For the first 20 minutes of the second half, AZ Alkmaar lay siege to the Celtic defence, which stood firm. They only looked vulnerable when; in a carbon copy of the move Celtic scored with, Poku stretched but was unable to make a good enough contact to put the ball on target.
Free kicks and corners came and went without fuss, the defensive line was straight and each player in at the back controlled and distributed the ball safely. Considering most of us believe the defence is the area of the team most in need of supplements, we are already in an elevated position compared to last season.
Yet again Anthony Ralston made a significant contribution, this time, sending Liel Abada clear to cross for our Irrepressible Icon, Kyogo Furuhashi, to do his thing. Greg Taylor was injured but struggled-on until 24 minutes when he was replaced by Adam Montgomery. This felt ominous as until then, AZ were most dangerous through their right back, Sugawara, who flooded forward effectively. Adam more than took care of the Japanese full back in what was one of the most crucial personal encounters of the game. He is a player.
Both central defenders almost had a flawless game. Almost. Stephen Welsh was caught in two minds; he did not head a long ball and he did not let it run through, as a consequence, it skimmed his chest to spark a night of anxiety.
Carl Starfelt’s own goal was a classic of the genre. The Swede started the season on the left side but after clearly struggling there, Ange Postecoglou switched him to the right. Evidence mounts that his left peg is largely for standing on. Carl swung at a cross that was going nowhere with his ‘standing foot’. He missed, the ball struck his right heel and squirmed into the net. The early weeks of his Celtic career, featuring so much good play, has been peppered by errors.
I am delighted Joe Hart is at Celtic and remain surprised at the improvement in our form he has provided. Still in the peak years for a keeper, there is a reason he’s no longer in the Lucre League (I believe they prefer “EPL”). At the point Stephen Welsh was caught in two minds, Joe’s decision-making capacity deserted him. This was not a footwork error, he just did not correctly judge the pace of the ball in relation to the man who was about to drift past him and score. The Joe Hart Anthology has another entry. Our memories should also record that he made two crucial saves during the game.
Yesterday’s blog was entitled “Game management when the roof falls in”. It is as though we have seen Celtic in Europe before; against the best team we have faced since 2019, there was always the potential for things to drift south rapidly. Recent Celtic teams crashed and burned after being pushed to the precipice in European qualification.
To the home fans, this must have thought this looked on the cards during the opening period of the second half, when Celtic could not get out of their defensive third. Possession was repeatedly surrendered while passing out from the back. AZ were permitted to mount relentless surges forward, we needed to change the game plan.
Odsonne Edouard arrived on the hour for the majestic but seldom mobile Tom Rogic. From that moment, Celtic had the engine to cover the pitch and could retain possession. For all of the criticisms that go his way, if we lose Odsonne next week*, we will have one less game-changing option.
If you are second seed in a European group, as Celtic are, the most important opponent is who you face from the third pot, given the assumption that the top seed is unlikely to drop two places below their expected finish. In this respect, we got a very difficult draw.
Bayer Leverkusen, sixth last season in Bundesliga, 8 points behind fifth place Eintracht. Difficult, of course, but a team we should compete against.
Real Betis also finished sixth last season, one place in La Liga above last season’s Europa League winner, Villarreal. They will be favourites to win the group and are everything we did not want. We have a bit of history here, of course, they got their first strips from us and we will both always have Seville.
Delighted to get Ferencvaros, they are a decent side but we owe them one. Bring it on.
*We’ll pick this up at the time, but I’ve been preaching asset management here for 17 years, so you know where I’m going on this subject.
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BRRB
You out to play today? I’m an hour away from Weegieland on the Megabus 😉😊
HH
Por Cierto
Agree entirely.
HH
Timmy7 Noted
Condolonces on the loss of your father.
May he rest in peace with God.
KEEP THE FAITH
Apart from anything else, we need Tony’s dig, he’ll get after a few, that’s for sure, por cierto
Might join the hoot today, por cierto
Apologies: My deepest condolences to both TIMMY7 NOTED & PETEC. The hurt remains, but, the memories get better and better.
Morning Bhoys
Not much of a sleep last night. So started thinking about how well our new Japanese bhoy is doing. Then thought he needs a wee song and I came up with this wee ditty.
To the tune of my old man’s a dustman
Have you heard of our Kyogo he’s scoring lots of goals
He’s waltzing by defenders like the are slalom poles
He scores them from the middle he scores the from the wing
When he scores a goal for Celtic you hear the bhoys all sing
KYOGO OHOHOH KYOGO
Anyone travelling to the hoot sing that to yourself a couple of times and it will be stuck in your heid awe day.
KEEP THE FAITH
Andy, yes I have been selected to play. Left midfield I believe. 😁
The clock is ticking and lots of people are showing signs of unrest. Dilema!!
Do I wait till 14:00 and go to McChools or go for early kickoff at the Blane Valley.
Whichever you choose have a great day withsome great people,and plenty of stories and songs about the Famous Glasgow Celtic. Have a Hoopy day and keep yourself fit for the early kickoff tomorrow.
Hail Hail and God Bless the Celtic Family
BRRB
See you there J..!
