For reasons that are not clear to me, St Mirren are a proper football team. They benefited from a central defensive lapse to take an early lead and limited Celtic large spells of unproductive possession. Then, after going behind, finished the game playing some of the best football we have seen from a Scottish opponent all season. Performances against them will go some way to determining the outcome of the season.
Despite this, the team with the better squad won. Unlike Sunday at Hibernian, Celtic were able to look to the bench and bring on players who turned the game. Daizen Maeda brought his customary sharpness, a reminder to his few doubters of his value. He was not involved in the winning goal, but he sufficiently increased Celtic’s intensity to push St Mirren deeper, which itself was consequential.
Odin Thiago Holm returned for his first appearance in four weeks and rewarded the faith I have in him. He created the winner and, like Maeda, was clinical throughout. And remember, he is still (only) 20 years old.
The role of the striker can be difficult to assess. Kyogo was scarcely involved before he dropped deeper after the arrival of Oh. Midway through the second half he fluffed a header in front of goal, then with St Mirren pushing for an equaliser, was clean through on Zach Hemming. The keeper made an outstanding save, but really, Kyogo should have made sure of the result.
If this was your first look at Celtic, you would have left wondering what all the fuss over Kyto was about, and why Oh had to wait for his chance. The big Korean striker made no mistake when the hour came. Watching the two strikers was a lesson on how forgiving you need to be, even of the greats, if they are to flourish.
Yang had to sit on the sidelines and watch Liel Abada’s place in the team filled by Luis Palma, James Forrest and Mikey Johnston. The signs were ominous, but he did one of the bravest things a footballer can do last night: took players on in a tight match with a stadium full of doubters. Like Maeda on the opposite wing, he pushed St Mirren deep. They were both pivotal to the outcome.
I try to avoid refereeing decisions here, they would consume me otherwise, but…….. The obstruction rule is clear. You are allowed to obstruct the progress of an opponent by putting your body directly in his path only when you are in possession of the ball and can play it without having to move.
If you actively move to block the progress of an opponent when you are not in possession of the ball, you have committed a foul, and an indirect free kick should be awarded against you. Kyogo was obstructed inside the St Mirren box and referee John Beaton booked him, awarding a direct free kick to St Mirren instead. Falling down is an enormous tactic in Scottish football.
The incident had no consequence on the game, it was simply poor refereeing. If Beaton is one of the best we have, we are in trouble. He needs to spend time reading The Rules of the Game, or better still, go back to being a fulltime fan.
158 Comments- Pages:
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1st?
https://x.com/edkane1070/status/1719990415745503519?s=48&t=rp_RYt3YguDRk0y5HTpdeA
More blatant cheating….about time Brendan started highlighting this
2nd?
https://x.com/conoragar2/status/1719870496878285208?s=48&t=VGQ-dz7XnGoK0iCf5HYDYA
Celtic’s new penalty taker
The way we play, the full backs have a big part to play,but IMO,AJ still looks like he’s carrying an injury, and Taylor, who was most improved player under Ange,is morphing back into a Kilmarnock player. The subs won us the game last night, start playing 2 strikers,and Holm should get a run in the team.
If we played teams as good as St Mirren every week we’d be much better prepared for Europe. A much better test than we’ll have in Saturday
Robinson is obviously a clever manager who has a realistic plan to beat us every time we play them and he’s able to get it across to his players. We need more like him in Scottish football, I dont see why we can’t.
The subs made a terrific impact last night, greatly improved our pressing and mobility up front. 2 great goals to enjoy.
Atmosphere inside the ground was in line with a very wet midweek game when numbers were typically down (as some understandably did not travel and the game was on Celtic ppv). In addition we were way too ponderous for a great amount of the game. Great support in the last 15 though, quite how we managed that without the GB I will never know.
Delighted with a very well deserved win.
Brendan Rodgers is either all over the place or developing his squad with game time, depending on where you sit, or don’t sit for that matter.
Nobody played particularly well and we’re in the doldrums two games after the CL intensity. Ironically, the game changers worked this time whereas recalled players with starting berths didn’t. The midfield benefitted most where Holm made the two telling passes of the night one for Oh and one for Kyogo’s late miss.
Timbhoy163 from previous blog.
A very happy 80th birthday when it comes this month. And keep posting old chap, your opinions are as valid as anyone else on here.
Hail Hail.
Palma for pens.
Feeling better about the game having watched the highlights. They did confirm my point about the first goal. AJ was chasing back with the ball carrier when a simple pass was sent to Strain on the touchline. Phillips went to challenge as AJ was turning to get there too (the never tracks-back James Forrest was also in the close vicinity) so AJ jogged back to cover Phillips position but never got there. 3 players failed to co-ordinate to manage to either prevent the cross nor to provide help to Scales in the CB position. Most wingers will tell you it is easy to chip a ball over the head of one tall CB but it’s harder to do so when you have two lighthouses there with a 5 yard gap between them. I can now forgive Liam Scales for that goal. He had too much to cover.
