Celtic 4 - Dundee United 0: McGowan riles Deila as Celts roll on

CELTIC manager Ronny Deila last night slammed Dundee United defender Ryan McGowan for the “stupid tackle” that could have wrecked Liam Henderson’s career.

Ryan McGowan was sent off against CelticACTION

Ryan McGowan was sent off against Celtic

The Hoops cruised to a 4-0 Scottish Cup quarter-final win as both McGowan and Anthony Stokes were sent off in a fiery climax to the Parkhead clash.

McGowan saw red for a late lunge and Deila believes it was the sort of challenge that should be outlawed.

Deila said: “It was a red card. It was a stupid tackle on the sideline. We need to get these things out of football.

“It was a youngster trying a little trick in the corner. He could have stayed there and kept him out wide instead of going in with both feet.

“He could have injured him for life.

“At 4-0 it must have been frustration.

“It was a straightforward win in the end but there were some angry and disappointed players out there.

“It got a bit tense at the end but that can happen.”

Deila claimed Stokes left the field with a cut mouth after being sent off for reacting to Paul Paton.

He said: “I spoke to Stokes. His mouth was bleeding after a challenge from Paton and he reacted. We have to see it again if it is a red card.” 

The Celtic boss was pleased with the way his team saw off United to build on their League Cup triumph.

“I was delighted with the win,” said Deila. “We played at a high tempo for huge parts of the game and Dundee United found it hard to cope with us.

“We created a lot of chances and should have scored the second earlier. But when the game opened we enjoyed playing.”

Leigh Griffiths, who scored Celtic’s second goal, believes there is the potential for more trouble on Saturday when the teams meet again at Parkhead in the league.

“That’s six red cards in three games so if I was a betting man I would be putting money on a sending-off on Saturday,” said the striker. “They might be sick of the sight of us.

“Dundee United players are frustrated but it is all about us and we look forward to Saturday and trying to get the three points.”

United No 2 Simon Donnelly had no arguments about the result, but felt Efe Ambrose should also have walked. 

He was already on a booking when he took out Nadir Ciftci in the second period.

Donnelly said: “It is another yellow card. At the start of the second half we deliberately put Nadir out there to play on Ambrose who was on a yellow.

“But I don’t think we can have any complaints because we gave away some bad goals.”

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