I liked a lot about what we did last night. Leigh Griffiths provided more evidence that he is a remarkable predator. Kris Commons delivered another driven corner, his third of this European campaign to result in a goal, Lustig made first contact leaving Griffiths with only instinct to produce a shot on target. That same instinct clicked an instant later to turn the second shot over the keeper and into the net.
Do you remember a moment, before the first goal, when Fenerbahce enjoyed their best spell of pressure, and we cleared our lines aimlessly four times in a couple of minutes? It looked ugly and invited Fenerbahce to continue to pile the pressure on, but it was a salutary indication of how tactically well Celtic played. When under pressure, clear your lines, regroup, and get ready to go again.
On two occasions we dribbled out of a defensive position leading to a goal. Nir Bitton had ample opportunity to clear forward, but with opponents closing space all around him, he hesitated until he could play-in James Forrest, who surge forward to cross for Commons to score.
Scott Brown as immense all night, but having held-off a challenge 20 yards from his own goal on the wing, he should have cleared deep inside Fenerbahce territory instead of trying to make a pass. We didn’t get the ball back until the score was 2-2. Johansen and Lustig were both caught similarly in the second half but neither was punished. Being brave in possession isn’t always wise.
Some of the passing football we played was a treat to watch. Bitton and Brown played their best game as a partnership, if not as individuals in a Celtic shirt; Brown was certainly that good. James Forrest, now fit, is drinking-in responsibility. He was effective last night, but not because he used his unparalleled pace, instead he delivered link play.
You’ll have noticed Craig Gordon likes a leg save. Few keepers do, they seem to try to get their hands or torso to a ball, but I like that Craig likes getting any hard part of his body in the way.
Don’t let it bounce.
“Don’t let it bounce.” There’s not a central defender in the world who doesn’t hear that phrase every week. When a ball is coming towards the danger zone in the air, get your head on it. If you let it bounce, anything can happen.
This was Efe Ambrose first mistake last night. He failed to read the flight of the ball. The moment it bounced, he was in trouble. With Fernandao waiting to feed on the scraps, Efe should then have concentrated on winning the physical challenge as the ball dropped a second time, but instead he found his ‘don’t let the ball bounce’ instinct too late and committed a second inexcusable error.
Think back almost three years to the opening minutes of the Champions League game against Juventus, Efe committed pretty much the same mistake. He lost the flight of the ball and we were a goal down and out before we warmed up.
Although Efe is taking a large slice of the blame in some places for the second Fenerbahce goal, I’m not convinced this is a fair assessment. To give due credit, it was an excellent corner and header – from a zone in front near post it’s difficult to score from. The point about zonal marking is you defend areas it’s easy to score from, at the cost of leaving less-risky areas unattended. Fernandao’s header didn’t come from a high-risk zone.
For some reason, wispy Leigh Griffiths was delegated to man-mark bulky target-man Fernandao. Wee guys can block big guys, but they need to be standing ball-side of the attacker, preferably facing his chest with arms out, so that when movement happens, he’s at least the right side of the attacker. Leigh was on his heels, completely unprepared.
Before the kick was struck, Fernandao was on the move, gambling on a near-post run. Should Efe have also gambled similarly? On first glance it looked like it, but that’s only because the ball went to that area and ended up in the net. Fernandao could afford to gamble by running into a space the ball may or may not arrive at. This is not the case for a defender. He has to wait until the ball is in the air. If he leaves his zone before the ball’s kicked to follow an attacker who has move early, he’s not doing his job.
It’s all about the block.
Great corner aside, we lost the second goal because we didn’t get a block on Fenerbahce’s target man. Before the kick was taken, Leigh Griffiths was adjacent to and looking at Fernandao, having been delegated the task by the impressive Kieran Tierney, but Leigh was also looking all around him and made no attempt to block.
Griffiths (5’ 8”), the smallest man in the Celtic team, should never have been near Fernandao (6’ 4”), the tallest man in the Fenerbahce team. That’s 8 inches of disadvantage and double figures of kilos weight.
There are two big questions to be asked about this goal:
Why didn’t we have a physical equal on Fernandao, capable of withstanding a shove, or better still, getting his own shove in first? Fenerbahce had one target man striker, we didn’t notice him. It doesn’t matter if you play zonal or man-to-man, if we are conceding 8 inches to the opponent’s main physical threat, we’ll continue to lose goals at corner kicks.
But the real curious question is why was it left to 18-year-old Kieran Tierney to instruct who picks up whom at a corner kick? Action moves so quickly at corners that everyone needs to understand they have a responsibility to take control, not just the central defenders, captain, or keeper. Or 18-year-old novice.
This is not happening at Celtic right now, which is why we’re playing our European football on Thursdays this season. If you put your smallest player on an opponent’s tallest, and it’s left to an 18-year-old to delegate responsibility, you deserve to lose a goal.
