WHILE those bereft of patience and understanding uttered ill-conceived comments about the display of Arne Engels against Club Brugge, a rather disturbing performance from Reo Hatate appeared to slip under the radar.
Hands up, I’m a huge admirer of the Japanese midfielder. To hit the ground running in a foreign country in the manner he achieved back in January 2022 was nothing short of sensational.
Hatate came in against Hibs, looked as though he had been a Celtic player all his life, deservedly picked up the Man of the Match award, the hosts won 2-0 and the recruit maintained an extraordinary level of form all the way to the end of Ange Postecoglou’s dramatic, exhilarating and, ultimately, successful debut campaign.
THAT’S MY BHOY…Brendan Rodgers has a word with Reo Hatate at the end of a game.
You and I both applauded the international playmaker’s double strike against Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s Ibrox outfit in a thrilling 3-0 triumph under the lights in the east end of Glasgow that hoisted the team to pole position in the Premiership for the first time in a year and a half.
That eye-catching exhibition lit up a perishing, frosty, toe-numbing evening on February 2. Remarkably, it was only Hatate’s fourth game for the Hoops.
Ange’s team remained at the pinnacle to lift the club’s tenth crown in 11 years to go some considerable way to atoning for the previous wretched crusade.
However, dear reader, that was then and this is now.
Hatate has struggled for consistency in recent months and I was utterly astounded he lasted 90-plus minutes against the Belgians.
While the ire of some nincompoops was foolishly directed at the £11million purchase, his midfield sidekick was surrendering possession at an alarming rate.
Twice in the first-half, he could have cost the team dearly, caught dallying on the ball once and then with a miscued pass that saw him bailed out by the desperate joint efforts of Cameron Carter-Vickers and Alistair Johnston.
TAKING A BREATHER…Reo Hatate sits this one out during Celtic’s 5-0 win over Kilmarnock at Rugby Park on May 15 as the Hoops seal their fourth successive title.
Hatate stumbled through the confrontation, providing a conveyor belt of misplaced passes I didn’t think was possible for such an accomplished ball artiste.
His last touch of the ball summed up an error-strewn, bungling presentation. Paulo Bernardo swept over an impeccable right-wing corner-kick to pick out his colleague totally unmarked on the edge of the box.
It was a manoeuvre straight from the training ground and the well-drilled Belgians were exposed for one of the rare occasions on the night.
Yes, I am well aware it is an extremely difficult task for a player to catch such a ball on the volley with pinpoint perfection and smack it bang on target.
Hatate is such an exponent of class, but his effort on Wednesday was mishit to the extent it almost went straight back to his Portuguese team-mate at the corner flag.
I was not one bit surprised. And it pains me to write that because we have all had the pleasure of witnessing some breathtaking moments of brilliance and genius from an individual blessed with awesome skills.
I won’t be too distraught if Hatate does not make an appearance against Ross County at Parkhead this afternoon.
I am reliably informed the Japanese ace is one of those players who doesn’t want to take a rest. He demands to be involved, he is desperate to play his part.
That’s all very encouraging and commendable, but there are occasions when the head must rule the heart.
I doubt if Brendan Rodgers requires advice from your humble scribe on team selection, but this afternoon is surely an opening for Luke McCowan to showcase what he has to offer the team in the weeks and months ahead.
A bit of rest and recuperation may well prove to be the required tonic for his multi-skilled team-mate.
We all know it makes sense – even if Reo would disagree vehemently.
