Celtic frittered away another two points at Kilmarnock this afternoon after a performance which ultimately showed depths of determination but was marked by shockingly bad organisation.
Kilmarnock’s opener in 25 minutes could not have been simpler. An 80 yard high ball was collected on the edge of the Celtic penalty area by Heffernan, who turned and picked out the onrushing Dean Sheils, who was initially being marked by Beram Kayal but the Israeli failed to match Sheils run, allowing the Killie player time to pick his spot and score.
The home team were encouraged by the opening goal and continued to press forward. Fraser Forster did well to turn over a blistering shot from Kelly which was destined for the top corner. Kilmarnock’s pressure was rewarded on 40 minutes when Kayal and James Forrest stood off a ball conceding possession. Sheils crossed for the offside Heffernan to score but the assistant referee didn’t flag so the goal stood.
Seconds before half time Charlie Mulgrew was short with a back pass and James Fowler chipped Forster to give Killie and three goal half time lead.
The first 28 minutes of the second half were miserable for Celtic as the team appeared resigned to a fate similar to the Celtic team which visited St Mirren Park in March 2010 but Anthony Stokes had other ideas. Stokes missed what was surely the worst chance of his career early in the first half when the scores were still level, and saw a good penalty claim denied on 71 minutes, but instead of hiding he stepped forward.
James Forrest, who also stood up to be counted throughout, ran at the Killie midfield and was fouled 25 yards out. Stokes struck the resultant free kick perfectly into the top left corner.
Two minutes later Stokes collected the ball from Ki 28 yards from goal in what seemed like a safe position but his swift turn and inch-perfect shot beat Jaakkola in the Kilmarnock goal.
Kilmarnock were now rattled and Celtic were level on 79 minutes. Daniel Majstorovic got on the end of a long free kick at the back post and squared for Charlie Mulgrew who headed home.
Having scored three times within seven minutes and with over 10 minutes of the game remaining the Celtic support had reason to feel confident their team could collect all the points but it was Kilmarnock would should have tied up the win in the final minutes when Heffernan found himself unmarked inside the Celtic six yard box but headed over, however, the home team will be happy to have collected their first point in four games.
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Pauloantony
Don’t think I mentioned Petrov ever. Well not since he shouldered arms and skeedaddled off to Villa.
Hail Hail
Estadio
Lubo….
Wg
What about strachan?
Sorry Estadio national buddy!
Nothing will happen at our club unless DD sanctions it PL is his presence on a day to day basis more unhappiness no change of direction until these two are out we are being mothballed for better days ahead by that I some mythical invitation to a new league I cannot believe the way the voting went on Friday with the same people who caused these problems re-elected without any difficulty. It now looks like the decision to allow DD to buy more than the allowed percentage without having to launch a takeover bid was wrong.
Stephenpollock 06.19
I could’t agree more.
TT
The way we’re playing the mythical league will be the ole Blue Square Premier.
Interested to see, in the consensus amongst the various commentators that the tackle which resulted in Warburton being sent off for Wales yesterday “was a yellow at worst” has been penalised by the IRB with a 3 week ban for a dangerous tackle, which would have been 6 weeks had his previous record not been exemplary.
Pauloantony,
Yes, I’d take Strachan. I’d try the 4 options I suggested first but Strachan would have the experience and tactical nous to get this squad playing better.
If any positives can be taken from yesterday it can be the performances of a 19 year old and 2 x 20 year olds who helped drag the team back into the game. There is good young talent there, but they are not being backed and developed by good experienced players.
I would take Strachan back in an instant. But he has had a gut full of abuse from certain fans. He will never come here again. Pity.
lubo1977 says:
16 October, 2011 at 11:21
Pauloantony,
Yes, I’d take Strachan. I’d try the 4 options I suggested first but Strachan would have the experience and tactical nous to get this squad playing better.
Couldnt disagree more big fella.
Strachans tactical nous is in not getting beat. He is better served at a club towards the bottom of a league.
It was his tactics which bored the majority of us to near death.
I have never seen a more rigid use of thr 442 formation.
Not the answer – not by a long shot.
We also need someone who is more likely to stand up the board – he was as good a buddies with DD and Lawwell as Lennon is.
TBB- but the IRB have to be seen to back their referee, even though the decision spoiled a showpiece game.
And while a yellow card would have been a fairer decision, Wales did miss a lot of simple kicks.