Last Man Standing 5
Last call for all those wanting to take part in Last Man Standing 5, in aid of Wee Shay McGinlay who is 2 and suffers from cerebral palsy. To date CQNers and friends have raised an incredible £5400 towards the fund raising campaign, to finance treatment for Shay not available on the NHS, which will hopefully improve his quality of life.
The current entrants stand at 72, so if you want to take join the LMS5 clique, then simply drop a line to Jobo and CRC at cqnlastmanstanding@gmail.com before 12pm Saturday and they will send you more details.
Thanks for indulging me bringing the work of the Foundation to your attention all this week. The Great Scottish Run is less than 48 hours away and dozens of Celtic fans have put thousands of hours into preparing for the event. Those doing the ‘half’ are going to miss the Hamilton game, another consequence of playing Thursday night European football.
If you can support any of the runners, please do:
Click here for my linked donation page.
Thank you.
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eng in real trouble – have thought for a long time the rugby brain has been trained out of eng – a rugby version of the epl effect on the national team
anyway just booked birthday tickets for little jackie against the sheep
mon the biton
HaHa
When Foley scores then throws the ball away it hits the camera man/woman right in the coupon .
He He
Engurlund 3 – Aus 17 at HT
GoodnewssofarCSC
Oldtim
Yip
I’ll call you later in the week to confirm times etc not sure yet
Bognorbhoy… Well said (or well typed)
I try to keep everything Celtic but I know if somebody posts about something close to their heart it should be acknowledged my dad probably wasn’t the best dad but I know for a fact he wasn’t the worst, my wee daughter never met my parents so trust me any prayers for good (or even bad) Cqners are straight from my heart….. Cherish what we have !
chelsea in 16th – seems like mourhino is the especially sh^t one
Jose Mourhino….I will never forget nor forgive your cheating Porto team in 2003.
What goes round, comes round.
God bless Eva Carneiro.
Saltires
Deepest condolences on your loss. You dad sounds like a right good tim.
YNWA
Satires,
sorry for your loss,
prayers said for you and your family
Can I be the Devil’s Advocate regarding Efe. I find it very admirable that there are so many on here who have sprung to his defence after the huge and very costly mistake(s) he made on Thursday. I would argue, however, that we are too tolerant of the absolute clangers made by Celtic players on European nights. If they do it once, fair enough. Everyone can make a mistake. However, the stakes are high for both club (financially) and fans ( emotionally, kudos, bragging rights) and those responsible should be warned that if they make such errors again it will not be treated lightly and their place in the team or even remaining at the club will be in jeopardy.
Such errors by individuals have been very costly for Celtic in Europe over the last 10-15 years or so.
I can remember howlers from Jonathan Gould against Lyons and Zurich which put us out of Europe. Gary Caldwell own goals against Benfica and Arsenal also contributed to our elimination from European competition. Scott Brown’s red card against Barca having the same effect.
Winning Captains mentioned Craig Gordon and Virgil against Inter. I would counter by saying that we would not have been playing Inter in the first place had it not been for Craig Gordon’s sublime performances earlier in the competition against every team we met. As for Virgil. Most people on here, IIRC, felt that at least one and possibly both yellow cards were unwarranted. A view shared by the TV pundits.
Efe already effectively put us out of the CL after a couple of minutes against Juve. It just about demoralised the team. Every defender and every football fan knows that you never, ever allow a high incoming ball to bounce but Efe ignored this basic principle of defending and it again cost us dearly. The team who were in a commanding position took a knock to their confidence and it again proved costly for Celtic. I couldn’t fault Ronny for picking Efe as he had played well recently and I was hopeful that he had turned the corner and finally put the Juventus game behind him. However, I will blame Ronny if he plays Efe again in a European night and he repeats these errors. At that point I would hope that not only Efe but also Ronny is removed from the Club.
Celtic will only become winners when management and fans demand a higher level of performance from the players. Unforced errors cannot continuously be forgiven if we are to reach any sort of potential.
Everyone says that Efe is a lovely guy and I don’t doubt it for one minute but lovely guys don’t always win. At the moment I would settle for a centre half who was a horrible guy but one we could rely on especially on European nights.
watching the Rugby…just wondered who CQNS UNIONIST Aussie’s are Supporting?…Me..Im in Gkesgas east end…Im supporting the Aussies..ABE…Always..
TheOriginalSadiesBhoy on 3rd October 2015 8:58 pm
Agree 100%.
As Alice Cooper once said…and think of Efe in the context of those who defend him…”No more Mr. Nice Guy”.
20 points so far for Foley.
The Aussies should follow the lead of the Kiwis who are about to change their national flag by removing the Butcher’s Apron from the top left corner.
Otherwise Australia remains a vassal state.
Kiwis are leading by example.
btw who’s our best player at the moment Lg ? Nir ?
Sadaiesbhoy sit down one day and count the goals Efe saves us, Juventus was a massive error, he should have still been celebrating being an African champion, obviously it’s always easy to pick faults ie Juventus & Fenerbache, but like Kris Commons said he made far more mistakes than Efe, but just suit your own opinion, French connection being in the trenches with you but I wouldn’t expect anything less from a Bailleston boy
The Wugby?