Fess19
You know you really wanna do it, the BVVfor midday 😉😊
HH
Why are only 2 arrested for the racist abuse of our Japanese bhoy? Mind you, 50,000 odd should be arrested tomorrow and will probably be commended by the polis and the Scottish Government, as they have been in the past for their songbook.
My condolences to those who have lost loved ones recently.
I believe Ralston will and should start. He has done nothing to deserve being left on the bench. He knows the hun and what to expect from them, plus, he’s a guy who takes no prisoners. Juranovic may well appear later in the game. It will be interesting to see young Welsh against the sneaky, arrogant troublemaker Morelos. Fatty will try every trick in the ibrox book to get him sent off…and we all know that Clancy will be more than willing to oblige. The crowd will intimidate him like never before. I’m sure he has been chosen because of this perceived weakness.
I do hope I’m wrong.
Good luck this afternoon to the Celtic B specials (don’t be expecting that to catch on!) v Edinburgh University away. The bhoys are settling well into the season.
—————————————————————————-
For those who enjoy women’s golf, thanks go to Sky and R&A for making the Curtis Cup at Conwy, Wales available to everyone online via youtube.
Day3, 8 singles on the course now. Score stands at 6-6, GB&I had a great day1, tough day2. USA are favourites to retain the trophy.
The young Scot Louise Duncan is playing match4, won 1st lost 2nd, AS for now.
Ralston deserves his place on Sunday.
I would also play young Montgomery at left back.
But….what do I know.
Condolences to Gallagher and Timmy 7 on their loss of their mother and father respectively
Still waiting on Gene, Marspapa, Mick the Tim and Tirconnel to get their Superbru picks in.
Quadrophenian – ask your question and I’ll try to get it answered.!
PARKHEADCUMSALFORD
SETTING FREE THE BEARS FOR RES.12 & OSCAR KNOX
God bless HH & thank you ☘️
Philbhoy…I don’t disagree with your Montgomery shout. The boy is fearless.(and talented)
Hope our manager stays with us for the next 10 years and we get a decade of the Angelous.
I would have no qualms about Montgomery playing tomorrow. He has a big future on his performances so far this season.
HH
TIMMY7_NOTED,
Deep condolences on the loss of your Father.
May he Rest in Peace.
SFTB – my understanding is when I have to make transfer to Euro/UK banks I need to cite that receiving bank’s IBAN number for the bank and branch. If there’s a way to avoid that, just let me know.
Timmy7_Noted – belatedly heard of your family’s loss; wishing you all strength in your grief.
Quadrophenian- I have passed on your query to the guy who looks after the account- crc
I will get back to you
Our deep condolences to Gallagher for the loss of your mum, and to Timmy-7 on the passing of your dad.
Our thoughts are with you both.
HH
BGFC
Timmy 7 condolences for the loss of your dad
Our new Croatian full back looks to be a belter of a signing and as he is a very versatile player, I think his debut might be at left back.
DannyMc.CSC
Do the newco Celtic!!!
The young LB Montgomery surprised me when i saw him maybe pre season games or West Ham.
I thought he has grown a few inches and bulked up.
it was just difference from watching on telly last year and actually seeing him ” my own eyes like”
Sincere condolences to Gallagher and Timmy 7 on your losses.
Never easy losing your mum or dad no matter how old they are or you are.
Prayers offered 🙏
Enjoy the hoot folks, always envious of those who are going along but as an exiled Tim it ain’t so easy.
Let’s hope it’s the start of 2 days of partying.
HH
ST STIVS
Thanks for posting the very interesting story of how Real Betis came to wear their green and white jerseys. I actually read about this years ago, though the account you’ve posted gives much more detail. There is a slight inaccuracy though, I think. Celtic played in green and white vertical stripes and changed to the hoops in 1903. It was while they wore stripes that Manuel Asensio watched Celtic play in Glasgow. I think that’s the reason that Betis wear vertical stripes. I don’t think that it was because he wanted to make a dramatic statement as the account indicates.
Gallagher and Timmy7
sincere condolences to you both .
ERNIE
I know I challenged you on here a couple of weeks ago but it doesn’t mean you have to attack my every comment as some sort of revenge mission. It’s not facebook.
Take it easy man.
Well done to the Club on pricing for EL games
England edging towards an innings + runs victory. India have collapsed with a whimper.
I know, I know. I’m stuck at home self-isolating so what can you do? And cricket is one sport you can enjoy while reading a book.
To all those on the Hoot…..well have a Hoot.
Hot Smoked earlier – PLB meaning thanks.
Big Jimmy I will be in The Lee tomorrow from 11:01am, we have 2 tables of 6 booked but we have a few call offs if you fancy watching the game with a bunch of raving loonies from the Garngad 😂🍻 you are more than welcome.
D :)
The Lee = now The Howgait
D :)
Ralston has earned his place tomorrow. Juranovic may well the better player which just makes us all the stronger.
Was ranting to my cousin after the Hearts game and he stopped me mid rant and said ‘Relax T, we’re only going to get better’. How prophetic. Much more calm now, particularly about tomorrow.
T
May I,too, offer my condolences to Gallagher and Timmy 7 on their collective loss . I hope the support you receive on here helps even in some small way.