THE Premier Sports Cup semi-final against St Johnstone at Hampden tonight gave Celtic supporters the perfect opportunity to pay tribute to all-time Parkhead great Bertie Auld - and they were not found wanting.

A gigantic “Bertie” tifo display was raised in the East Stand ahead of the match and a banner which read “they’ll encourage you and they’ll never forget you” – the words spoken to the young Auld by his father as he was given a tour of the stadium after he signed in 1955 – was unfurled beneath it.

Everyone inside a ground that the midfielder lit up on so many occasions during his playing days took to their feet and joined in with a minute’s applause – a far more appropriate way to show respect for an individual who gave so much joy to so many people during his playing days than a silence – before kick-off.

When play commenced there were more tributes. The famous picture of the Lisbon Lion wearing a fedora hat and holding up a ball – taken after Celtic had beaten Leeds United at Hampden in the semi-final of the European Cup in front of a record 136,505 crowd in 1970 – was held up next to the phrase “For It’s A Grand Auld Team To Play For”.

Yes, the Celtic fans did “Ten-Thirty”, who passed away from dementia at the age of 83 last Sunday, proud.

But the best way for Ange Postecoglou’s players, who wore black armbands and the No10 on their shorts, to honour Auld was to turn on the style, record a victory on the field of play and book their place in the final of a competition their predecessor won four times.

And they duly delivered on that front after overcoming robust opponents who put up a helluva fight before finally surrendering their grip on the trophy.  

This was the first time that Celtic had played in front of a crowd at Hampden since beating Rangers 1-0 in the League Cup final nearly two years ago and their followers turned out in large numbers hoping and expecting to see a comfortable triumph.

The SFA have not, as the Parkhead high heid yins did a couple of years ago at a cost of around £2m, installed disco lights at Hampden, but there was a flashy display as Under Control by Calvin Harris and Alesso blared out of the public address system.

Rocker Rod Stewart and his songwriter pal John McLaughlin, who took their places in the posh seats in the BT Scotland South Stand, appeared to enjoy the festivities to the full.

But the Postecoglou party did not continue when proceedings got underway. Callum McGregor and his team mates started well, dominated possession and laid siege to the St Johnstone goal. But Zander Clark went untested.

Jota, the Portuguese winger who has instantly endeared himself to Celtic fans with his pace, trickery and goals, drew gasps of admiration when he dinked a cheeky rabona into the six yard box. But his side were unable to capitalise on his moment of magic.

The Green Brigade put up a giant picture of Auld in the 67th minute – a nod to the year that Jock Stein’s fabled side became the first from Britain to be crowned European champions – and the Sixty Seven song was given a lusty rendition.  

Alas, the ultras group immediately spoiled things by setting off a number of flares, some of them underneath it, with typical stupidity. Fireworks were also fred into the night air. A smoke cannister was then thrown onto the track after James Forrest had scored.

Celtic closed their section of Parkhead for two games back in 2017 for “serious incidents of unsafe behaviour”. The current hierarchy should consider taking similar action before somebody is badly hurt.

St Johnstone had not lost a cup game since being beaten on penalties in the group stages of this competition 12 months earlier – a reverse that did not prevent them topping their section and progressing to the second round.

The Perth club had last suffered a defeat in the knockout rounds of a domestic cup competition some 21 months earlier - when a Ryan Christie strike with nine minutes remaining had secured a narrow 1-0 win for Celtic in the Scottish Cup quarter-final at McDiarmid Park.

Callum Davidson and his men, who completed an incomprehensible cup double last term, were clearly determined to extend their 12 game winning run and for 73 minutes they nullified the threat their opponents posed superbly.

There remains room for improvement from this Celtic side. At no stage did they look like losing this encounter. Joe Hart was relatively untroubled throughout the 90 minutes. But victory, as Bertie Auld knew only too well, is what matters most. Reaching their first final under Postecoglou is a major milestone in the journey this young team and their manager have embarked on.