The manager got the big calls right. Moussa Dembele’s form has shaded recently, while Leigh Griffiths has been scoring freely, so the latter was the form horse. Not only did Moussa score the equaliser, Newco found it impossible to deal with him throughout.
His circumference of control with the ball at his feet is considerable. I’m not going to burden him with the ‘new Dalglish’ tag, but that ability to shield the ball in tight areas takes me back to my early days watching Celtic. Kenny did this to great effect, creating space for others as he used his strength and close-control to create havoc.
Kenny Millar’s opening goal had been in the post from the first minute as Newco pressurised Celtic off their game. They were the team forcing mistakes of nervous looking defenders (I’m looking at you, Erik). Celtic just didn’t get going early on as the home team controlled midfield with Barrie McKay in particular causing problems.
The turning point came around the time Scott Brown picked up his yellow card (deservedly). It was a typically-calculated Brown intervention.
Moussa’s goal was quite unbelievable. The corner came from a breakaway chance when Scott Sinclair seemed to lose the opportunity by standing on the ball, but recovered to run at the Newco defence before firing a shot which was deflected onto the inside of the post before being knocked behind by a defender for a corner.
Dembele was standing 8 yards out when a high corner fell to his feet. Unchallenged. The ball bounced head-height but Moussa still had time to wait on it falling before finishing into the top corner.
Danny Wilson was marking him when the corner was taken but for reasons all too evident to those who have followed the player’s recent form, he left Celtic’s striker to challenge players already marked. It was an unfathomable mistake.
From that moment on, there was only going to be one result. Celtic should have gone ahead three times in the opening nine minutes of the second half. Their passing was now crisp and fast. Sinclair and Armstrong’s movement made defenders look statuesque.
One stat I’d like to see is the number of touches we had inside the opposition box. We spent a lot of time in there, pinging tight passes, which opened up the home defence. Dembele, Forrest, Sinclair and Armstrong should all have added to the score but Foderingham made himself big throughout and stopped the result from being as embarrassing as the performance.
Forrest made way for Patrick Roberts, who, at his first involvement, released Armstrong with a reverse pass into the box. Celtic had been in this position many times in the minutes beforehand. Their format was to cut the ball back, which is what we were all expecting Armstrong to do, but he released the ball a fraction of a second early across the face of goal for Sinclair to side-foot into the net at the far post.
Craig Gordon had a few comfortable saves, which he dealt with assuredly. Sviatchenko made up for two early poor touches by making the tackle of the game to deny Forrester. Emilio Izaguirre put in his best 45 minutes of the season in the second half; he looked like the player who arrived six years ago.
Mikael Lustig sprinted 40 yards across field to cut-out a breakaway inside the box. Big Jozo Simunovic must be wondering when kick-off is, he didn’t break sweat.
Off-piste mention to Leigh Griffiths, who was warming up behind the goal when the guy who kept him out the team picked himself up off the turf after a fruitless effort. Leigh stepped forward and patted his team-competitor on the back three times while shouting encouragement.
Great team-mates make great teams.
Have a Happy New Year, everyone.
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PTB
One of the linesman was Frank Connor, who is not a hun, dont know if he was stand side or far side, he also missed the hand ball against Caley in the SF.
MacLean Is a cheat
Cheating is in the Huns dna
Whatever shoite those flies fly around they will always cheat
When we were rubbish in the late 80s & 90s I had many a great day/night following Celtic, although I need to admit it’s pretty magical these days watching our team
All the very best for 2017 fellow Celtic fans
Media trying their best to convince everyone that the gap is closing. Once again we should have taken 4 or 5 off of them this time at their own collapsing stadium. Warburton’s priceless sky interview “they had two or three chances in the second half we had four or five” or Kenny Miller’s ” if we had made it two” yeah Kenny,to go 2-0 up you need to create another goal mate. Even early on with rangers so called dominance I thought we were just not getting the breaks,the two offside decision were ridiculous and McGregor’s shot from inside the box should have been better. After the equaliser it was one way traffic in which I recall 5 really good chances that I’d expect us to hit the net,fair play to their keeper who played well. Anyway it is a happy New Year even though we scrapped a lucky victory by some accounts.
I have a question if I may regarding yesterday’s win. I heard a statistic that said BR was the first Manager to win his first 3 games against Rangers. But. Can’t remember is he the first ever, or the first since e.g. Jock Stein?
Havinalaugh
I thought I heard the guy say he would be the first since wgs
Just dropping in to wish everyone a happy and healthy New Year. Thanks to our host Paul 67 for providing a forum for decent folk to share their happiness ,sorrow ,hopes and fears regarding Celtic and life in general.
So much goodness , generosity , and most importantly , friendships have been created by this site.
It’s a great time to be a Tim . HH
HAVANALAUGH on 1ST JANUARY 2017 11:39 AM
‘I have a question if I may regarding yesterday’s win. I heard a statistic that said BR was the first Manager to win his first 3 games against Rangers. But. Can’t remember is he the first ever, or the first since e.g. Jock Stein?’
