Holm, Yang, Maeda determined outcome

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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.

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  1. BIG WAVY on 2ND NOVEMBER 2023 1:05 PM

     

     

    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?

     

     

    *our greatest ever goal scorer only took 3 penalties in his career and missed them all.

  2. TONTINE TIM on 2ND NOVEMBER 2023 5:32 PM

     

     

    Did Jimmy McGrory really only take three penalties?

  3. Just read this:

     

     

    3: McGrory reportedly took just three career penalties… and surprisingly missed two of them.

  4. a random mcgrory factoid.

     

     

    when loaned out to clydebank he was there with another fella from the garngad, david chalmers,

     

     

    the father of a future celtic player Thomas Stephen Chalmers.

  5. “So, I hear you’re a racist now, Celtic”

     

     

    We are truly staring through the looking glass now. All a bit of a strange old time off the field.

     

     

    Don’t expect our board to do anything about it. As per.

     

     

    HH

  6. garygillespieshamstring on

    I would say that Robinson had gone to Paisley and changed St Midden into his Murderwell team.

     

     

    Well organised, horrible fitba and dirty play making them difficult to beat.

  7. Israel boss Alon Hazan has advised Liel Abada to stay at Celtic and prove the ‘haters’ wrong.

     

     

     

     

    Anybody here hate Abada?

     

    Anybody know of anybody in our support who hates Abada?

     

     

    Nope. Me neither.

     

     

    FFS

     

     

    HH

  8. HOT SMOKED on 2ND NOVEMBER 2023 5:51 PM

     

    TONTINE TIM on 2ND NOVEMBER 2023 5:32 PM

     

     

    Did Jimmy McGrory really only take three penalties?

     

     

    *aye thats been well recorded, although it has been stated if he had been allowed tae heider them it might have made a difference

  9. Back to Basics - Glass Half Full on

    …. And another thing ….

     

     

    Why does football in general assume a striker is the best candidate to take a penalty?

     

     

    Completely different disciplines.

  10. I think we have to remember,me included,that football players have good games and bad games ,but there is always scapegoats ,2 Celtic players Taylor and Turnbull ,Greg as much as he tries ,his final pass at times is his problem and pace ,but he is a trier ,as for David under Ange he hardly started for the first eleven,and to me he has lost his confidence,which is a shame will he move on next summer,he is on last of his 6month contract with Celtic,I’m pretty sure he will move on .

  11. BRRB

     

     

    I am very much a lurker at the moment, thanks.

     

     

    I was hoping to make it to the Shipbank tomorrow but Mrs B has said no.

     

     

    I her capacity as de facto carer she reminded me that I am in the middle week of chemo which is when my immunity system is at its worst.

  12. bournesouprecipe on

    That awkward moment when Celtic’s dangerous flares become Rainjurz amazing pyrotechnics.🧨

  13. Best penalty taker ever – Hamish McAlpine, great fun if he missed and the ball stayed in play.

  14. A Club spokesman (why is that different from a Club Statement),has refuted the anti semitic line,saying we continue to give Liel our full support

  15. Prestonpans bhoys on

    MARKIEBHOY on 2ND NOVEMBER 2023 8:05 PM

     

     

    Yeah can think of two occasions, was an absolute hoot it not a complete nutty idea anyway 🤣

  16. garygillespieshamstring on

    I remember Roy Baines saving a penalty from McAlpine

     

    at Celtic Park in 76-77 season and me screaming at him for standing holding the ball instead of getting it up the park quickly before McAlpine got back.

  17. bigrailroadblues on

    Ron Bacardi 7.35

     

    Keep posting and lurking old chap. You are a Shipbank Shipwreck, even though you live in Penrith. Eegads B could ye not find a better toon. 😂😂

  18. AuroraBorealis79 on

    The board has shamed & humiliated the green brigade in order to stifle expressions of support for Palestine, a country that is months away from being wiped off the map, within the stadium.

     

     

    Congratulations to all those involved for clearing the pathway for the terrorist supporting extremists to label the clubs fans antisemitic.

     

     

    Celtic PLC – InTerroristsWeTrust

  19. bigrailroadblues on

    Prestonpans

     

    Your absence shall be noted J.

     

    I hope you have sent funds to wee Frank explaining your non attendance. 🤔

  20. *SENTINEL CELTS PLAYER OF THE YEAR 2023-24*

     

    *RESULTS FROM GAME #15 – CELTIC 2 ST MIRREN 1 (TURNBULL, OH)*

     

     

    Good evening, friends.

     

    Sitting 5 points clear and unbeaten at the top of the league would normally have us all feeling pretty positive going into the final game in the first round of fixtures. But that’s never been my Celtic experience. We dared to drop points at the weekend at a venue where we regularly drop points, d’oh, and we then learned of the Board’s decision to ban an entire group of fans from attending for an unspecified period. Then the rain joined in by teeming down for 12 hours prior to kick off. It’s never straightforward supporting Celtic.

