That was the latest instalment in a long running series of Behind the Couch Celtic away performances in Europe, with the wonderful exception that after Hapoel Be’er Shiva had us on the rack in the opening period of the second half, Celtic put five at the back and closed the game out without any stressful incidents in the final 15 minutes.
There are a few moments worthy of comment:
Hapoel’s penalty came as a consequence of Celtic pressing high up the field for the first time in the game. The home team dropped deep as they were temporarily reduced to 10 men, but when Celtic pressed high to take advantage of an opponent receiving treatment, they easily passed through us, switched the ball left and gave Saidy Janko his first difficult moment of the night.
More on Saidy in a moment, but we cannot allow teams to pass through us so easily. We should never have been caught so high up field. Our alertness, interceptions and tackling were not good enough. Craig Gordon’s block at the penalty was priceless (or at a price of circa £26m, if you’re being picky).
There’s a reason teams who mark zonally at corner kicks don’t mark the penalty spot. It’s because headers from the penalty spot need to be exceptional in order to beat the keeper. Sahar’s goal wasn’t an exceptional header. It bounced before passing Craig Gordon three feet inside the post. It should never have been a goal, and although Craig’s mistake for the second was more evident, the first was as worrying a goal to concede.
We’re fond of talking about “schoolboy errors” in football but Saidy’s lack of awareness of his direct opponent and goalkeeper at the second goal was a classic error from the 9-year-old’s game. I’ll be generous and say he’s not ready for a game at this level. Craig Gordon doesn’t have a let off for this one, either. While his fullback made a mistake, an alert keeper would have prevented the goal and knocked Saidy into next week. Awareness concerns exist for him too.
Whether it’s Craig’s self-confidence, or that the defence don’t have confidence in him, goalkeeping mistakes came perilously close to seeing us drop out of the Champions League last night.
Not that Craig shoulders all responsibility for what was a weak performance. The middle of the park was experimental and looked it. On the back of one of his best games for Celtic a week ago, Scott Brown’s passing, control and influence was miles off the pace.
Scott, Callum McGregor and Nir Bitton were swamped in midfield. Too few Celtic players were showing for the ball, which was thrown forward aimlessly whenever a Hapoel player closed us down. If central midfield is right, your defensive and goalkeeping frailties are less evident, but we were exposed too often at the back last night. There was a period in the second half when watching on TV made it impossible to know where we were going wrong. After a Hapoel chance, we would see a replay, and before it cut back to live pictures, Celtic had lost possession and were again under pressure. This happened repeatedly. Central midfield was the major problem with the performance, if not the result.
Don’t let any of this dampen your spirits. We’re into the Champions League group stage, a fact which will see us break through the £80m turnover mark for the first time. By comparison, turnover was £51m for 2014-15, the most recent season accounts are available for.
Despite the increase in expenditure this season, we’ll pay our bills without increasing borrowing or selling players. We’re on the circuit again, which means we’ll find it easier to attract talent going forward, it means we’ll find it easier to attract commercial deals and pretty much every KPI at the club will become that bit more attainable.
Last night was a transformational day in the life of your football club. We’re back, enjoy it!
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Thanks for the responses last night bhoys regarding PR.
Great to know he will be ok.
IF we get them…..hopefully he does to them, what all our old players seem to bloomin do when they turn out versus us!
Henryk, Berget and Harold spring to mind right away!
I’ll take:
Moscow/Benfica ( pot 1)
Leverkusen /Napoli ( pot 2)
Basle/ Brugges ( pot 3)
Not much to ask. That’ll give us 9 points minimum and last 16. Easy.
Or if no Brugges, I’ll take Bruges!
Looking forward to the 5.00pm draw. Que sera, sera. Don’t understand why UEFA/SFA, whatever, don’t use the Camelot/National Lottery type of machines. Would cut out any suspicion of “manipulation”.
But, as others have, said at least we are in it. HH
I thought Brendan very diplomatic, as a manager must be when facing the press, in his qualified praise of the players.
Let’s get the goals out of the way first – CG was hampered by KT running backwards into him as he stretched for the ball for the first goal – CG was hampered by SJ running forward into him, knocking the ball out of his hands, for the second goal. CG saved a incorrectly awarded penalty and handled everything that cames his way.
Apart from CG, only Toure, Lustig, Sinclair, Svaitchenko and Dembele contributed anything positive to the game. Everyone else seemed to be paralysed with fear.
Yes, the result was all important and a Brenden says, will open up opportunities as we go forward – thank God we prevailed.
However surely it is not churlush to say that we were rotten in the game – out-run,out-gunned, out-thought and out-classed, on the night.
We never had a spell in the game where we strung together more than three passes – we never pressed as we did at CP and until Dembele came on, we never muscled, or, pressured their rearguard.