###
Are you including QPR?
They share the name as well, so by rights they should be in there too.
Who if any ,who is Brendan likely to sign in this transfer window,and the players who will leave,and All the best in 2017 to all fellow Supporters here and Worldwide,Hail Hail.
THEGLASGOWCELTICWAY on 1ST JANUARY 2017 11:37 AM
‘Media trying their best to convince everyone that the gap is closing. ‘
###
The gap IS closing.
Aberdeen are only two points behind and have a game in hand.
A happy new year to all.
It was a mighty fine way for us to end 2016.
From the picture showing Garner in casualty at the Southern, he didnt look glad all over.
I hope we build, during the current transfer window, from the position of strength we presently hold and keep on doing so.
A very Happy New Year to all you wonderful CQNers.
PF Ayr and Embramike are correct.
McLean and his crew once again attempted to steer things their way.
The stramash in their box………why were they awarded a free kick ?
In the first half Moussa robbed one of them with the ball just outside the penalty box. The ball was diverted upwards onto both players’s outstretched hand. Result free kick to them.
The two offsides decided on by AR1, Connor, how did he arrive at those, both times the Celtic forward was on-side, the Assistant was in good position to make the call. Contrast those verdicts, with his interpretation for Waghorn’s chance in the second period.
Watch Emilio’s reaction to throw-ins given to them, that clearly should have gone to Celtic.
There were a few occasions when he awarded free kicks allowing them the chance to launch the ball into our area too.
Now I’m a Tim, I think everything should go our way. But I’m struggling to recall a single dubious decision given to Celtic by the official’s yesterday. Anyone help me out ?
MM Pedro….thanks. I thought it was much earlier ( and more impressive ) than that. Cheers. Ernie Lynch…wasn’t trying to make a Rangers/The Rangers/Sevco point, just trying to ascertain what I heard in the excitement of yesterday. Wasn’t looking to include the New York Rangers, Texas Rangers or Powert Rangers just for clarity.
Ernie
I don’t think jock Stein won his first three v them. Can’t imagine jimmy Mcstay or jimmy mcgrory doing so in the war or post war years so it would be down to Brendan or Willie marley
Just watching some highlights again on Twitter with the lhad who returned home before the bells last night suitably refreshed.
Anyway, we always talk about players who ” get” our club and I see on here that Mikael Lustig is considered to be dispensable by some if the posters here.
If you gauge “getting ” our club by being someone who loves spanking the Orcs, Mikael is right up there. Watch him after Moussa’s goal and then at the end of the match when we are awarded a goal kick as they are screaming for a corner…..he gives the Copland stand dwellers a proper GIRUY.
We then looked again at his beach ball hat from last season. Hilarious! Top man Mikael is, as Yoda may say.
BIGSHUGGY on 31ST DECEMBER 2016 9:29 PM
Just reading back. Sorry to hear about the serious medical issue with your sons bro in law (if I got that right).
I suffered a ruptured brain aneurysm two and a half years ago. If I can be of any assistance to the lad who suffered this, please give me a shout.
He may be in for a long recovery, which can be difficult at times. I have been through this and can at least offer some empathic support, or perhaps practical advice.
HH
TheBhoyfromSky, CowieBhoy texted me to let me know you also attended yesterday, thanks for that, I didn’t know. These days can fly by when you miss so much of what happened and who was there.
I watched the game again last night, after Scott Browns yellow we did dominate the rest of the game, they did have a couple of chances, but we took one of ours.
I Dembele and Sinclair we have the players who will make a difference.
The more I see Dembele’s strike the more impressive it is.
Technique and power, a peach.
Steven McLean is a decent and fair referee.
I will however caveat that with – when officiating games that do not involve:
a) Celtic Football Club
b) Sevco Zinternational The Walking Dead
MWD
Good afternoon friends and a Happy New Year from a very bright, dry, mild and broken clouded East Kilbride. Just surfaced. Ouch.
Mild? Lucky Bhoys! It is minus 5 here in Saarland, Germany. Brisk walk and hot soup was good.
I thought the referee had a decent game yesterday, didn’t notice him much. The main stand linesman had a mare though. Both incorrect offsides in the first half, he was in the wrong position and guessed.
DALLAS DALLAS WHERE THE HECK IS DALLAS
Transfer targets eh ?
BR has already indicated he will target players in January, with a view to settling them in for the CL qualifiers. Our manager is here for a purpose and Europe is that purpose. The level Celtic/he aspires too is debatable.
Suspect we will find out in the next few weeks.
Brendan is a man to be admired on so many levels. His ability to man-manage, has been the highlight for me.
Celtic supporter too.
I’d also like to point out that Newco’s two best chances came in the second half with our players caught up the park even though we were 2-1 up with 10 minutes remaining. Normally,in a tight game/ league situation we’d never allow that and would be trying to close the game out but we expected that 3rd.
GARY67
You were at the game ? The stuff was “low level”, not what you pick-up from the stands.
Clutching at straws !
