CELTIC STURM GRAZ WIN NOT A TURNING POINT, YET...
- BY LIAM CARRIGAN
- 5 hours ago
- 2 min read
I’ve seen various headlines over the past few hours hailing (or should that be hail-hailing) Celtic’s win over SK Sturm Graz as a “crucial turning point” in our season, or words to that effect.
I’m not ready to say that just that. Last night’s hard-fought win was a morale booster, nothing more. For me, the most important game we will face this week has still to come.
Celtic Sturm Graz Victory Important, But Winning at Tynecastle is Vital
How much of an impact last night’s Celtic Sturm Graz win will, ultimately have on our season is yet to be determined. We still have the likes of Bologna, Roma and Feyenoord to contend with. How we do in those games will ultimately determine whether we make it past the initial group phase of the Europa League or not.
In the meantime, we have two absolute must win domestic games coming up in short order.
If Celtic lose to Hearts on Sunday, we would find ourselves 12 points behind the early league pace-setters, albeit with plenty of time still to make that deficit up.
As I have been saying for weeks now, if we are going to have a serious challenge domestically this season, it will come from Edinburgh, not from the Rangers Tribute Act over at Snake Mountain.
And speaking of our “aye ragin” Glasgow neighbours, those of them fortunate enough to make it onto the plane without grazing their knuckles on the airport tarmac were treated to a feast of football... from SK Brann.
The hilarity of the 3-0 demolition of Rangers on the park, was matched only by the drunken temper tantrums of their fans at the airport after the game!
Still, we must be cautious. They have a new manager, and at some point, I think he will get some semblance of a tune out of them. The League Cup semi-final on November 2nd will be an essential yardstick that sets the tone for the next few months of the season. If Celtic win, as premature as it may be, talk of a treble will surface again.
However, if the Ibrox ￡1.49ers manage to come out on top, then they will, in all likelihood go on to claim the first trophy of the season and maintain their recent habit of “turning up against Celtic, but failing everywhere else.”
More importantly failing to beat a Rangers side this obviously abject for the second game in a row could undo much of the good work done last night. Work that will, hopefully, carry us into Sunday’s vital league clash with the necessary momentum.
The next few weeks could well decide the course of our season, and let us know if we truly have, indeed, turned a corner.