Normally, I pick starters largely for my MOTM Jobo picks but it is impossible to ignore Yang’s bravery and difficult to overlook Holm’s promise but I did see decent first half performances from O’Riley, Turnbull, Palma and Scales and I saw a leadership and drive influence from Greg Taylor in the final 20 minutes which Calmac usually provides.
It is very much a judgement call but I’ve plumped for
1. Yang (he won around 90% of his one on ones- no other winger managed that)
2. Turnbull (for his improvement and his goal)
3. Taylor (it is hard to avoid hiding when you are not on form- Greg was brave too and never hid)
Various from last,
Absolutely get the ‘time’ issue. I appreciate we have jumped from a 60 minute, 5 subs from Ange, relentless system and padding out the score with them contributing, narrative. Most times.
But…
Our attack is blunter. Our system is more laboured and our goals are less than this time last season.
We wait for newbies & existing players to match the superior outputs of Jota, Mooy, Abada (soft tissue), & now Hatate (soft tissue).
We have less depth. I’m clearly not the most patient :(
But I’m also not accepting the elevation of a workmanlike St Mirren to some elite status as a reason to celebrate. That’s just crazy. We were poor again.
Before January, as for the turgid season ahead, we are still trying to solve questions about our system:
CH partnership?
Midfield 3?
Wingers?
Front 1 or 2?
Games by small margins means you win some, you lose some. The Huns are underpforming against points and we are doing the opposite. Some big weeks ahead before they come to us.
Not sure my ticker can take it :)
HH
CaolMac is our weakest link in midfield atm.
imo AJ has been struggling all season.
Last 6 seasons of Celtic penalties
taken 57
missed 14
75% success rate
On average 1 in 4 pens are missed
@Huddleboard
Paul 67,
Let’s not underestimate our victory last night.
St Mirren are indeed a ” proper” football team and victory had to be earned. I do however hate blatent time wasting and referees should be all over this.
An absolutely horrible day and night in Glasgow produced a very healthy supportive crowd.
Timbhoy 123. : Best wishes znd keep posting. You have been there, seen it and done it. Respect.
HH, the journey continues.
BOURNESOUPRECIPE on 2ND NOVEMBER 2023 11:36 AM
Thanks for the link – foul therefore pen for me. Similar to blatant pushing all over the pitch which went unpunished by Cheatin Beaton esp on our wingers. A G1 ref I know describes Beaton as “old school” and “likes to let the game flow” yet he is very selective in this. There were 2 occasions last night where he did actually penalise where we’d much rather have had the advantage imo. Very sleekit *expletive deleted* imo
PARKHEADCUMSALFORD on 2ND NOVEMBER 2023 11:58 AM
How could I forget Kyogo’s card – a nonsense.
At each KO from the opponents he always runs to press the ball and an oppo player almost always runs into him to block him, often forcibly as if targeting his shoulder and this rarely gets noticed, or occasionally is a foul against him?!
I get making moves to block pressing players (e.g. when passing back to the goalie) but this is still obstruction and there is a big difference imo. I wish this and time wasting were clamped down on so we actually get to watch more football and less stoppages.
P67:
“Watching the two strikers was a lesson on how forgiving you need to be, even of the greats, if they are to flourish.”
Couldn’t agree more. We need more fans/supporters to actually be supportive. The consistent groans do not encourage taking chances and against a low block we want the players to feel like they can take chances.
One guy behind me was consistently moaning and cursing anything and everything – including decisions which ultimately led to chances/goals – e.g. AJ cutting back just before our second. Only Scales seemed to not get it large from this guy.
QB
one of the biggest time wasting issues is linesmen allowing play to continue when the player is blatently offside .
BOURNESOUPRECIPE @ 12:30 PM
Last 6 seasons of Celtic penalties
taken 57
missed 14
75% success rate
—–
Cheers BSR.
Great stat.
IMHO, 75% is at least 10% lower than should be expected for a top club.
Penalty taking is mostly about mental discipline.
We need to be better.
Respectfully, I don’t subscribe to “unlucky” view when a penalty hits the post.
Goal is 24 feet wide (huge).
Hitting the post indicative of over compensating for the goalkeeper’s reach ….
… in which case the goalie has won the mental battle.
“RC on 2ND NOVEMBER 2023 12:42 PM
one of the biggest time wasting issues is linesmen allowing play to continue when the player is blatantly offside.”
Agree it does waste time but at least the ball is in play, even if it doesn’t count. Why when the defenders win back possession and start to play they then pull it back for offside rather than play on also bugs me.
There was a good example of this last night in the 2nd half that was clearly offside. I was (half jokingly) hoping that our CB would half their player on the assumption that when flagged offside the card/penalty would be rescinded and it would in effect be a “free hit” :)
Is that thinking correct? If so, how long before someone takes advantage of this loophole to hit a player with a sneaky wee softener. Even without deliberate action here there is bound to be an injury soon due to this.
QB
Great Points Paul67,
Agreed on the two strikers, you have waxed lyrical about Kyogo and although a big fan of his, not seeing the KoKMkII quite yet.
However Kyogo as a No10 in those tight SPL games and No9 in our higher level games could be the way to go.
