Celtic's Ange Postecoglou revisits Michael Beale 'lucky man' quip after Viaplay Cup semi-final win

Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou gave an arch response to a question over whether his team were lucky to survive a penalty claim late on in their 2-0 Viaplay League Cup semi-final success over Kilmarnock.

The Australian, whose below-par side were pushed all the way by impressive opponents, also proved withering in his assessment of the state of the Hampden surface in dreadful, squally conditions as he commended his players for their “desire to overcome any challenge”.

The Ayrshire team were incensed when – at 1-0 and in the third minute of added time – referee Willie Collum waved away claims after Joe Wright fell to the ground after Giorgos Giakoumakis grappled with the defender in the box. “Well, I’m a pretty lucky man so I think it’s filtering through the team,” he said, a reference to Michael Beale’s description of him for his spending power in the transfer market.

Meanwhile, Posteocoglou felt both teams were more than unlucky to be forced to play on a threadbare surface, even allowing for the extreme rainfall over recent weeks. A shortcoming for which the SFA are accountable, he considered it ill-fitting for a major occasion, touching on certainty that Rangers and Aberdeen will be faced with even more surface struggles in their semi-final on Sunday afternoon.

Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou celebrates at full time after the Viaplay Cup Semi Final win over Kilmarnock at Hampden. (Photo by Craig Foy / SNS Group)

“You can’t control the weather in Scotland but I”m disappointed in the state of the pitch, I thought it would be better,” he said. “You know when you come to Hampden it’s a showpiece event and you want the conditions to be the best they can be. Even when I walked out before the game, I was disappointed in the pitch. It’s going to be tough for the two teams on Sunday.

“If you’re going to have showpiece events when everyone’s watching under the spotlight, you want to present it in the best condition.

“I’m not sure how much football they’ve had on the pitch or what the situation is. But for a cup semi-final you want the best conditions possible. It didn’t have great grass coverage and didn’t hold very well. I went to Motherwell’s pitch recently and it was perfect.”