Giakoumakis finishes top goal scorer of the Scottish Premiership

Georgios Giakoumakis

Greek striker Georgios Giakoumakis finished joint top scorer of the Scottish Premiership 2021-22 season after putting two goals past Motherwell on Saturday.

Celtic FC secured the 52nd title in their history on Wednesday night after Giakoumakis' header earned a point in a 1-1 draw with Dundee United, the club's 10th title in 11 years.

With the title secured on Wednesday, the final match of the season was always going to be a celebration, and it certainly turned out to be won after winning 6-0 against Motherwell.

Japanese international Kyogo Furuhashi got the scoring underway for the Hoops but their visitors got behind the defensive line a couple of times with Joe Efford's pace.

David Turnbull then netted against his former club to take the game away from the Fir Park outfit and Kyogo doubled his tally before half-time.

Jota and Georgios Giakoumakis' double added to the scoring for Ange Postecoglou's side who ran out rampant winners in Glasgow.

Graham Alexander's side finish a successful season in the division's top five and now look forward to this summer's Europa Conference League qualifiers. Celtic run out as worthy league winners.

On 68 minutes, just six minutes after Giakoumakis came off the bench, he sent an overhead kick into the top corner, and then added another with the game's final kick.

This put Giakoumakis on 13 goals over the season, equal with Ross County's Regan Charles-Cook, one more this teammate Furuhashi and two more than Rangers striker Alfredo Morelos.

What makes this achievement all the more impressive is that Giakoumakis was injured for half the season, only featuring prominently after Christmas.

 

Meanwhile, Greek-Australian manager of Celtic FC, Ange Postecoglou, insists today’s Parkhead title party was the perfect ending to Tom Rogic and Nir Bitton’s Celtic story.

The pair are set to depart the Hoops after the champions’ Premiership thrashing of Motherwell.

Rogic and Bitton have decided to call time on their Celtic careers having bagged an incredible 34 major honours between them in nine sparkling years in Glasgow.

Wizard of Oz Rogic is poised to spark an A-League fight back in Australia while Israel stalwart Bitton is also set to head back to his homeland with Maccabi Haiffa in the frame.

Hoops fans bid farewell to the favourites today as Postecoglou’s men got their hands on the Premiership trophy.

“For us as a football club, we need to be looking always to be continually evolving the team.

“As the season panned out, and now being champions, it’s just a great to send off two unbelievable servants of this football club.

“They both get the chance to say goodbye in the right possible way and our supporters get the chance to acknowledge them.”

Postecoglou hailed the part the pair have played in Celtic’s success this season – with Rogic in the frame for the player of the year award and Bitton making 40 appearances in a number of roles.

He said: “Massively so. There’s no doubt that their careers speak for themselves.

“My own input into that is the last 12 months, when they’ve both been outstanding on and off the field.

“I obviously knew Tom from before but just working with him on a daily basis, he’s been brilliant for me.

“He was probably the go to man in terms of people trying to find out about me and I’m sure he helped me in many ways. His season this year has been brilliant.

“Equally with Nir, I needed experienced players as it was a young group.

“On and off the field he’s really helped Callum and sort of shaped the dressing room.

“His influence particularly on Liel Abada has been unbelievable.

‘Liel’s a 19-year-old we brought in as a sort of development project but look at the season he’s had. I’ve got no doubt that a huge chunk of that is because of Nir’s influence.”

Celtic XI: Hart; Ralston, Carter-Vickers, Starfelt, Taylor (Welsh, 63); McGregor (Bitton, 84), Turnbull (Ideguchi, 63), Rogic (McCarthy, 63), Jota, Maeda, Kyogo (Giakoumakis, 63).

Subs: Bain, Abada, O'Riley, Forrest,.

Motherwell XI: Kelly; O'Donnell, Ojala, Mugabi (Tierney, 63), Nirennold (Donnelly, 63), Lamie, Carroll; Goss (Van Veen, 45), Cornelius, Slattery; Shields (O'Hara, 75), Efford.

READ MORE: Celtic FC’s Giorgios Giakoumakis named best Greek player abroad.

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