Even Steven Naismith rubbishes Neil McCann’s Edouard claims

It looks like even Steven Naismith doesn’t agree with Neil McCann’s claims about Odsonne Edouard’s penalty that put Celtic 2-0 up in the Scottish Cup final.

It was not the perfect performance from Celtic but they got the job done in the end. That’s all that matters as the Hoops secured a historical Quadruple Treble. And while you can never predict the future, that is a feet that won’t most likely be equalled in our lifetimes, perhaps ever.

One of the biggest moments in the game came in the first-half when Celtic were given a penalty. Odsonne Edouard stepped up to the plate and scored an outrageous Panenka to put the Hoops 2-0 up. Craig Gordon, who was in goal for Hearts, did not appear to be too amused with his former teammate’s effort. But looking back even he will know that he overreacted on the occasion.

That didn’t stop certain portions of the media from criticising Edouard though. One of them was former Rangers winger, Neil McCann. He even went as far as to describe it as ‘disrespectful’.

As reported by the Daily Record, he said:

"“I can understand (Craig Gordon’s reaction). I think that’s pretty disrespectful.“It’s come off for him and it looks brilliant. It’s just selfish. I didn’t like it. It’s not because Celtic have gone two-nil up – that’s his (former) team-mate and that’s why Craig’s reacted like that.”"

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Now, it is no secret that Celtic fans do not like Steven Naismith and the feelings are most probably mutual. But on this occasion, even the Hearts star couldn’t agree with McCann. As reported by The Scottish Sun, he said:

"“If a Panenka wins you the Cup, it wins you the Cup. I’ve seen many goalies, even in training, react the same way. It’s not that big a deal for me. To have the bottle to do that in the Cup final just shows you the quality of player that Edouard is.”"

It is incredible that Edouard is being criticised for doing what he is paid to do – score goals. It does not matter the manner in which they go in. He could have decided to try and pick one of the corners and missed. The Panenka got him on the scoresheet. And that’s all that matters.

Ultimately, it did not even end up being the decisive kick of the ball as Hearts would mount a comeback in the second-half and then in extra-time before losing out on penalties. The history books won’t reflect the manner in which the game was won though. Just the name of the winners – Celtic Football Club.