Yang Hyun-jun makes first Scottish Cup start as Celtic beat Aberdeen 6-5 on penalties in electric semifinal

Football

Published: 21 Apr. 2024, 12:45 Updated: 21 Apr. 2024, 12:56

Yang Hyun-jun makes first Scottish Cup start as Celtic beat Aberdeen 6-5 on penalties in electric semifinal

Aberdeen's Nicky Devlin, left, and Celtic's Yang Hyun-Jun battle for the ball during the Scottish Cup semifinal match between Celtic and Aberdeen at Hampden Park in Glasgow, Scotland on Saturday. [AP/YONHAP]

Celtic forward Yang Hyun-jun made his first Scottish Cup start in the Glasgow side’s electric semifinal win against Aberdeen on Saturday, playing 62 minutes of a neck-and-neck match that went to extra time and a penalty shoot-out, which Celtic won 6-5 to secure their spot in the final.

Yang, 21, stayed in Glasgow after Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers did not release him for the ongoing U-23 AFC Asian Cup, where Korea need a top-three finish to secure a direct ticket to the Paris Olympics. Fellow Celtic forward Oh Hyeon-gyu was left out of Saturday's squad.

Saturday’s match at Hampden Park in Glasgow, Scotland got off to a lightning start, with Aberdeen striker Bojan Miovski scoring the opener from a Leighton Clarkson cross to give his side a one-nil lead in the second minute.

Defending Cup champions Celtic didn’t need much time to respond, with winger Nicolas Kuhn making things 1-1 with a long cross on an empty net, quick to recover from a denied Kyogo Furuhashi attempt in the middle of the penalty area.

Yang didn’t see much of the second half, substituted off in the 62nd minute for James Forrest. The Korean footballer was thus directly indirectly involved in getting No. 2 — by being on the bench as Forrest got the ball into the bottom right corner, seconds later.

Celtic's James Forrest, center left, scores during the Scottish Cup semifinal match between Celtic and Aberdeen at Hampden Park in Glasgow, Scotland on Saturday. [AP/YONHAP]

Celtic held their 2-1 lead for most of the rest of the half, with Aberdeen under pressure to make something happen in the dwindling minutes of regular time — and they did, Ester Solker heading in the ball from a long cross toward the back post by Junior Hoilett in the 90th minute to push the match into two extra periods.

It was Celtic who celebrated first, with midfielder Matt O’Riley giving the Glasgow side the lead in the 105+1 minute after responding to a cross from Alistair Johnston to shoot the ball into the top right corner.

The drama was far from over, with Aberdeen defender Angus McDonald equalizing with another header thanks to a repeat Hoilett cross in the 119th minute, dashing Celtic’s hopes of a 3-2 victory.

A penalty shoot-out awaited the two very different sides, with Celtic sitting at the top of the Scottish Premiership table and Aberdeen still fighting to avoid relegation from the top-tier league.

It was as tense as any penalty shoot-out might be, made arguably more so as the stadium reeled from two Aberdeen equalizers in both regular and extra time.

But it was Celtic who prevailed, even after Celtic goalkeeper Joe Hart came out of the net to take a shot but hit the post on a goal that could have been the winner. Hart had his redemption moments later, denying a final attempt to send the defending Cup champions through to the final.

Celtic goalkeeper Joe Hart celebrates with teammates after winning the penalty shoot-out during the Scottish Cup semifinal match between Celtic and Aberdeen at Hampden Park in Glasgow, Scotland on Saturday. [AP/YONHAP]

Celtic players celebrate winning the penalty shoot-out in the Scottish Cup semifinal match against Aberdeen at Hampden Park in Glasgow, Scotland on Saturday. [AP/YONHAP]

Celtic will face either Rangers or Hearts, who meet on Sunday at Hampden Park in Glasgow, in the Scottish Cup final in May.

BY MARY YANG [mary.yang@joongang.co.kr]