The £27m Celtic bench that saved the day as Brendan needing big guns says it all about fearless Falkirk

Brendan Rodgers needed his big guns in the end after Falkirk did what Premiership teams haven't and put his team on the ropes

It said it all about Falkirk’s sterling display at Celtic Park that Brendan Rodgers had to send for his big guns to finally get the better of the Bairns.

John McGlynn and his Championship hopefuls managed something no other side in Scotland or beyond this season, they had Celtic rattled. Rodgers wanted to rest some of his key men after a hectic start to the season and a draining Champions League battering of Slovan Bratislava. But he ended up needing some of those guys to come off the bench and made sure of their spot in the last four of the Premier Sports Cup thanks to a last-20 blitz.

Adam Idah’s double inside two second-half minutes hauled it around after Ross MacIver and Finn Yeats had twice given the Bairns the lead either side of Paulo Bernardo’s initial equaliser to lead going into the home stretch. Nicolas Kuhn was the major spark as he set up both of the Irishman’s goals before adding a stunning double to pick up the man-of-the-match champagne in just 30 devastating minutes. But the previous hour was no stroll as Falkirk helped turn a potential formality into a cracker of a cup tie.

No wonder their 2000-strong band in the corner gave it laldy all day. Their side were superb and for an hour they were bang in the hunt. Celtic had £23million of transfers in the starting line up – but another £27m worth on the bench. Not bad back-up when the initial team were not doing so hot.

There were mixed bag starts for Auston Trusty and Alex Valle, while Luis Palma struggled and others couldn’t quite get going. It wasn’t until Kuhn, Arne Engels, Greg Taylor and Yang appeared when Celtic finally went through the gears. It showed the strength Rodgers can have in reserve. But also the work some others will need to put in if they want to threaten the starting line-up on a regular basis.

It was hard not to feel for Falkirk by the end. Unbeaten in 43 league games, McGlynn’s men were fearless, particularly in the first half. They pressed Celtic the way Celtic do to others. They were brave on the ball and clinical when chances came. No one has made Celtic this uncomfortable this term. But eventually they were blown away by the Hoops flex and they were long gone by the time sub Michael McKenna was shown a red card for cementing Tony Ralston in the final minute.

The first major shock came after 11 minutes. The finish from MacIver was sensational as he stepped on to the loose ball from Dylan Tait’s clipped cross and drilled low into Schmeichel’s bottom corner from 20 yards. The defending wasn’t so hot, mind you. Valle howled for a foul when he got outmuscled on the edge of his own box by Alfredo Agyeman and MacIver didn’t hang about waiting for a whistle.

The lead only lasted 11 minutes but there was a moment when Falkirk threatened to double it instead. Agyeman again showed his power to barge his way through and dragged his shot wide. Celtic levelled in stunning style when Valle flicked on Reo Hatate’s ball and Bernardo met it flush on the volley to thump past Nicky Hogarth. But Falkirk refused to roll over. In fact, there were times when they did a pretty good impression of Celtic themselves when it came to pressing.

Even Callum McGregor got harassed into losing the ball in his own third before Miller fired straight at Kasper Schmeichel. They got their reward again right on half-time when Yeats brilliantly headed home after Agyeman shrugged off Valle to send over a deep cross with the Hoops defence all over the camp. It was a slight surprise not to see any Celtic changes for the second period and there was a minor tweak to the Bairns’ plan following a lung-busting opening 45.

McGlynn’s men sat a little deeper to restrict space – but they still tried to play out from the back when they could. They suffered a big blow when MacIver was forced off before the hour mark, after the frontman gave the Hoops defence so much hassle.

But it wasn’t long before Rodgers was forced to change things up for the final half an hour. By that stage Bernardo’s deflected free-kick was about the only real effort Celts had mustered on goal in the second period.

Engels, Taylor, Kuhn and Yang were chucked on – and the latter did provide a spark. The Korean winger managed to cut a dash inside before letting fly, only for Hogarth to stand tall to block.

Moments later Celtic were level again as the pressure told on 70 minutes. Kuhn sprung the offside trap to race on to Ralston’s through ball and his cutback was on a plate for Idah to bury. It was 3-2 in the blink of an eye from the same men as the Hoops immediately pinched possession from the restart.

Kuhn sent Idah through and the striker brushed off a couple of defenders and coolly buried. The resistance was finally broken and No.4 arrived when Engels sent Kuhn scurrying on goal and he superbly dinked over the keeper.

McKenna’s crunching tackle earned him a red but by that stage the big guns had cleared the path.

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