Set-piece, VARless, first save of the season!

How frustrating is it that we could control the game against Newco for 90 minutes yet still put our finger on the self-destruction button?   It is equally frustrating that this level of control has been absent against so many lesser opponents.  Why that is, is a question that will asked around these parts for years.

I liked the balance of our play: controlled, with sufficient cover that the defence was never stretched.  Ryan Christie stuck to his role, without trying to win the jackpot every time in possession.

Mohamed Elyounoussi scored with a glorious diving header, should have added a second and was a constant threat when linking with his strike partner, Odsonne Edouard.  Odsonne created the goal and would have doubled the advantage, but for his shot hitting the undercarriage of McGregor in the Newco goal.

When is a trip in the box not a penalty?  We both know the answer to that.  VAR has not removed controversy from the English game so I do not anticipate it will solve our problems here, but surely, surely, the trip on Odsonne would have resulted in a penalty awarded under video review.

VAR would also have seen that Alfredo Morelos was red carded for his attack on Stephen Welsh, we await to see if the SFA video review panel is sufficiently motivated to act.

Season 2020-21 will not be remembered fondly for our goalkeeper performances, however, Scott Bain’s save from a Kent volley yesterday might just count as the first impressive save of the campaign.  I cannot remember another.

I have praised Jonjo Kenny here but it was clear from early on yesterday he did not enjoy the step up in expectation.  Years from now you will be reminded that he conceded a corner that led to the Newco goal while in possession around the halfway line and a familiar pain will emerge.  What on earth?

The stat of this Celtic team: four of Newco’s last five goals against us were from set-pieces; three corners and a free kick into the box.  Martin O’Neill, who added analysis for Sky TV, must have had been dismayed.  His teams were seldom known for their passing game but they all understood how important it was to attack a set-piece.

Newco were no more than ordinary.  They had an exerting European tie on Thursday and could easily have conceded three or four goals, but they left with a point, surprising no one.

And for anyone living in the west of Scotland, this whole over-celebrating a point thing defines them to a T.