CRAIG Gordon dived full length, face down but jubilant, on the Hampden turf at Celtic's moment of victory. He then said that playing a part in Celtic's invincible treble was flat out the finest achievement of his illustrious career.
The 34-year-old won the Scottish Cup with Hearts back in 2006 and has played in countless big matches for club and country but this season tops the lot, not least because it wasn't too long ago that he wondered whether he would ever play again.
"That’s the best," said the goalkeeper. "How do you go about beating that? Undefeated season, three trophies. We couldn’t have done a great deal more than that. To be a part of that is something very special and something I’ll always remember.
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"I could never have hoped for this," he added. "At one point I was just hoping I could get another game of football. It’s been a bit of a rollercoaster even this season, to fight my way back. But every time I’ve been asked to I’ve managed to do it. So that’s a great achievement, one I’m very happy about and one I’m sure I’ll remember for the rest of my days."
That 2006 win had been secured on penalties against Gretna bt Gordon said that Saturday's last minute win against Aberdeen was more dramatic. "This was a really good game, probably a better game than it was that day," he said. "I think it would have been a good game for the neutral to watch – very dramatic with thunder and lightning and goalkeepers making saves.
"We’d been knocking on the door for the last 10 or 15 minutes and I thought it was going to maybe go into extra-time," he added. "We felt as if we were in control but you never know – there’s always one counter-attack that can lead to goals. They had a few chances in the game and both goalkeepers had to make a few saves. It was quite open so we were never in full control although I felt we were the team more likely to go and win it. It was just a massive relief to get the goal."
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