes, with Leicester edging in front from the penalty spot.
Dangerman Stephy Mavididi set up the opener by bursting clear down the left flank and racing into the area, where his progress was halted by a shove in the back from Christian Fassnacht.
Referee Graham Scott pointed straight to the spot and Iheanacho did the rest, with Angus Gunn unable to keep out his well struck penalty despite getting a hand to it.
Moments later Mavididi was through again and this time he managed to get in a shot himself, with a curling effort drifting just wide of the far post.
Earlier both sides had struggled to create openings as they sought to build patiently from the back.
Fassnacht had a couple of shots for the Canaries, the latter drawing a comfortable save from Mads Hermansen, while defender Wout Faes went close with a pair of headers for the Foxes.
Despite losing striker Ashley Barnes to injury Norwich looked the side more likely to score early in the second period, although they again struggled to create decent openings.
The visitors seemed content to sit back and rely on the occasional counter-attack, with Gunn seeing precious little action.
Norwich continued to press and almost drew level in the 71st minute when it needed a superb reaction save from Hermansen to keep out a close-range header from Shane Duffy, who was picked out by a pinpoint cross from substitute Onel Hernandez.
They came even closer a few minutes later when Kenny McLean shipped an effort against the underside of the bar following a poor clearance from the otherwise excellent keeper.
It was all Norwich now, with Gabriel Sara brushing the side-netting with a 25-yard free-kick, although McAteer should have sealed it for the Foxes with a free header at the back post.
McAteer made up for that glaring miss by wrapping up the points for Leicester in the 87th minute.
A slick move ended with Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall one on one with Gunn and instead of shooting the substitute squared for his unmarked colleague to side-foot home into an empty net.
Lautaro Martinez salvages draw for Inter Milan at Real Sociedad
Lautaro Martinez’s late equaliser rescued disappointing Inter Milan a 1-1 Champions League draw against Real Sociedad at the Estadio de Anoeta.
Last year’s beaten finalists Inter had failed to have a single shot on target in their opening Group D tie when captain Martinez fired home in the 87th minute.
Brais Mendez had given Sociedad an early lead but the Spaniards, back in the Champions League for the first time since 2013-14, were cruelly punished after twice hitting the woodwork.
Inter thrashed city rivals AC Milan 5-1 on Saturday, but were a shadow of the side which have won their first four Serie A matches.
Sociedad lost 2-1 at Real Madrid on Sunday and have won only one of their first five LaLiga games, but went straight on the offensive.
Ander Barrenetxea had already hit the crossbar before Inter defender Alessandro Bastoni slipped in possession, allowing Mendez a free shot on goal, which he buried.
Marko Arnautovic headed Inter’s best chance before the break wide, but Sociedad went close to extending their lead.
Robin Le Normand’s diving header from Takefusa Kubo’s excellent cross flew inches over the bar and the impressive Kubo forced Inter goalkeeper Yann Sommer into a low save just before half-time.
Sommer made an even better save early in the second period to keep out Mikel Oyarzabal’s header as Sociedad chased another goal.
Le Normand’s header was blocked before Inter were given a reprieve in the 65th minute after referee Michael Oliver had shown Inter’s Nicolo Barella a straight red card.
The Italy midfielder appeared to stamp on goalscorer Mendez, but Oliver rescinded his decision after being asked to check the pitchside monitor by VAR.
Mikel Merino then headed another cross from Kubo against the bar for Sociedad as Inter failed to pose an attacking threat.
Simone Inzaghi’s side had mustered one attempt on goal throughout the game when they thought they had equalised.
Carlos Augusto side-footed home Alexis Sanchez’s low cross into the area in the 79th minute, but his effort was ruled out for offside.
But in the 87th minute the Italians levelled it up with their first shot on target.
Martinez raced on to Davide Frattesi’s low diagonal ball into the box and lifted a superb first-time shot over Sociedad goalkeeper Alex Remiro.
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