'Who knows what will happen?' - Celtic loanee Idah unsure of future after Scottish Cup matchwinner

By Sports Desk May 25, 2024

Adam Idah revelled in his last-gasp winner for Celtic in their Scottish Cup final victory over Rangers, but admits he is uncertain of his future.

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."

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    Lautaro Martinez came off the bench to score an 88th-minute winner as the world champions secured qualification for the quarter-finals with one match to spare.

    Messi failed to score for a second successive game at the tournament, only recording one shot worth 0.02 expected goals (xG), though he did create a game-high five chances for his team-mates.

    The eight-time Ballon d'Or winner also led all players on the pitch for passes in the final third (18) and completed seven of his 11 attempted dribbles – both match-high figures.

    Boss Lionel Scaloni has now been handed a major worry, however, with Messi revealing he played through the pain barrier.

    "I felt some discomfort in my right hamstring at the beginning of the game. It was tight." Messi said. 

    "It wasn't as loose as it should've been, but I was able to finish the game. We'll see how it goes."

    Messi could get a rest when Argentina face Peru in their final Group A match on Saturday, though, with only a point required to secure top spot.

    Scaloni said: "Against Peru, the guys who didn't get minutes in these matches will play."

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    Lautaro Martinez struck a late winner as Argentina beat Chile 1-0 to secure their place in the Copa America knockout stages with a game to spare.

    The reigning champions looked like they would have to settle for a point on a frustrating night at the MetLife Stadium, having failed to turn their superiority into the game's opening goal.

    But substitute Martinez, who also netted from the bench in his nation's opener against Canada, finally broke Chile's resolve when he lashed home two minutes from time.

    It moved Lionel Scaloni's side onto six points at the Group A summit, three points ahead of Canada, who beat Peru 1-0 earlier in the day. A draw against Peru in their final game will now be enough to secure top spot.

    Argentina dominated the first half with 13 unanswered shots, yet just three of those were on target. One of them saw Julian Alvarez fire straight at Claudio Bravo from close range in the 22nd minute.

    Lionel Messi also went close to scoring in the 36th minute. La Albiceleste's skipper let fly with a fizzing 25-yard attempt that clipped the outside of Bravo's left post, while Erick Pulgar almost turned Nahuel Molina's cross beyond the Chile goalkeeper two minutes later.

    La Roja had Bravo to thank for keeping Argentina at bay, as the reigning champions continued to carry the greater attacking threat after the break.

    The veteran stopper beat away Molina's fierce strike within five minutes of the restart, and just after the hour mark, he produced a superb reflex save to tip Nicolas Gonzalez's drive onto the crossbar.

    With the breakthrough still eluding the world champions, Scaloni bolstered his attack by introducing Angel Di Maria and Martinez for the final 17 minutes.

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    Yet, there was to be a late twist in Argentina's favour when an 88th-minute corner broke kindly for Martinez, who reacted quickest to fire into the roof of the net and send La Albiceleste through to the quarter-finals.

    Persistence pays dividends for Argentina

    The history books would have suggested Argentina should have fancied their chances against Chile.

    This is epitomised by the fact they are now unbeaten after 90 minutes in the last 13 meetings, winning eight of those, but that does not tell the full story.

    Seven of those eight victories have only been by a single-goal margin and, of course, they lost on penalties in the Copa America final showdowns of 2015 and 2016.

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    Argentina progress to the Copa America knockout stages for a 14th consecutive time, excluding when they withdrew from the 2001 tournament.

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    What will be more concerning for La Roja is the fact they have now gone four successive Copa America matches without scoring, while having to wait until the 72nd minute for their first attempt on goal.

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    Having qualified for successive European Championships, this was Scotland’s 12th major tournament group stage, and in 50% of those they have failed to win a single match – at the 1954, 1958, 1986, and 1998 World Cups and EURO 2020 and 2024.

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