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They won a piece of silverware that the manager has come to know well during his five years in Glasgow and if the shine was taken off the achievement by a subdued performance against Dundee United, it mattered little.The man who has masterminded Celtic's renaissance is now off to fight a different battle. It was doubtless with his sick wife, Geraldine, who loved being part of the two previous Scottish Cup final triumphs. His heart seemed elsewhere amid the celebrations that followed yesterday's success. In a radio interview before the match he belittled the kind of courage that inspired a person to hide behind a pen rather than criticise him face-to-face for putting his wife, who is suffering with lymphoma, before Celtic and his career. "Your talking to a devout coward," O'Neill added, "but I know courage when I see it and I see it across the breakfast table."The fleet-footed Craig Bellamy, whose loan from Newcastle United has now ended, looked their best chance of making the game safe after Alan Thompson's early goal from a deflected free-kick, but when the Wales international finally found worthwhile end-product in the form of a penalty six minutes from time, it was missed in almost comical style.For David Beckham against Portugal at Euro 2004 read Chris Sutton, whose standing foot went from under him as he shot and the ball looped past the angle of post and crossbar. It would not have been at all amusing for anyone connected with Celtic if a speculative, 30-yard shot by Alan Archibald, the Dundee United defender, in added time that crashed against the crossbar had been a couple of inches lower and forced extra time.Celtic's goalscorer Thompson said the players had found it difficult to rouse themselves for the final after last week's defeat, but he said: "Football is a cruel game sometimes but, when the good times happen like today, you have to savour the moment." O'Neill certainly will.. There was no sign of discontent at the Ulsterman's withdrawal for personal reasons, but he did admit earlier that among the welter of letters from well-wishers that he received in recent days, there were some that were less than complimentary.
The players have been a terrific bunch for a long, long time It was one final effort We missed some great chances to wrap the game up. As we found to our cost last week, one-nil is never enough." Well, this time it was, but only just.Hampden Park was dotted with banners acclaiming O'Neill for his contribution to Celtic's continuing success, thanking him for the joy he brought to the club's fanatical supporters and wishing him well for the future. The fans took to me, and the newspapers and everyone else changed their tune. So that was the biggest period for me."Despite his purple patch in November, Owen still had to win the confidence of Luxemburgo when he arrived at the end of the following month.
Hammering his point home by coming off the bench and notching up a handful of crucial goals as the team tried to claw back lost ground on Bar? he left Luxemburgo little choice but to drop one of his big-name stars in order to accommodate him."As soon as Luxemburgo came in, I was back on the bench and trying to prove myself again just like before. Gradually after a good few games he started playing me, and in important games too, so I felt it was a feather in my cap. I suppose I've had to do it the hard way because there haven't been too many injuries to strikers here this season. In the Premier League there's a lot more passion and noise from the crowd and you're all gritting your teeth before you go out, while it's much more relaxed here.