……….leaves this bhoy cold.
Same as The Gowf,
Real Tennis,
3-Day-Eventing,
Harse Racing,
Clay Pigeon Shooting
and
The Cannonball Run
Alf Tupper CSC
Just watching the Egg Chasers
England are the secco of this tournament – they will not lose tonight
TOSB
There was a ami,eg face at the end of my post that must have been deleted
laugh out very loud !
ami.eg = smiley
Secvco of this tournament – half time talk from the Sponsers
skyisalandfill.
When I signed out from the Millennium on Friday morning The man that sign me in on the Thursday asked did I enjoy my stay, I said I did but was annoyed That I couldn’t take a couple of guys up to my room for a drink of wine, He gave the excuse that it would be a fire hazard I told him that that was a lame excuse as some of the rooms would have 3 or 4 in some rooms, anyway you’ll have to come a bit earlier than midnight next time,
TheOriginalSadiesBhoy on 3rd October 2015 8:58 pm
————-
I’d guess most of those who are backing Efe after Thursday night would rather he wasn’t in their ideal starting 11 out of the current squad. He played cos he’d been decent recently and there weren’t really any better options.
Yes he made a mistake that led to the goal, but I’d say Gordon has made more in this years campaign, and Brown was at fault for the 2nd against Fene.
It’s just that some mistakes are highlighted more than others.
And really the quality of player we can afford are the type that make mistakes, they wouldn’t be here otherwise.
Forgoat
……….”Sailing”.
Saltires en Sevilla
Condolencess on the loss of your Dad. May God give you and yours strength to go through difficult times.
Engurlund on the comeback trail; only 7 pts behind now. C’mon the Aus.
Efe is a bomb scare, Juve and fernebache are the most high profile. My favourite was at Tannadice simple pass back to goalie and kicked it out stadium. Corner = goal.
Every player makes mistakes. Defenders and Goalkeeper cost goals. Efe costs a lot of goals.
GERRYFAETHEBRIG on 3RD OCTOBER 2015 9:18 PM
Sadaiesbhoy sit down one day and count the goals Efe saves us, Juventus was a massive error, he should have still been celebrating being an African champion, obviously it’s always easy to pick faults ie Juventus & Fenerbache, but like Kris Commons said he made far more mistakes than Efe, but just suit your own opinion, French connection being in the trenches with you but I wouldn’t expect anything less from a Bailleston boy
………..,,,,,…..
No offence taken :-))
Incidentally, I’m a Coatbridge Bhoy. I blame Neil Lennon for playing Efe against Juve. He was the manager. You don’t allow players to tell you they want to play. Every player does. He knew Efe had a very short period of recovery and still chose to play him.
However, Efe played, made the error and, in my opinion, it has had a ruinous effect on his career. Surely Ronny Deila will not risk his own job at Celtic by again playing Efe in a big European game this season?
Saltires en Sevilla
Condolences on the loss of your father.
There are many of us who had the torch passed to us by our parents.
You paid him a lovely tribute
Yon Englander no 17 is a big unit.
Cosy Corner Bhoy @5 6:56 pm
“SFTB: That must be some team that plays oot o Govan these days! Tap of the league and playing with only 9 men! Thought at your age you must have done Latin at school!! Must have been too busy learning Latin to learn to count even in Latin:) :) ”
I just read this and wondered- what did I write?
Then the light bulb moment came.
I need to proofread more (just checks that proofreads was spelled correctly)
I’VEHADTOCHANGEMYNAME on 3RD OCTOBER 2015 9:17 PM
btw who’s our best player at the moment Lg ? Nir ?
……………………………
Just my opinion. Mir Biton is in a class of his own. Listing also a great player but injuries are beginning to take their toll.
Looks like thats that For the Unionist Rugby Fans…a Well..
Sadiesbhoy
Think he meant Leigh Griffiths
TheOriginalSadiesBhoy.
Is that the Juventus game where Efe flew into Glasgow and played for Celtic that night.
I would have thought that Lennon would have said “no your not playing, but you can go on the bench”I know that efe would have wanted to play,so would another dozen players would have said they wanted to play, but the manager must have had a blind spot by agreeing to let Efe play ,he wouldn’t be mentally ready for the game.
Gee whiz. Predictive text destroys another post.
Nir Biton and Lustig.
I wanna See Prince Harry on tv…Last time i saw him after England scored he was screaming ..Huzza Huzza…LMAO..
TOSB
I would have Efe in my first 11 all day long, his (two) mistakes have been highlighted which is fair enough, I also blame Neil for the Juve game but given the choice you want your best players, I would have Leigh Griffiths, Craig Gordon, Scotty Broon and 8 Efe Ambroses’
Had too make sure I put the apostrophe in the correct place, as I know what you teachers are all about
Hail Hail