Celtic forward Johnny Kenny hoping to be Hampden hero v Rangers after boost from brace in Falkirk win

Celtic forward Johnny Kenny is aiming to be a Hampden hero against Rangers after netting a brace on Wednesday night.

The Hoops prepared for Sunday’s game against their city rivals with a convincing 4-0 win over Falkirk at Parkhead.

Kenny has been leading the line in the absence of Kelechi Iheanacho and Daizen Maeda and he repaid new interim manager Martin O’Neill’s faith in him with a first-half double against the Bairns.

And he is now hoping that can help him kick on towards cementing his place as a first-choice forward for the champions, starting with this weekend’s semi-final.

Speaking after the game, he said: “It was brilliant, it’s always great to get two goals in any game. I felt it was coming in my last couple of performances, but just didn’t hit the net, and thankfully tonight they did.

“I think we needed that result, the fans got behind us tonight, it was brilliant.

“There is always going to be pressure playing for Celtic, no matter who the manager is or what the style of play is.

“We need to react to that pressure by putting in big performances and getting big results.

“I’d like to think (I could be the long term answer at centre forward), it was key for me to start getting goals tonight and hopefully that can now spur me on.”

Maeda returned from injury on Wednesday night and will be in the running to start through the middle against Rangers at Hampden.

Kenny regards the derby as one of the biggest games in world football, and is hoping he can take inspiration from fellow Irishman Adam Idah if he gets the chance to become a hooped hero on Sunday.

Idah, who is now at Swansea, scored a late winner after coming off the bench in the 2024 final when Celtic beat Rangers 1-0 to lift the trophy.

And Kenny would love to have a similar impact in the latest instalment.

He said: “Tonight was a massive boost for me, I don’t think I can describe how much it will mean, and hopefully I can now take that into Sunday, which will be a massive game.

“It’s one of the biggest games in world football, Adam Idah came into the team a couple of years ago and scored the winner against them at Hampden, so hopefully I can replicate something like that.”