Anyways, Cymru Am Byth!
Somethings need to be said and so…..
Sometimes, in fact quite a lot of the time I wander through cities and stare at the never-ending skyscrapers, invisibly tall banking monoliths in honour of greed, monuments to black gold, (Texas tea according to the hillbillies) and wonder who was it that actually decided and then put their put their signature to the decision that said……
“yep, in the interests of our customers, our workers, our shareholders and society we need to build a great big friggen skyscraper for a zillion quid which will in all likelihood yield nothing more than a self-perpetuation cycle of spend to be bigger and will actually do nothing for our customers, our workers, our shareholders and the society within which we operate.
Ah, I feel better for that. I thank you for your indulgence.
Hail Hail
Estadio
WGS for manager i despair
Open your mind use your imagination please
Big wide world…………………………………………….
DBBIA
But if they were the International Rugby Association, would we see the decision differently? :-)
One man’s ruck is another man’s maul as someone might say!
Hail Hail
Estadio
The board should have bought experience – Given, Dunn, Petrov for example in the summer. All experienced Celtic minded top talent – who did we get? A forth choice loan keeper and a couple of freebies from the championship and the backwaters of Europe that are no where near the quality required at CP. I have read the debates regarding PL’s influence in matters pertaining to transfers – can we really say that Lennon preferred Foster over Given or Wilson over Dunn? please the SSM finger prints are all over our transfer dealings. Reduce financial output on players = increase in own bonus / salary payments.
As for MON coming back – not as long as the biscuit tin is welded shut. I very much doubt Mr Stein would be able to do much with the lightweights that our 1st team is currently comprised of.
I think we are stuck with what we have until next summer. We might offload Ki and Kyal in January – and maybe just maybe a little of that money could be spent on a Petrov type player – bags of skill bags of experience.
I never thought i’d say it but i now think it is time for Neil to take a step back and see if we can bring in an older semi retired experienced manager(
No not sir watty) to see us through to the end of the season.
We are rapidly running out of dreams to sing songs about.
.
Gosh,
My Sister and her Husband, who are known to enjoy the special close combat unique to marriage, have taken our Father and her Mother in Law, who are known for the occassional psuedo-semantic dispute themselves, to Rome for the weekend.
What happens?
Street battles. Tear gas. 70 injured.
Predictable or what!
‘The word “skyscraper” originally was a nautical term referring to a small triangular sail set above the skysail on a sailing ship’
-lifted from Wiki /EWLM/EWTB.
Eyes Wide Shut,
I kinda see where you’re coming from. I was one of the fans bored rigid with the displays under Strachan but it’s a bit unfair to say he only knows how not to lose….he won the league 3 times. I’d be willing to sacrifice nice football to win the league this season, we cannot let them win 4IAR under any circumstances.
Neil Lennon No1
scuttle Butt
lubo1977
Refer to comment by;
lionroars67 says:
16 October, 2011 at 11:28
sums it up perfectly – open your own eyes to see past your nose.
big wide world out there.
4iar not an option – agree.
dont forget where that one started.
Anyone have a link to yesterdays goals,cheers in advance.
At half time yesterday i was pretty down,,,scrap that i was fu**ing fuming and i broke the bloddy living room table table which then led to my missus not talking to me until this morning,,,but anyway,after the huns not taking advantage,i feel this is our turning point for the season,we as fans have to back Neil Lennon,just like the fans at
Paul67
Neil Lennon says ‘he gave the team talk of his life’ yesterday at half time.
How did we get into this mess, this morning the club is in total disarray, the team talk of your life 3-0 down to KIlmarnock at half time.
Says it all really.
The only thing he got right was putting Matthews back to right back where he should have started, and subbing Beram Kayal who has gone from
hero to zero in a few short weeks.
The game itself, was a carbon copy of Tynecastle ( with a different scoreline ) and I reckon we are now in deep troubled waters with a coaching staff
floundering making the same mistakes very week, since the club was on tour in Australia.
Adam Matthews (playing on his wrong foot) and the invisible man, Cha Du Ri were aided and abetted by Laurel and Hardy at centre back, and the glaring miss at the end by Killie, just shows it will happen again, and again.
The team and more importantly the way we attempt to play with the personnel NL has assembled, is flawed and doomed to fail.