     

    And then the game kicks off a separate group of supporters sing one song, raise a few banners and then walk out! Well, not right out as reports suggest they then watched the game on the concourse TVs.

     

    Finally, to cap it all off, some very slack defending results in a goal to St Mirren and the fear among some that we would soon be just 2 points clear at the top. But we were then treated to the David Turnbull Jeckyl and Hyde show with a stunning equaliser from 19 yards, then a 12 yard miss with just the goalie to beat. Level at the break but with most of our players being average at best.

     

    The second half showed a gradual improvement, particularly after our ‘lets swap both wingers’ masterplan. Which worked in the sense that Yang had people off their seats just about every time he received the ball. Always trying to be positive, taking on defenders but still having a bit to learn in terms of decisions and final passes. The subsequent introductions of Holm and Oh were also telling, coupled with the wise decision to keep Kyogo on the pitch but more involved from a deeper role. Could he start in that position? Hmmmmmm.

     

    Single goal victories can often be nervous affairs but when the points are secured so late in the game the excitement is just fantastic. And let’s be honest, their keeper was on fine form denying goals on 3 or 4 occasions and so to me, honestly, it was only a matter of time before the breakthrough came. Fine interchanges involving Kyogo and Holm saw Oh battering an 8 yard thunderbolt into the net.

     

    Another 3 points secured, despite Mr Beaton’s best efforts with several unfathomable refereeing decisions.

     

    We have now played 15 games, winning 9, drawing 3 and losing 3 with 28 goals scored and 14 conceded.

     

    A huge thank you to the 62 who voted this time around. The total votes cast for each player are as follows, with my own nominations asterisked.

     

     

    Hart: 1

     

    Johnston: 0

     

    Phillips: 2

     

    Scales*: 35

     

    Taylor*: 8

     

    McGregor: 6

     

    Turnbull: 6

     

    O’Riley: 9

     

    Forrest: 1

     

    Kyogo: 0

     

    Palma: 22

     

    Maeda: 0

     

    Yang*: 47

     

    Holm: 19

     

    Oh: 29

     

     

    And so, the players receiving POINTS for the game against St Mirren are –

     

    Yang – 5 points

     

    Scales – 4 points

     

    Oh – 3 points

     

    Palma – 2 points

     

    Holm – 1 point

     

     

    The overall positions after 15 games played are –

     

    47 points – O’Riley

     

    39 points – Scales

     

    19 points – Kyogo

     

    18 points – McGregor

     

    16 points – Maeda

     

    12 points – Yang

     

    11 points – Carter-Vickers and Johnston A

     

    9 points – Nawrocki

     

    8 points – Palma

     

    7 points – Hart

     

    6 points – Lagerbielke and Taylor

     

    5 points – Hatate

     

    4 points – Bain and Turnbull

     

    3 points – Oh

     

    2 points – Ralston

     

    1 point – Forrest and Holm

     

    0 points – Abada, Bernabei, Bernardo, Haksabanovic, Iwata, Johnston M, Phillips, Starfelt and Welsh

     

     

    Back on the road again this weekend with a 12.30pm kick off on Saturday away to Ross County. A chance to come out of the weekend 8 points ahead.

     

    Hail Hail!

  21. Coupla points:

     

     

    When Paul says the Saints are ‘a proper football team’ he’s surely meaning they’re fit and formationally set-up to cope with the varied playing demands of the SPFL. I rate/respect Robinson not for flash football but becos his teams – built on miniscule budgets – are well drilled and hard to beat. He and McInnes are the 2 longest serving managers in the Scotch top flight for a reason. Wonder if he could be great with a great budget ?

     

     

    Second, the club should have made a much bigger noise about Hazan’s outrageous slurs about Celtic fans being anti-semitic. The anti-semite label is becoming a lazy and weaponised slur designed to discredit and malign anyone who dares to take a position that some folks don’t like (even Nir B has put the boot in on our flag waving fans lately)

     

     

    The club should have insisted on an apology from Hazan IMO as unrefuted slurs have a tendency to stick even when they’re totally misinformed.

  22. Back to Basics - Glass Half Full on

    A fit Liel Abada will be a great boost to the squad in the second half of the season.

     

     

    A real shame he got such a serious injury while in the care of Alon Hazan.

     

     

    I don’t feel any hate nor do any of my Celtic supporting friends.

     

     

    If they did though … I know who it would be directed to and why.

  23. Question Time/bbc/Uk government tonight is quite literally vomit wrenching in its defence of Israel

  24. Back to Basics - Glass Half Full on

    Quodrophenian @ 10:35pm.

     

     

    Bang on with the observation about a lazy slur

     

     

    Totally understand the sentiment we need to do something.

     

     

    However in this instance, IMHO, a low key statement refuting this transparent nonsense should suffice ….

     

     

    …. followed by Celtic making formal complaints to UEFA (remember them? Yes, Israel are a member) and FIFA.

     

     

    National managers have codes of conduct to adhere to.

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