That lot and their drumbeaters in the media are grasping at any solace……….their main hope seems to consist of Celtic selling Moussa/Sinclair/ Jozo/Erik et al. Oh and Brendan leaving too…………hahahardeehahaha
Hvartski Jim,
Just catching up on your post last night. She’s performing in Berlin this weekend then more concerts in Germany till April then off to the USA. I asked her but she doesn’t know Khanyiso. Hope all goes well with your move this wee. Take care.
HH
NY is fantastic..
My green beanie going well this morning ..
Has the December manager of month been announced?
I look forward to the reasons our Brendan is not awarded it..
I know it’s the season of goodwill but please…enjoy the spin and misery of the denialists..
Would have been far easier for them & the SMSM if they d accepted liquidation and ALL gone to watch the Rugby on a Saturday !
HH
Embramike
Good idea …couldn’t trust the bandits to be honest
BCW
Watched on TV. He made mistakes, all referees do, but compared to the horrendous performances we’ve seen this season from Madden, Thomson, Collum, Beaton et al, I thought he had a decent game. And decent is as good as you can hope for given the poor refereeing standards in this country. Teams across Europe dread getting Collum or Thomson to referee their games.
McLean was outrageous yesterday
Any one who thinks he was fair should watch the game again
He didn’t make any big decisions …because he had none to make ..
We shouldn’t have to put up with this
Haha, class response
Celtic fans got their own back on Rangers supporters who trashed the toilets at Parkhead by decorating the Ibrox club’s loos with white and green candles.
The toilets at Celtic Park were damaged after Rangers lost 5-1 during the Old Firm Derby in September.
Cheeky Celtic fans have now taken their revenge, placing scented tealight candles in one of the toilets at Ibrox during yesterday’s Hogmanay clash between Rangers and Celtic.
You trash our toilets. We leave yours smelling good pic.twitter.com/AfWQBcHUVH
— Craig Jones (@CraigCFCJones) December 31, 2016
One Hoops fan posted a picture of the candles on Twitter with the caption: “You trash our toilets. We leave yours smelling good.”
The prank was praised by fans, with one calling it ‘genius’.
The dust has settled… -19 on the field with little hint of money coming in and worse still rumblings of departures of the few players that are even near the required standard. Best of all the bulk of a month for his discontent/reality check to fester in the minds of their support.
My guess is that match day takings are critical to their continued existence. If no significant spend in the transfer window – what is there for the Huns to go back to Ibrokes?
Aberdeen beat Dundee and Huns drop points against Murderwell…we will have interesting scenarios to watch in the coming months.
Will the media pick up on Lying King’s lack of investment? I suspect the story will be that he can’t get his money out of South Africa….
The net result is that 4 years later they aren’t really much further forward.
My friends in Celtic,
A happy new year to all.
Brilliant day yesterday, If there is a better place to watch a Celtic game than McChuills then I have still to find it.
I thought the game went exactly as predicted. The Huns provided a hostile atmosphere which we took a wee bit of time to get to grips with. Broonie’s booking was deserved, but it was required and sent out a statement. Taking one for the team is sometimes over played, but I feel that was exactly the case yesterday.
I also thought the referee had a decent performance. Not fashionable to say that on here , but I call it as I see it. The same predicable posts about the referee will ensure we give the officials much more attention than they deserve.
Sooooooooo predicable , from the saaaaaaaaaaam posters. The refereee will get peters for every single game we play. I do have to be Mystic Meg to predict that.
For 2017, forget the referees, remember the words of big Jock and concentrate on our positives. There are so many if we look for them. Entitlement and complacency are words from the dark side . Let’s add paranoia to that .
Enjoy our team and our whole Celticness.
Just as rust never sleeps, we must ensure that our gang, our custodians will stay awake and finally discuss the uncomfortable truths. The time to set the record straight, is when we are dominant.
Hail, Hail to all and especially to those who made the effort yesterday.
Any news on Joe Garner’s career threatening injury? It appeared to be an innocuous incident. Also, the decision to give Sevco a free kick following the stramash in their box was a bizarre one.
CULTSBHOY – BELIEVES IN BRENDAN
it was mentioned on the radio yesterday that king can’t get his money out. l5 already on the case. ;)
KLV
PF Ayr
Couldn’t agree more.
Gary’s point is telling………..McLean couldn’t influence in a big way as the opporchancity didn’t present. And that’s as much as we can hope for here.
Things will eventually change.
Happy New Year Timland.
Been reading some of the garbage the huns are spouting, it’s beyond delusional, they deserved a draw, dearie me, had carrot heid scored etc, forgetting about our numerous chances, hitting the bar, at least three one on one with the keeper, their keeper making a few very decent saves, but they had a chance to equalise, didn’t take it so they deserved the draw, I hope they keep it up, nothing better than the hope being taken away from them.
Kevinlasvegas
Yes I picked up on that..no doubt this will be a developing theme to make excuses. The other unfolding narrative is that the Huns have only been in rebuild for 18 months…
Suits me as time goes by leagues get won .. No excuses can stop 10 IAR