Celtic beat Rangers to win Scottish League Cup

Celtic's Callum McGregor celebrates with the trophy after winning the Scottish League Cup Final at Hampden Park in Glasgow, Scotland on Sunday. [AP/YONHAP]

Celtic picked up the first silverware of the Scottish season on Sunday, beating rivals Rangers 2-1 in the final of the Scottish League Cup to lift the trophy for the seventh time in the last decade.

Japanese forward Kyogo Furuhashi was the hero once again, scoring a brace to lead Celtic to victory for the second time in as many seasons. Last season, Furuhashi scored both goals in a surprisingly similar 2-1 final win over Hibernian.

Furuhashi’s goals came in the 44th and 56th minutes this year, with Rangers adding one goal of their own in the 64th minute but failing to overcome the deficit.

Korean midfielder Oh Hyeon-gyu, who joined Celtic last month, came on for Furuhashi in the 76th minute, but was unable to make much of an impact during his 15 minutes of cup final football.

“This club is steeped in success so when you take the job, you know that is your responsibility,” manager Ange Postecoglou said after the game. “But you have to earn it. We earned it through hard work. The reason I push them is for days like today. We are not going to be guided by external measures of how good we can be.

“Moments like this, you want to get the whole experience. You watch the players, the fans, what it means to them. I take great pride in it. It’s a day I’ll remember forever. We’ve been consistent for a very long time. We don’t let our standards slip in terms of our football.”

Despite the bitter rivalry between the two clubs, Rangers manager Michael Beale was magnanimous in his defeat.

“No complaints with the overall result,” he said. “I was expecting more from the team and myself on the day so it is disappointing. We didn’t play to our true level. We have no excuses. I thought Celtic played well today, the resistance from the opposition was big.”

With the league cup secure, Celtic now turn back to the Scottish Premiership where they hold on to a nine-game lead over Rangers with both teams now enjoying very profitable runs.

Celtic will be back in action on Sunday as they take on fifth-place St. Mirren on the road at Paisley 2021 Stadium in Paisley, Scotland.

BY JIM BULLEY [jim.bulley@joongang.co.kr]