End of a great Celtic team

The treble was won on Saturday with a bit more anxiety than many of us anticipated.  Just as we discussed and hoped for last week, Kyogo was the man of the moment again.  Celtic have played in three cup finals when Ange Postecoglou has been in charge, the opener on Saturday was the fifth goal scored by the club in that time and the fifth by Kyogo.  The player is an inextricably linked to his manager’s success as Henrik Larsson was to Martin O’Neill’s.

I can scarcely remember a more effective winger than Liel Abada, certainly not for someone still only 21.  He ghosted into the box, then timed his forward run perfectly to latch onto Callum McGregor’s cross, giving Celtic an unassailable lead.  His added-time cross for Jota to complete the scoring was a piece of craft that largely went missing for Celtic during the final.

Inverness were miles out of their depth but defended well and on 84 minutes scored the best goal of the game.  A diving header is always easy on the eye, even when it hits the back of your own net.  It was never going to be, for the Highlanders.

We will look back on that final, on this last month, as a time when a great Celtic team emptied its tank.  Whether or not this is linked to off-field events is moot, a refresh is needed if these incredibly high standards are to endure.

It was painful listening to Ange duck questions on his future after the game.  In doing so, he answered, nonetheless.  We’ll talk more at the appropriate moment, in the meantime, as Bill wrote, ‘If it were done…., then ‘t were well it were done quickly.’

Let’s get on with it.