===================================
The new bhoys did well when they came on but remember, Yang had some chances earlier in the season and was the first player the Manager went to when Liel got injured.
Thiago Holm got chances too, his inexperience got him sent off in Rottedam.
Oh looked great when he came on, scired a great
goal but fluffed his lines when Kyogo, Meada and him had a great breakaway with a poor pass, also when we were winding the clock down and he was in the corner produced a poor cross that their keeper collected and led straight to a St Mirren attack.
Now I’m not being picky, these bhoys did great, they won us the match, yet we must remember how inexperienced they are, we must remember they are in a foreign land, with foreign officials.
There is bags of potential there and grounds for great optimism yet at the level Celtic often play at poor decision making and execution can be very costly.
We have great staff for developing footballers, let them do their job.
Hail Hail
The player would still be yellow/red carded even if VAR or the lino eventually flags for offside
Good leader Paul.
St Mirren are solid, helped in part by having zero need to manage either expectations or egos.
They are also the most effective time wasters and momentum killers in Scottish football.
It’s always interesting how the winning goal scorer is not included in Jobos 3 picks by most on here.
Oh won us the points so would’ve been an automatic pick for me.
Thought Yang did well, particularly with no recent game time upon which to build confidence.
Tough gig.
The days of Davie Cooper’s “my first touch will determine my performance” are over.
Succeeding on a cold, wet night when we are a wee bit off it … and the audience is used to the output of Abada and Jota … does the young lad from the other side of the planet great credit.
Disagree, re. Maeda. He contributed absolutely nothing last night when he came on ,the same as last Saturday
I think the club average for penalties scored is 77%, so we are just below it.
Rotten run at the moment.
Wouldn’t your Centre Forward always be your go-to guy?
HH
The Huddle- my 3 were Yang,Holm and Oh
Forgot to add , that Kyogos first touch last night was on the 33rd minute
!!BADA BING!! on 2ND NOVEMBER 2023 1:06 PM
The Huddle- my 3 were Yang,Holm and Oh
———
I’ll let you off then 😁
They would’ve been my 3 picks as well
I suspect (but have no evidence) Brendan is fairly relaxed about current situation.
Winning the league requires patience, genuine leadership and contributions from the whole squad.
Others might flatter to deceive and generate inflated headlines.
Steady as she goes on a 2.5 PPG basis gives us a great chance of winning the league.
QB
would be interesting how the ref interpreted such an event , or who the offender was.
agree re maeda , if he plays it should be outside left , ironic that since he has been selected to play outside right by BR that GT has struggled .
BACK TO BASICS – GLASS HALF FULL on 2ND NOVEMBER 2023 1:13 PM
I suspect (but have no evidence) Brendan is fairly relaxed about current situation.
—
I suspect his call for “no more development players” in January would suggest otherwise.
We need quality. Whether some of the signings from the summer make an impact Brendan would know that many won’t.
We need to trim the squad drastically to give him the conditions to strike a balance between improvement now and into the future.
HH
Friday eve!
ST TAMS on 2ND NOVEMBER 2023 1:07 PM
Forgot to add , that Kyogos first touch last night was on the 33rd minute…..
Good catch, St Tams.
Kyogo looks disheartened and frustrated. Brendan’s approach doesn’t suit him. Instead of fast play down the wings and low crosses in to the box for Kyogo to do his thing…..we have a slower buildup and AJ is tripping over the ball, rather than a winger pinging it into the box.
I think that there would be value in playing Oh, and giving Kyogo a roving role. He has shown that he can effectively drop into the No.10 role and play first time passes. He’ll always drag defenders with him, leaving more space for Oh.
We need to get the best out of our best player.
Weeron
!!BADA BING!! on 2ND NOVEMBER 2023 12:09 PM
https://x.com/edkane1070/status/1719990415745503519?s=48&t=rp_RYt3YguDRk0y5HTpdeA
More blatant cheating….about time Brendan started highlighting this
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Yes Bada Bing as I said earlier!
MCPHAIL BHOY on 2ND NOVEMBER 2023 9:50 AM
Nothing to add on last night’s games comments other than I assume VAR was off for the second half? First half VAR checked the hand ball for the Celtic penalty. Second half, Kyogo is pushed in the face and the chest by St. Mirren player as the ball is crossed into the box, nothing given no VAR check, is this not exactly why we have VAR? Referee ( I know! and far side linesman, where was he looking?) miss the push in the box but VAR picks it up, except when it’s a Celtic penalty.
I’d imagine it would have been switched on if it happened in the Celtic penalty box?
Hi Folks,
delighted with the win last night. St. Mirren, why wait until you are 2-1 down to actually play proper football, no wonder Scottish fitba gets a bad name for itself. Our corner kicks last night were awful. We played 2-3 short and the ball ended up back in our own half. What is the point in bringing up the bigger players if we are not going to play the ball in the box. I think the Rangers got a pk that was similar to the one we didn;t get for Kyogo being thrown to the ground in the box, ahh but it all evens itself out. Still 5 in front and feel that we have a very good player in Holm.
Hail Hail.
Sean