Randalstown Hoops - A Controlled Display From Celtic - Podcast 14

Published: Oct. 25, 2016, 12:09 p.m.

Welcome back to another podcast from the Randalstown Hoops where we look back as Brendan Rodgers' side had the better of the Hampden match with Scott Sinclair, Tom Rogic, Dembele and Stuart Armstrong drawing saves from Matt Gilks. Erik Sviatchenko had a goal disallowed for Celtic and Sinclair's free-kick was touched on to the bar by Gilks. But there was to be a winner, Dembele's heel converting Leigh Griffiths' cross.Newco, 5-1 losers at Celtic Park last month, were restricted to counter-attacks, the best of which ended with Jason Holt's shot being blocked well by Jozo Simunovic. Celtic will return to Hampden to face the Dons on Sunday 27 November. We all so hear from brendan rodgers post match interview where he talks to Bt Sports about the game. . Our Featured player this week is Henrik Larsson where we look back at his time with Celtic . Henrik Larsson is undeniably one of the most wonderful footballers to have ever graced Scottish football, and is a Celtic legend. Born in Helsingborg, Larsson was the son of a Swedish mother and a father from the the Cape Verde islands, the blend giving him that beloved dirty blonde dreadlocks look. His early years were tough, and he might have ended up following a different path when one of his former teachers warned him about becoming a footballer. On leaving school he ended up in a job as a fruit-packer, and life could have been so more ordinary. Football was his saviour, and from an early age he had thrown himself into the game with his local youth. He moved onto playing for Helsingborg, where he helped the side to promotion and a strong position up the league table. He scored a phenomenal 34 goals in 31 games. His good form led to interest from abroad and a move to Feyenoord should have been a godsend. It turned out to be a frustrating time. Signed originally by future Celtic manager Wim Jansen, after just two months there was a change in management, and Jansen's successor just did not utilise Larsson properly. Playing Larsson in different positions and then substituting him repeatedly after just 60 minutes in games was not helping Larsson's development. This fostered a poor working relationship, and Larsson was being hindered. Having indicated a wish to move on, the situation became farcical when Larsson was left to go to court to force his club to allow him to exit as entitled to by his contracts subject to minimum fees being paid. Not an easy time. The only respite was a wonderful summer with the Swedish national side who reached the semi-finals of the World Cup in 1994, with Larsson one of the heroes. Former manager Wim Jansen hadn't forgotten him, and invited him to Celtic. Was it fate? As Larsson was to put it: “It’s hard to say no. You have to say yeah.” Feyenoord's loss was to become Celtic’s gain.