Forrest, Brown,McGregor, Bitton and Rogic, when he came on, were absolutely anonymous – not at times, but throughout the game.
We deserved nothing from the game and could have easily lost heavily, however due to our performance and result at CP, we came away with a wonderful prize at the end of the tie.
I think that changing things and bringing Erik on steadied us a bit, but the less intense finish to the game was chiefly due to the home players simply being almost out on their feet – they had been chasing the game from the first minute.
We need three class players to come in and save us from another horrible European night like Tuesday – I believe that Brendan with the backing of DD and PL, whom he acknowledged in his press interview, will deliver what’s required.
We have played much better against the likes of Barcalona than we did on Tuesday – a horrible ninety-minutes, so glad it’s over.
Forrest, Brown,McGregor, Bitton and Rogic, when he came on, were absolutely anonymous – not at times, but throughout the game.
Hin oan a minute there , pal.
Rogic`s beautiful footwork at the edge of the box created a marvellous opportunity for Sinclair , which he unfortunately directed straight at the keeper.
MACJAY1@6:36 – apart from that (what have the Roman’s ever done for us)
MACJAY
PHILBHOY nailed him perfectly at 729pm yesterday.
I’d repost it,but it’s quite long. In fact,it’s a list of (some of) the derogatory comments from über-Celt Mats.
Good morning friends from a dry, calm and looking quite bright and pleasant East Kilbride.
Bobby
The joy of CL participation is heightened by the absolute pain it inflicts on the Huns.
They’ve gone from:
They’re shite and won’t qualify before round one
Hysterical euphoria after leg 1 in Gibraltar
Any decent team will hump us in 2nd round qualifier
Posting a list of Astana’s Vg track record after rd 2 draw
Lucky so and so’s after late goal leg 2
Bigging up Beer Sheva ( desperation now setting in) after draw for 3rd round
Beer Sheva are worst team ever after 5-2
Convincing themselves at 2-0 on Tuesday that we were going out. ” thank you thank you Beer Sheva. Cmon just one more pleaaaase”
Silence. Threads disappeared.
Now it’s:
It’ll be a distraction for them allowing us to steal a match in the league, and we will get 6 humpings”
Mwahahahahah
” They’ll be watching the bill, when we’re in Seville, it’s gonna be 10 in a row oh oh oh , tell all the Huns you know…..”
Ah, fantastic.
James Brown csc
I feel good……..
…and of course…. £30 million, 30 million, big ones
We are considerably richer than yow!
TWISTS N TURNS
£30m?
Dave King could find that amount of small change down the back of his settee!
Which,actually,is their only hope. Certainly more likely than turning up in a warchest.
MORNING,JOBO!!!!!
Enjoy yer long weekend.
BMCUW –
I will when it arrives. Off to work shortly but then 4 days off. But only from my main employment, still got 4 early shifts on here ;-)
Morning Celts
Just basking in the seething hatred of the hun trolls on CQN.
Lapping it right up.
Philbhoy@ 7.29 pm last night….Spot on mate, bad hurting hun.
Champions League riches for the Celts.
Zilch for the daft bigot huns:)
Ha Ha
Suck it up Pastry
HH
THE_HUDDLE on 24TH AUGUST 2016 10:49 PM
I’m not disputing that part of a keepers game.
Valdes won about 10 CLs with Barca yet is a bang average keeper, these types of keepers are fine if you have 90% of the ball and rarely have to save a shot.
I’d have a 6ft 8 keeper as wide as the goal who can’t kick for shit before I’d play these small keepers, especially in the UK leagues.
I’m sure de Vries will take the No.1 spot soon but I’m not looking forward to him getting battered from cross after cross in the SPL
__________________________
I would suggest that if cross-balls (especially in the SPL) are a concern then Doris is a better option than Gordon. IMHO, his inherent inability to distribute the ball is closely matched to his inability to come for and deal with cross balls.
KTF
Having just read Philbhoys post at 7.29pm last night (Page 9) I’m off to work with a spring in my step. Might take a little longer to respond to any incoming phone calls today. Just can’t get enough ‘Zadok’ these days.
Be nice y’all ;-)
Champions League eve, so excited, won’t sleep.
Just went into Facebook. My bluenose cousin from the gorbals just shared a post from the blue sea of Ibrox web site with the picture of wee Niree Johnstone at her first Celtic game before her tragic accident and messages of rest in peace and condolences. You know thinking about the Palestinians Arabs, Bedouin , Druze , Coptics, Orthodox, Christians and Jews who share that small patch of dusty ground currently known as Israel I wonder whether we can’t look in our own mirror. Much as I hate the idea of the establishment zombies there are plenty of decent bluenoses who just follow their team. Ah well they are gonnae hate watching the CL draw and hearing ACGR champions league ringtones. Happy CL eve everyone. Hail hail.
