CELTIC STUMBLE BUT STILL FIND A WAY TO WIN
- By LIAM McBRIDE
- 9 minutes ago
- 4 min read
Celtic made it three league wins on the bounce with a dramatic late 1-0 win over St Mirren.
After ninety-four minutes of action, the Champions were heading for their fifth goalless draw of the season. Captain Callum McGregor had other ideas though.
His wonder strike, plus Aberdeen’s victory over Hearts, means Celtic are just four points off the summit, with a game in hand.
It came after yet another chaotic week off the pitch in the East End of Glasgow. The Annual General Meeting was never going to be a friendly event.
Celtic Answer Questions on the Pitch as Board Dodge Them Off it
A disgruntled fan base wants answers from a board that seems incapable of providing them. Yet, not even the most pessimistic of Celtic fans could have foreseen the statement which came from the lips of Ross Desmond.
Just weeks after Brendan Rodgers was accused of being “divisive, misleading and self-serving” by Dermot Desmond, his son branded elements of the fanbase as “anti-establishment”, “disruptive and cynical” before boldly stating the board “wouldn’t be bullied by aggressive and irrational factions”.
Needless to say, it wasn’t met with open arms, with Peter Lawwell swiftly bringing the meeting to its conclusion.
On Saturday night, as expected, the sack the board chants were as loud as ever. The travelling support once again made their stance clear. You wonder how much longer it can go on like this.
Celtic started slackly.
It was reminiscent of the very performances towards the end of the Brendan Rodgers' era .Since O’Neill’s interim period began, Celtic have been more direct on the domestic scene, getting to the opposition goal quicker and creating a higher volume of quality chances.
Yet, Saturday's display could have been any game under Rodgers this season and you wouldn’t have been surprised. St Mirren were the better side in the first half, creating six shots to Celtic’s three and two corner kicks to nil. The Bhoys had an abundance of the ball, 72% to be exact, but their use of it was really poor.
The right-hand side struggled both on and off the ball. Dan Nl’Lundulu and Declan John ran directly at Anthony Ralston, with the Scotsman rarely engaging. For him, it was a similar story to the Midtjylland first half. Against lower level opposition he wasn’t punished, but it’s a massive worry for Thursday night.
In possession, his body positioning was consistently too negative, facing his own goal, seemingly unable to turn. The result was that too often, he would recycle the ball back to where it came from. To compound that, Daizen Maeda looked uncomfortable on the right flank. As soon as he got the ball, he quickly passed it inside. He failed to take on his opposite number or put in a cross.
The midfield also failed to influence. McGregor found himself dropping deep and trying to take the ball forward. In front of him, Reo Hatate’s performance was riddled with some baffling decision-making, while Arne Engels was simply anonymous.
The brief moments of joy Celtic had came from Sebastien Toutenki cutting inside from the left wing area. Although as soon as Jayden Richardson blocked this route and forced the Tunisian to go to the byline, the threat was dampened.
The second half saw a change of momentum. While the Hoops never truly found a good level, they did become the better team. Luke McCowan’s introduction at right wing gave Celtic a bit more ball-carrying ability in the wide areas.
Maeda moving centrally gave the St Mirren defence more to think about, even if he never managed to worry Shamal George.
Celtic huffed and puffed, but come the last minute in injury time, they had managed just one shot on target. It was at that moment that McGregor proved his worth with an incredible strike in the dying seconds. With a shift to the left-hand side away from Liam Donnelly, he created some space and released another long-shot screamer.
It wasn’t a pretty match, but it’s three points nonetheless.
It’s all that matters for Celtic right now. The squad, which is already considerably weaker than last season, has been decimated by injuries. At one point, Scales, Engels, McCowan and Yang were Celtic's four wide players. Considering where they were a year ago, it’s an unbelievable position to be in, but needs must, and the fixtures roll on.
Brief Player Ratings
Kasper Schmeichel 8
Anthony Ralston 4
Auston Trusty 6
Liam Scales 5.5
Kieran Tierney 6
Callum McGregor 8.5
Reo Hatate 5.5
Arne Engels 6
Daizen Maeda 6
Johnny Kenny 6
Sebastien Tounetki 6
Current boss Martin O’Neill commented, “Overall I thought we didn't create enough. Callum comes up with an absolute wonder goal. St Mirren played exactly like we thought they would.
I'm delighted we've won but we can do much better. You've got to take care of the ball, we didn't do that for most of the match. We went to the very end of the game, that was great in that sense. One thing we don't lack is unity within the dressing room. We won in the end when a draw was perhaps the fair result”.
Next up for Celtic is a trip to Rotterdam to face Feyenoord. The Dutch outfit has struggled in the Group Phase so far, winning one and losing three of the opening four games. However, two of their losses have come against Aston Villa and Stuttgart. Expect a tough night.