TotallyDisgustedCSC
Why was Victor Wanyama not in the starting lineup yesterday. He was easily our best player in the previous 2 games yet he was dropped to the bench. Kayals mind is elsewhere and should not be considered again until he commits himself to Celtic.
A very dis- organised performance which yet again is down to the team selection and tactics. We have to start games with a view to not loosing until confidence returns.
Zaluska
Mathews Mulgrew Loovens Cha
Ledley Wanyama Ki Forrest
Stokes Hooper
Subs Mcourt Kayal M Wilson Bangura Forster.
When all players are back fit i would find places for Izzy, K Wilson, Commons. All players have to show more grit to grind out better results going forward.
“The Battered Bunnet says:
16 October, 2011 at 11:29
Gosh,
My Sister and her Husband, who are known to enjoy the special close combat unique to marriage, have taken our Father and her Mother in Law, who are known for the occassional psuedo-semantic dispute themselves, to Rome for the weekend.
What happens?
Street battles. Tear gas. 70 injured.
Predictable or what!”
Absolutely brilliant….laughed out loud…..little Logicals want to know what’s so funny.
Logical
All this talk of Petrov. Is the captain of Aston Villa leaving to come to the SPL? He left to improve and play at a higher level.
IBGAW
You need to back off for a while mate.
Don’t like the sound of that at all.
I hope there were no kids in the vicinity.
Scary.
Ibleed….
I bet your wife’s first words were “Fix that table”
Vmhan,
Left a msg last night. Isa told me you called the pub. If you want to call me get my numb off WDH or I’ll be in Sharkey’s after 1pm.
Hail Hail
Estadio
Reid said this… Be careful what you wish for!
About us ridding ourselves of DD.
I’m afraid I agree…..
Yes there has been downsizing ..
On and off the park…
There is no money in the Scottish game whatsoever now and the revenue pools are shrinking.
He was correct about the game, be fearful as our game is dying a death…
Rankers could be first killie ?£10m hearts? £35m… Debt ridden whit no saleable assets.
We have our own wee council house on the same street as the rest of the SPL … Not having to go to cash convertors… Not having the bank say no…. Not hitting the pawn shops or loan sharks… Not worried about the cash machine laughing at user or finding out our credit card has exceeded it’s limit!!!!
No we know our bills are being paid
That there is food on the table
That we can go to the bank for a loan….
But the head of our house looks at the others around him and won’t buy that £20k kitchen or £15k bathroom or fill the house with picassos
It’s painful the now due to current circumstances but will get better !!
But I can see why our custodians won’t spend cash that we cannot repay or speculate on .
Tin hat on !!!!!!
4iar not an option – what about 9 or 10IAR?
Can we honestly say that our current custodians are capable of doing anything to stop this? We, allegedly, are in a much better financial position than them yet Celtic continue to struggle against a team that is facing financial oblivion should Her majesties tax collectors get their way as well as just about every other team at present. Are we really expecting HMG to help us win the league, albeit inadvertently? Oh the irony of both situations
Modren occasional psuedo-semantic dispute e spazzatura
Lenny’s inspired team talk must have been on a delay as for the first 20-25 minutes of the 2nd half we were nearly as bad as the first. Changing the formation to a midfield diamond (as we played v Udinese) was when we started to cause them problems and got our goals. Forrest in a central position behind the strikers, Wanyama holding, allowing Ki and Ledley to attack, and give space on the flanks for our full backs to run into. That is what changed the game.
Maybe, just maybe Lenny should just keep the same players/formation for a run of games rather than the constant tinkering. Its as if he is over thinking tactics and giving the opposition too much respect, its only the SPL, play your best players in positions you will get most from them, sit back and watch the positive results begin to flow.
Sorry to say it, but I don’t buy that “I gave the half-time team talk of my life” line. That team which played for the first 20 minutes of the second half didn’t look re-energised and motivated into a superhuman performance.
No, it was two speculative efforts by Stokes which made the team believe they could take something from the game, and just as importantly, broke the killie spirit.
Estadio
WDH has lost your number ….
Lionsroar… I was talking strach possibly short term to get stability and possibly win this league?
Big wide world ???
Yeah!! I once heard of a world class manager called Paul le guen?
Wonder what happened to him?
paulantony- I won’t lay a mark on your tin hat, the analogy you have outlined is the reality of the predicament we are in.
Dermot Desmond can resign as a Director and put his 38m shares on the market. Who is going to buy them???