Daizen the hat-trick hero as Celtic deliver emphatic Scottish Cup win | OneFootball

Scottish CupFifth roundSaturday, February 8, 2025Celtic Park, Glasgow

CELTIC… 5(Maeda 6, 45+3, 76, McCowan 46, Yang 55

RAITH ROVERS… 0

Daizen Maeda produced another impressive goalscoring display, netting a hat-trick as Celtic eased into the quarter-finals of the Scottish Cup with an emphatic 5-0 victory over Raith Rovers today (Saturday).

As well as Maeda’s treble, Luke McCowan and Yang also Scored to ensure the cup holders will be in the draw for the next round.

The first-half was bookended by Daizen Maeda goals, as the Japanese forward reached 21 goals for the season – and 50 goals overall in the green and white Hoops.

With nine changes from the midweek victory over Dundee – which also included two Maeda goals – Celtic got into their groove and opened the scoring after just six minutes.

Luke McCowan clipped the ball in to Maeda on the edge of the area and he nudged it on to Paulo Bernardo. The Portuguese midfielder flicked it back into Maeda’s path and he curled a left-foot shot beyond the Raith Rovers goalkeeper and into the net.

And just two minutes later, Callum McGregor almost scored another brilliant goal from outside the area, but his powerful shot hit the bar and went over.

Not surprisingly, Brendan Rodgers’ side were dominating the game in terms of possession against their Championship opponents, and Maeda had a chance on 22 minutes with a header from a Nicolas Kuhn cross. His effort was well-saved by Josh Rae but the offside flag subsequently went up.

Three minutes later, Raith Rovers had their first chance of the game when Josh Mullin was put clear. He tried to lob Viljami Sinisalo, but the Celtic goalkeeper, making his competitive debut for the club, did well to push the ball away for a corner.

As the first-half entered three added minutes, Celtic had the ball in the net Celtic through Maeda after a brilliant ball across the box from Anthony Ralston, but the goal was ruled out for offside.

However, the Japanese forward wasn’t to be denied a second goal for long, and he scored with the last attack of the half.

The Hoops hit on the break from a rare Raith corner, with Kuhn slotting the ball through the visitors’ defence for Yang racing down the left

He drove forward and cut the ball across for Maeda to fire the ball into the net to make it 2-0 at the break.

It didn’t take Celtic long to extend their lead when the second-half resumed, and this time it was Luke McCowan who flicked the ball home from a low Yang cross within 60 seconds of the restart.

And having provided two assists, the Korean winger then got on the scoresheet himself in the 55th minute. Anthony Ralston delivered a great ball from the right-hand side all the way to the back post and Yang connected with it first-time for a powerful finish.

Raith goalkeeper, Josh Rae, then produced a good save to deny Nicolas Kuhn after his shot looked to be heading into the net.

But with just under 15 minutes remaining, Celtic made it 5-0 and Maeda claimed the match ball. McCowan was the provider, firing a low ball across the six-yard box for the Japanese forward to knock the ball into the net from a couple of yards out to make it 21 goals for the season.

Arne Engels, on as a substitute, then tested the goalkeeper with a free-kick from the left-hand side of the area, but his effort was punched over the bar by the keeper.

It was another impressive attacking display from Brendan Rodgers’ side who can now look ahead to Wednesday night and the visit of Bayern Munich for the first leg of the UEFA Champions League knockout phase play-off tie.