YOU CAN win – or lose – a football game in any manner of ways.
The better team on the day can prevail, a freak bounce of the ball, a misjudgement, a flash of genius, momentary lapse of concentration, an unforeseen error or a mystifying decision from the referee can all contribute to the outcome of an encounter between two teams.
If Celtic do not beat St Mirren in the Scottish Cup semi-final at Hampden this afternoon – and fail to seal an intriguing showpiece against Neil Lennon’s Dunfermline side at the same venue on May 23 – it will not be down to complacency.
Of that we can all be certain.
By Martin O’Neill’s own reckoning Celtic will have to play better than they did when the clubs met at Parkhead in the Premiership last weekend. No-one needs reminding the champions stumbled through a mindnumbing 90 minutes-plus to win 1-0 with a first-half strike from Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.
JOB DONE…Martin O’Neill acknowledges the Celtic fans after the champions’ penalty-kick shoot-out victory at Ibrox in last month’s Scottish Cup quarter-final.
The 74-year-old interim gaffer warns his players might have to accept defeat if they do not respond to the threat that will undoubtedly be posed by opponents who have already enjoyed Hampden success over the Parkhead outfit this season.
There was no pomposity displayed that December afternoon. The team that put more into the confrontation walked away with the silverware. No-one argued about the outcome.
A set of players wearing green and white hooped jerseys looked as though they had just been introduced to each other five minutes before kick-off as they cluelessly bumbled through the motions while the utterly inept Wilfried Nancy, the worst manager in Celtic history, stared into space on the touchline.
We accept the team will be in better shape this time around as they return to the scene of the crime.
There is not a chance of anyone representing Celtic even attempting to swagger through this meeting. No-one has earned the right to even think of being smug.
History has shown how that dereliction of duty has cost the club in the past.
Travel back to the east end of Glasgow on the afternoon of February 28 2009, if you will, dear reader.
On that day, Gordon Strachan’s team decimated their Paisley opponents with Hoops players queueing up to put the ball behind Chris Smith.
JOY BHOY…Gordon Strachan celebrates a Celtic triumph.
Shunsuke Nakamara fired in a hat-trick, Scott Brown helped himself to a double, young Spanish midfielder Marc Crosas claimed a rare strike and the unfortunate John Potter put the ball in his own net to complete the scoring in a 7-0 rout for the home team.
Strangely, acknowledged marksmen Scott McDonald, Georgios Samaras and Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink, who all played that day, neglected to join the goal parade.
One week later, on March 1, Strachan took his players to Paisley for a Scottish Cup-tie. There was one change from the line-up that had dominated and wiped the floor with the same opponents with Darren O’Dea taking over at left-back from the injured Lee Naylor.
Naturally, the visitors were stick-on certainties to get the job done, the home team were there to make up the numbers.
Alas, as you and I know, the beautiful game doesn’t follow the rules.
Scoreline of this occasion? St Mirren 1 Celtic 0.
Strachan’s hopes of a Scottish Cup success at the end of the season were smashed to smithereens the instant Billy Mehmet lashed a 55th-minute penalty-kick past Artur Boruc.
The team that couldn’t stop scoring seven days earlier couldn’t manage one this time out.
No-one can say with any certainty Celtic were complacent in Paisley that day. I watched both back-to-back games and can only say the transformation in the Celtic players was simply unfathomable.
THREE WORRIED MEN…Brendan Rodgers, Gavin Strachan and John Kennedy look puzzled as Celtic fail to spark against Aberdeen in last season’s Scottish Cup Final.
In fact, you don’t need to journey all the way back 17 years to recognise what can happen to a team if they adopt a dismissive attitude to the opposition.
Just last season, Celtic dismantled Aberdeen 5-1 in a league outing at Pittodrie on May 14. Ten days afterwards, the teams met again in the Scottish Cup Final at Hampden, a venue where Brendan Rodgers’ men had romped to a runaway 6-0 landslide triumph over the Dons in the Premier Sports League Cup semi-final at the beginning of November the previous year.
A historic ninth treble was up for grabs for Celtic that bright May afternoon, a perfect setting to get the business done.
What could go wrong? Inexplicably, Rodgers’ players didn’t turn up. It’s in the history books that a relieved and possibly puzzled Aberdeen won the trophy on penalty-kicks.
Maybe we can all be thankful that Celtic did not run amok against St Mirren last weekend.
The players will go into today’s 2pm kick-off without a hint of arrogance.
Undoubtedly, that will help their cause against worthy opponents.
ALEX GORDON
* DON’T miss the unbeatable match report and best action images from Celtic v St Mirren at Hampden this afternoon – only in your champion CQN.
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