Stokes double propels Celtic into final
Stokes celebrates scoring today
FT: Falkirk 1 Celtic 3
Celtic will meet Kilmarnock in the Scottish Communities League Cup final after Anthony Stokes’ second-half double took them past battling Falkirk in their semi-final at Hampden.
Skipper Scott Brown fired the Hoops into the lead from the spot in the 26th minute after Bairns skipper Darren Dods had wrestled with Thomas Rogne at a corner, but 17-year-old Falkirk midfielder Jay Fulton dramatically levelled for the First Division side before the break.
But Stokes’ free-kick from 25 yards in the 56th minute gave Bairns keeper Michael McGovern no chance, and he tapped in from a Gary Hooper pass with five minutes remaining to make sure Celtic return to the national stadium on March 18.
Falkirk substitute Alston, who had replaced Fulton, drove wide from inside the box as the game began swinging from end to end.
With one goal in it and Higginbotham at the top of his game, the First Division side always had a chance and in the 78th minute Forster made a fine double save following a corner, first from Dods and then from Stewart Murdoch.
However, there was to be no shock and in the 85th minute Celtic’s final appointment was booked when Hooper got away from Dods on the right-hand side of the box and set up Stokes who knocked in from barely a yard out.
