Celtic coach Alan Thompson praised Joe Ledley's flexibility after he netted his first goals since August in Wednesday night's 2-1 Scottish Cup win over Inverness.
The Wales international has established himself as a key player in central midfield in recent months but he was moved to left midfield at the Tulloch Caledonian Stadium . The former Cardiff player responded by netting from close range to immediately cancel out Adam Rooney's penalty just ahead of half-time, before heading a 68th minute winner.
"We played Joe on the left even though it's not his preferred position as he's been doing well in the middle," said Thompson. "We knew at times that we would have to defend and Joe helped us do that, so I thought he was terrific."
He added: "I saw Joe when he played at Cardiff and he always chipped in with his fair share of goals, but that hasn't quite happened for him this season, although I'm sure the two goals will give him confidence."
Celtic manager Neil Lennon again sat in the stand as his touchline ban continues but he kept in touch with his backroom team via an earpiece as his side booked a semi-final clash with Aberdeen.
"We kept getting a lot of messages down in the dugout and I'm just glad it was Garry Parker and not me who had the earpiece in," Thompson said. "He's the only one who can understand him anyway.
"It's actually the first time we've tried using the earpiece as we've got communication between the dugout and the stand at Celtic Park, which makes it slightly easier."
Inverness manager Terry Butcher felt his team were harshly treated by referee Mike Tumilty, claiming Glenn Loovens should have been sent off for bringing down Richie Foran for the penalty. And he felt the free-kick that led to the winner, for Stuart Duff's challenge on Emilio Izaguirre, was typical of the soft free-kicks given to the visitors.
Butcher said: "I'm sick for my players. I thought we deserved more than we got out of the game.
"There were a couple of decisions that have gone against us. There were a lot of fouls given against us tonight through minimum contact, I felt."
Source: PA
