Josh Meekings: I was lucky to stay on after handball

JOSH MEEKINGS knows he will always be remembered for having a major hand in wrecking Ronny Deila’s treble dream.

Josh MeekingsRoss Turpie

Josh Meekings' raised arm prevented a Leigh Griffiths header giving Celtic a 2-0 lead

The Inverness Caley Thistle defender admitted he was lucky not to be sent off as his side booked a Scottish Cup Final place.

Meekings’ raised arm prevented a Leigh Griffiths header giving Celtic a 2-0 lead. He faced a red card and a penalty being awarded to the Parkhead men.

But referee Steven McLean took no action because his assistant behind the goal told him the ball had hit the Caley Thistle player on the face.

Relieved Meeking said: “My arm is up but I’m two yards away. I can’t do anything about it. But my arm is up and I have seen them given.

“I know my arm is in an unnatural position but all I have done is try to block the ball. There wasn’t much I could do in that situation.

“I wasn’t looking at the ball and I didn’t deliberately put my arm towards the ball.

“It’s a tough call for the ref. I’m just thankful I was able to stay on the pitch and we were able to get the win.

“I don’t want this to overshadow the performance of the lads. That would be wrong because we deserved to win.”

The Englishman can now look forward to a more routine build-up after the nightmare he had to endure in the build-up to last season’s League Cup Final.

He was sent off in the semi-final and had to launch an appeal to play in the final which his side lost on penalties to Aberdeen.

He said: “I haven’t got that headache this time.

“I’d have been devastated if I’d got a red. My family all came up from Suffolk. They’ll be absolutely delighted on the trip home.”

Meekings reckons Inverness showed all that is good about their game as they worked for everything.

Boss John Hughes’ decision to play two up front also knocked Celtic out of their stride.

Meekings said: “We’d planned it all week and it all seemed to click on the day. We worked our socks off and thoroughly deserved it.”

It is also testament to Caley Thistle that they continue to lose players and managers but still go from strength to strength.”

Meekings added: “The dressing room has been together for a long time now.

“We lose Graeme Shinnie at the end of the season but, if we can keep the others together, we can keep achieving.

“When I came up we were struggling to stay in the top flight and I never thought I would end up playing in a cup final, never mind two.

“I am delighted with my three years here and I hope my next two are even better.”

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