O'Neill hails Iheanacho double in  Celtic's Scottish Cup win

Martin O'Neill has praised Kelechi Iheanacho after the Nigerian striker came off the bench to score twice in extra-time and fire Celtic into the Scottish Cup final with a 6-2 victory over St Mirren at Hampden On Sunday.

Celtic had led 2-0 at the break through Daizen Maeda and Anthony Ralston, only for St Mirren to level in the second half and force extra-time.  But Iheanacho's introduction proved decisive, with the former Leicester City man netting a brace in the opening period of extra-time alongside goals from Luke McCowan and Benjamin Nygren,to seal a commanding win and set up a final against Dunfermline Athletic next month.

O'Neill was effusive in his assessment of Iheanacho's contribution, saying the ‘Senior Man’  had reminded everyone of his quality.

Read Also: Super-sub Iheanacho fires Celtic into Scottish Cup final

"Everyone in the dressing-room knows that he has been a really good player," the Celtic manager told Celtic TV. "He's had a few injuries and he's been trying to get that fitness, but a properly fit Iheanacho is definitely a handful — as he's proved today."

O'Neill had also singled out the former Leicester City’s  striker in his immediate post-match reaction, describing his cameo as one of the highlights of a dramatic afternoon.

"Kelechi Iheanacho coming on and doing brilliantly — I'm delighted that we won," he said.

The Celtic manager added that the four-goal burst in extra-time, which followed a nervy 2-2 stalemate at full-time, had given the squad a significant confidence boost heading into the final five games of the league season.

"Today's performance, particularly in extra-time when we scored four goals in relatively quick succession, has got to give us an enormous boost," O'Neill said.

Celtic's next league fixture is a home match against Falkirk next weekend.