From the stands, you follow most goals as they mature from chances, but some happen so quickly and unexpectedly, that in the middle of celebrations, there is a part of your brain that wonders, what actually happened there?
Twice yesterday, