'Hurt' Celtic have the final laugh as they respond to Rangers mauling to claim Tennent's Sixes title

Having been downed 7-1 by their Glasgow rivals in the group stage of the competition on Saturday, Celtic responded on day two of the tournament to reach the final, before taking the title with a comeback victory thanks to Hooper’s treble, plus goals from Aiden McGeady and Derek Riordan. Charlie Adam, Kirk Broadfoot, Martyn Waghorn and a Glenn Loovens own goal were on target for Rangers.

Back after a 33-year absence, the Sixes was an iconic staple of the Scottish football calendar between 1984 and 1993, when current squad members competed for the trophy. However, the redesigned tournament returned to Glasgow for a two-day event this weekend with a slight twist, as squads were made up of former players and legends instead.

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Speaking after the victory, Celtic’s Charlie Mulgrew, who celebrated wildly in front of the Rangers bench at the full-time whistle, admitted the win was inspired by the “hurt” his teammates felt just 24 hours earlier, saying: “I don't know the last time I felt adrenaline running like that. I'll probably regret it later! You saw Charlie Adam's celebration and how Rangers celebrated last night. It annoys you. We got battered 7-1.

"We know our careers are done, but you still want to compete and we could feel that. That defeat yesterday hurt us. I know we're not athletes anymore, but when you play you want to win. Especially when you're playing Rangers and you're getting booed. They were a good young team, with a few players who have just retired. We're delighted to get the win and it's extra sweet after the first result. After the game last night, I was disappointed and trying to tell myself it wasn't the end of the world.

"But it's really hard. It hurts. That's probably why we played at the level we did. We have that drive. Sometimes it spills over. I don't think any of the tackles went too far. A bit of emotion came out. It never leaves you. We were out last night for a bit of team bonding. That sorted us out. I'm not sure if I can do two on the trot. I'll hopefully sleep well if I can calm down a bit."

Celtic manager for the day, Tom Boyd, echoed Mulgrew’s thoughts and admits the team were driven to respond after being tanked by their rivals the day prior. “It's especially nice against your nearest rivals,” said Boyd. “It was a bit of a humiliation on Saturday night. We let ourselves down in the first game against Rangers and we tried to rectify it. The boys learned from it and dug deep. It doesn't matter if it's tiddlywinks, the boys are professional guys and they want to win. I was going to go home afterwards, but I had an arrangement with my wife that I could stay out a bit longer as a special bonus.”

Beginning on Saturday afternoon, the fast-paced, short-format knockout tournament included all 12 current Scottish Premiership sides at the well attended event, which allowed fans to a chance to see their heroes of yonder year in action once more at the 4,000 capacity home of EIHL ice hockey club, the Glasgow Clan.

Former Hearts legend Rudi Skacel had stolen the headlines on day one, as he came back to terrorize Hibs once again. The Czech striker, who scored twice in the famous 5-1 Scottish Cup final win against them in 2012, bagged the only goal of the game as Hearts downed their rivals 1-0 in the opening session. He would find the target again in their defeat to Motherwell, but an injury ruled him out of action on day two as the Jambos disappointingly exited the competition at the group stage following a thumping 5-0 defeat to Falkirk.

Rangers’ Waghorn had also made a major impact on day one for his Rangers side, with the 36-year-old scoring five goals in the demolition of Old Firm rivals Celtic, and the English striker shone once again as his side made it throughout to the knockout stages with a thumping 5-1 win over Kilmarnock in their final group game. A 4-0 win over Dundee saw them navigate the quarter-final stage.

Paired with Hibs in the semi-final, the Edinburgh side had fought their way to the final four after shrugging off Saturday’s 1-0 group stage defeat to Hearts to reach the knockout stages. However, they were no match for a Rangers side captained by former Jambos midfielder Andy Halliday as they went down to a 4-1 defeat.

Celtic, who had beaten St Johnstone 6-1 at the semi-final stage, were the final obstacle Rangers had to overcome. It looked like Barry Ferguson’s side would run out comfortable victors when they first went 2-0 up in the final, then 4-2 ahead in the second-half. However, Boyd’s men responded in stunning fashion to down their rivals at the death and take home the Tennent’s Sixes trophy.