Celtic progressed to the final of the Scottish Cup on Sunday as they beat St Mirren 6-2 after extra time.
Daizen Maeda and Anthony Ralston got the Celts off to a flying start, going two goals up in the first half. Mikael Mandron secured a double, scoring his second in the 91st minute, to force the game into extra time.
It could have been a scary affair for the final 30 minutes, but Kelechi Iheanacho, Luke McCowan and top-scorer Benjamin Nygren ensured that the Celts went 6-2 up by the end of the first 15. No goals in the second, but it wasn't needed, with the Paisley side being nullified after the flurry of goals.
It was an exciting game, yet scary at times. It shows that when we want to, the real Celtic can show up and put in a brilliant performance. Iheanacho really impressed and may have staked his claim to start in the split, but whether he'll be trusted is yet to be seen.
Tomas Cvancara wasn't even in the squad for this one, with Martin O'Neill describing his omission as 'slight rotation'. He isn't injured, and it doesn't bode well for him getting a final run in the team.
Another player who the cup semi-final revealed we may have seen the last of is Reo Hatate. Yet again, Luke McCowan and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain were trusted to come on instead of the midfielder, so his time in the hoops may be over.
Apart from backup goalkeeper Ross Doohan, Junior Adamu was the only other player who failed to make an appearance at Hampden. Since joining the Celts, he has failed to impress, and now, it seems he is suffering the consequences of not making an immediate impact.
Promising signs for the split
Although some fans would argue that an extra 30 minutes in the legs before the split is a bad thing, the free-scoring Celtic side that we saw offers promising signs. If the Hoops can take that into these final fixtures, then we are in for an exciting time.
The Celts currently sit third in the Scottish Premiership, three points away from Hearts and two points away from Rangers. With us set to take on both the Jambos and the Gers, we are going to need to be at our best.
Recently, O'Neill's side has often failed to score more than one or two goals. The league goal difference is certainly not in our favour right now, and it could end up coming down to that on the final day of the season.
The extra time performance shows that Celtic are capable of scoring goals. Now, it's time to repeat it.
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