Scott Brown’s one-man Celtic warfare in its entirety as Steven Naismith’s savage battle steals the show



[ad_1]

Celtic captain Scott Brown lifted a twelfth consecutive national trophy in typical fashion after a series of battles against Heart.

Neil Lennon’s team took an early 2-0 lead before falling behind, blowing a 3-2 lead into overtime.

The match went to penalties and two saves by Conor Hazard allowed Kris Ajer to emphatically dispatch to win the Scottish Cup.

Brown’s inclusion was a big talking point before the game and the Celtic captain showed that if there is a debate as to whether his legs are gone, there is no doubt that the fire still burns inside.

The first half brought a clash with former Rangers player Andy Halliday, who was booked for a challenge to the Celtic patron.

The veteran could be seen taunting his opponent, saying “I’m telling you, I haven’t missed you!”

Inevitably though the actual fireworks were saved for a battle with Steven Naismith.

The Hearts captain isn’t exactly the shy and withdrawn type, and he was fooled by a Brown heel.




The Celtic captain was at the end of a rough deal from Naismith when the Scottish international appeared to lean on Brown’s leg.

The contact was deemed accidental by referee John Beaton.

Brown was also standing next to Naismith when Ryan Christie made a fantastic opener for Celtic and it’s fair to say he relished the opportunity to scrub it.

In the second half, the forward accidentally grabbed his opponent with one arm while gesturing in a corner.




Brown pulled away holding his face, getting an X-rated response from Naismith, but seemed to think better of going to the grass.

That earned the Hearts man a reserve, although his opponent seemed a bit embarrassed after that.

It was Brown who thought he had the last laugh, as he had a hand on goal that seemed to secure triple treble.

The midfielder dived into a corner and although his header hit Leigh Griffiths, the substitute was able to turn and hit the net with his right foot.

Unsurprisingly, Brown headed straight for Naismith.

The 35-year-old made sure to give the ball to his former Rangers rival but it was to be his last action of the game.

Apparently suffering a groin injury, Brown was pulled at halftime in overtime and watched from the bench as Josh Ginnelly scored the tying goal for the Hearts.

He could only watch from the stands as the game went to penalties, with Naismith scoring from point of view to give his team an advantage.

Ryan Christie missed 3-2 to give Hearts the lead, but Connor Hazard made two big saves to put all the pressure on Kris Ajer for the last kick.

The Norwegian hit him to win the cup and make sure Brown managed to raise the treble triple.



Before that, though, there was more aggro as the substituted skipper got caught up in a fight with the Hearts team.

Brown was held back by a member of the coaching staff while protesting with the Jambos players, although the flash point resolved fairly quickly.



[ad_2]