There was a wonderful moment in sport at the weekend just after Celtic striker Adam Idah scored to make it 3-2 against Falkirk in the League Cup quarter-final on Sunday.
Idah clinically buried his chance, as he made it a quickfire double, following an assist from game-changer Nicolas Kuhn. The attacker ran away and performed an obligatory knee slide celebration as his teammates chased him to offer their congratulations, the Republic of Ireland international walked off to the side of the pitch and the first to greet him was Kyogo Furuhashi.
The duo clasped hands and hugged warmly as both men knew that Idah had gotten Celtic out of temporary League Cup jail just as they were flirting briefly with a shock exit. It was a beautiful nod from the master marksman to the young pretender to his throne.
That's three in two matches for Idah after he bagged the fifth in the 5-1 rout of Slovan Bratislava last midweek in the Champions League. That was also one in the eye for those naysayers who said that at £8.5 million Celtic had paid over the odds for Idah and that he would not score at the elite level in club football. He achieved that milestone just minutes after coming on the pitch against the Slovaks.
It would have been four goals in three matches but for Luis Palma carelessly straying into an offside position in the lead-up to Idah's 'goal' against Hearts that was expunged from the record books by VAR. In that instant, you sensed that Idah's fortunes were on the turn.
Interestingly enough Idah acknowledged that in the aftermath of the 5-2 win over Falkirk which helped Celtic book a League Cup semi-final clash with Aberdeen at Hampden Park in November.
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Idah said: "I think the goal against Hearts, although it was offside, was a big step in getting my confidence back. I’m happy with the two goals today and we just need to keep getting better in our performances.”
The Celtic supporters know a goalscorer when they see one. Idah is a goalscorer. He will plunder goals galore for Celtic just as the man he embraced so warmly has. The Japanese talisman has 75 goals and counting in Celtic's green and white jersey so far.
They love such players down Glasgow's east end. The headline grabbers, the limelight hoggers, the game-changers...all or nearly all because of their prowess in front of the goal become club legends. The list is endless. Kyogo is well on his way to etching his name onto that elite list of players who have bagged over 100 goals for Celtic. Idah could well be next in line. He is a genuine heir to Kyogo's striking throne.
Yet some doubters were out in force on Sunday lining up to have a pop at Idah after the hour mark against Falkirk had come and gone and he had failed to make an impact. Just as the social media abuse was ratcheting up a notch. Kuhn rode to the rescue. Not only that Idah came alive in the process.
Idah also turned up when it really mattered for Celtic. He has a habit of doing that. The common denominator at Parkhead on Sunday was that Idah was starved of any decent service from Palma and James Forrest. He never once got on the end of a decent cross or pass from either. All that changed with the introduction of Kuhn.
So let's analyse all of Idah's three goals since he signed a permanent deal. They are all quality striker goals. The spin and run away from Forrest before pointing to where he wanted the ball and the cool low one-touch finish on the biggest stage of all in the Champions League against Slovan Bratislava was class. It was right out of the top-drawer striker play.
However, the piece de resistance came barely seconds later with his sublime first touch that took the ball in between two Bairns defenders which allowed him to calmly slot home to make it 3-2 on the day. It was in essence the match-winning goal. It was also a gem of a goal.
All three goals showed up Idah's qualities in abundance - the speed of movement, the fleet-footedness, and the deftness of the finish. They were all a joy to behold. That's what £8.5 million gets you. All done with the pace and power that Brendan Rodgers craves from any of his football teams.
They say the hardest part of football is to put the ball in the back of the net. At times, Idah, like Kyogo can make that onerous task look very easy and natural indeed. It's easy to forget that Idah is 23 years old! Yes, just 23 years old. He's a frightening prospect to have in any team.
Sure, there are many parts of his game which are still raw but Celtic boss Rodgers will be working on them as we speak. He'll be polishing up this rough diamond big time and remember Rodgers' forte is to improve players. Can you imagine what kind of a player Idah will be for Celtic in say 12 months?
It was Rodgers and him alone that waxed lyrical about Idah when he was brought in on loan from Norwich City in the January transfer without much media hype and fanfare. Rodgers said this: "I'm excited by Adam Idah's talent and to see if we can unlock that because if we can then this is a boy who can be a top-level striker and absolutely brilliant for us.
"He has everything - this is 6ft 2in, of power and speed. So once he finds the relationships with the other players and the runs - and we’ll play to his strengths because he wants to run in behind - then he’s going to be a real handful. Then working with him on the training pitch and seeing his finishing - left foot, right foot, spin, strike - he was absolutely brilliant.
"In Adam, we’ve got a genuine player and a big, big talent if we can get him to consistently perform. He’s been tipped to be a star since he was very young so he can cope with all that."
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Let's not forget it was Idah's nine goals from January onwards last season that catapulted Celtic to the Scottish Premiership and Scottish Cup double. His nine goals yielded 12 crucial Scottish Premiership points down the stretch. It was largely Idah's goalscoring exploits for Celtic that opened the door to the riches of the revamped Champions League.
There is even an argument to suggest that Idah has been more clinical in front of goal in terms of chances taken and scored than Kyogo has since the start of the campaign. If Kyogo wasn't aware of that he has healthy competition for his spot in the starting line-up. He is now. Competition is good though.
As Idah admitted in the aftermath of the victory over Falkirk. The striking duo have a 'friendly' rivalry.
He said: "Look, I’ve got a job to do and that is to score goals, whether I start or I’m on the bench it doesn’t really matter in my head. I want to score as many goals as I can this season, just like Kyogo.
"He’s an unbelievable player, and I don’t think it matters to him whether he’s starting or on the bench, we both have the same aim and that is to score goals and help this team. I think we’ve got off to a pretty good start this season.
“Do I think that we bring the best out in each other? Yeah, definitely. It’s friendly competition. It’s the same in training, we’re always working hard and there is no bitterness between us.
"We’re friendly with each other and he helps me just like I help him. It’s great, he’s a good player to look up to, a good role model, and I can learn a few things from him on the pitch too.”
Love him or loathe him, Idah will continue to influence the outcomes of football matches. Rather like Kyogo for that matter. Feed Kyogo and he will score. Feed Idah and he will score. Funny that, isn't it? That's 12 goals and counting for Idah in his Celtic career. He has a bit to go before troubling Kyogo's total of 75...mind! Idah is getting there though.
Strikers are only as good as the service they receive. It may have taken longer than Idah anticipated the second time around to open his account as a permanent Celtic player. One thing is for certain he has a genuine desire and ambition to play for this club and do what he does best - score goals.
So let's look at the evidence of Idah's Celtic CV thus far.
- Title clinching goals - check.
- A Scottish Cup final-winning goal - check.
- Goals against Rangers - check.
- Champions League league phase goal - check.
- To be continued...check.
Rodgers was right all along though. Celtic have a big talent and genuine player at their disposal who is shaping up to be a top-level striker. Can he cope?
Rather ominously for domestic and European defences when it comes to Idah's pursuit of plundering goals for Celtic it would appear that normal service has been resumed. Idah is finding his feet once again at Celtic. Now we know exactly why Rodgers referred to Kyogo and Idah as his two number ones in the number nine position. Rodgers' horses-for-courses policy is a sure-fire winner and will help Kyogo and Idah bring out the best in each other.
That's something, if you pardon the expression in light of Sunday's off-the-field goal celebration display, that both Kyogo and Idah can embrace.
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