Celtic have progressed to the Scottish Cup final courtesy of a slender 1-0 semi-final win over Old Firm rivals and holders Rangers at Hampden Park on Sunday.
Just over three weeks after beating the Gers 3-2 on home soil to strengthen their grip on the Premiership title, the Hoops have now boosted their chances of winning the domestic treble after claiming their third successive win over their bitter rivals this season.
After Rangers initially made a bright start to the contest, Celtic gradually grew into the contest and had their first effort on goal just before the half-hour mark when 41-year-old shot-stopper Allan McGregor kept out strikes from Alistair Johnston and Jota.
Celtic were then gifted what proved to be the match-winner as a catalogue of defensive errors from Rangers allowed Jota to net his 14th goal of the season on the stroke of half time.
Rangers switched off when Matt O'Riley fell to the deck on the right side of the penalty area, and Daizen Maeda picked up the loose ball before floating a delivery towards Jota unmarked at the back post to head home inside the six-yard box.
Michael Beale's side had opportunities to restore parity in the second half, with captain James Tavernier hitting the post and Fashion Sakala failing to direct the rebound on target.
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However, Ange Postecoglou's men held on to book their place in the final where they will face Championship side Inverness Caledonian Thistle, who beat Falkirk 3-0 in the other semi-final on Saturday.
Postecoglou particularly praised centre-back pairing Cameron Carter-Vickers and Carl Starfelt for their performance at the back, although the Celtic boss has revealed that the former – who was named Man of the Match – is unlikely to play again this season after battling through the closing stages with an injury.
"They've been good for a very long time. Both those guys have been immense and have grown," Postecoglou told BBC Sport Scotland.
"That's Cam's last game of the season. He'll go and get his injury looked at. We've got to be mindful of his recovery for next season. He was really keen to play this game. I'm scared of him so I wasn't going to say no."
Postecoglou added: "It's a semi-final, there's a big prize at the end, so we knew it wouldn't be easy. Dare I say it, we never stop. We're always alert. We force the opposition into mistakes. The progress we've made has been immense. It's credit to everyone involved."
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Meanwhile, Beale has admitted that defeat at the semi-final stage against their Glaswegian rivals is going to "sting for a few days".
"We have to find a way to win. We shot ourselves in the foot again. We kept Allan [McGregor] pretty much safe the whole game, said the Gers manager.
"We've made a big mistake in a huge game. It's a repeat of what's happened. Right now, it's massive disappointment. When our opportunities came, we weren't able to take them.
"For our fans, this season has been horrible for them to live through. The distance between us and our biggest rivals is slim on individual days, but over the course of the season, it'll count to two or three trophies to zero.
"Moving forward, that's not going to be good enough. There's going to be change in the summer. We need to improve. This is going to sting for a few days."
Rangers, who have now lost three of their last four matches in all competitions, will turn their attention to next Sunday's Premiership clash at home against Aberdeen, while Celtic can win the top-flight title if they beat Hearts away from home in their next match.
Oliver Thomas