Uniformed drivel.
Marching season ?
Might take a Wee trip through for that one, nothing else on that Sat.
http://martini.heraldscotland.com/sport/football/14702105.Celtic_Colts_and_Hibs__Irn_Bru_Cup_ties_picked_for_TV_as_third_round_dates_and_times_are_revealed/?ref=rss
It really tickles that is such an obsession for my words of wisdom from the resident ‘attack dogs’ on the blog.
Definition of Obsession:
An image, thought, or, influence, which continually occupies, or, troubles the mind.
A compulsive interest,or, pre-occupation, seemingly beyond one’s will to control.
Steady lads!!!!!!!!!!!
Thank you Brexit.
http://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/football/14703858.Celtic_in_line_for___39_Brexit__39__boost_to_Champions_League_riches/?ref=rss
Mats Pastry
You are not welcome on the blog…go elsewhere you wretch
You are a hun imposter
At least one SPFL manager has class.
http://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/football/14701998.Hamilton_boss_Martin_Canning_delighted_with_windfall_from_Celtic_s_Champions_League_win/?ref=rss
MATS NILLOC
Your ok in my book mate, I don’t agree with all of what you post, same as I don’t agree with many others on here, as they don’t agree with my posts either, that’s what makes the CQN blog good, and I doubt very much that the keyboard bullies bother you at all.
Thing is if you don’t toe the party line and skip in line with the cliques, your a wrong yin in their eyes, a wouldent let them bother me mate, but they honestly think it’s they’r blog, meetings at CQN corner and turning up for hootenannys is as they think to be a real CQN guy, me? I don’t bother my arse with them, they’r actually ok, well most of them IMO.
TD67
Thats right…you back up the wretch who has been calling Celtic fans Parasites, and a Cancer.
Well done.
Pair of fecking eejits, cut from the same cloth.
Muppets
John Hartson’s CQN piece is really a longer and slightly more diplomatic version of my observations of the match in Beersheeba.
Very Lucky – check
Poor Poor Performance – check
Could’nt Keep The Ball – check
Defeat Could’ve Been Greater – check
CG Not To Blame – check
Players Needed For CL – check
Yes I think players were incompetent and yes some did undoubtedly ‘shit it”
A good read about transfers
https://www.theguardian.com/football/the-set-pieces-blog/2016/aug/24/transfer-window-market-myths?CMP=fb_gu
Huns and their minions eh
Pathetic fecking nonsense from the resident troll and his warped wee sidekick
Away ye go you pair of numpties
And you keep doing what you do, but I honestly don’t think you are the go to guy on whose welcome and whose not, unless of course this is your blog?
From the Guardian..
Clubs do not have transfer budget, war chests and kitties
If anyone tries to tell you “big club x” has “y amount” to spend they are likely talking nonsense. Ask them to show their work on how they arrived at that number.
As we just discussed, there’s a lot more that goes into player costs than transfer fees. Unless the number being offered up clearly includes wages (which is more than half of the equation), and ideally at least a nod towards agent fees and image rights payments, you can safely disregard it as not reflective of that club’s available resources to bolster its squad.
Check this piece written by Neil Cameron, same guy who wrote a half arsed article on the TJN Report…
http://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/14702658.Brendan_Rodgers_thanks_Ronny_Deila_for_building_foundations_of_Celtic_s_success/?ref=mr&lp=6
Favourite bit…
‘Rodgers has added four players so far but only two of them, Kolo Toure and Erik Sviatchenko, began the match against Hapoel. ‘
Eh??
TD67
Read his posts ffs.
Are you fecking serious?
Just like you to back the hun right-wing troll against Celtic supporters.
Get yourself to feck…..you dont even have the fecking sense to see whats in front of you
I’m not backing anyone up, I think mats is able enough to do that for himself, it’s not a playground (well?) it’s a blog, and as I pointed out P67 chooses who stays and who goes that’s all I’m saying, your posting like the CQN bouncer, all cowboy hat and no cattle.
Morning campers…..oh Champions!!
The rules…http://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/news/newsid=2398032.html
Hot as here in Hessen….
Have a braw day
Braw
Watching the highlights again last night, CG is badly at fault for the first goal (as was Brown). The header had little pace and wasn’t even well placed in the corner. He missed the ball completely, it hits KT then CG and into the net. KT Probably puts him off, but a good competent, confident keeper pushes the ball away before it hits KT and if he needs to wipe out his own defender he does it.
CG is a good keeper suffering from a lack of confidence at the moment. Hopefully proper competition for his place will bring him back to his best.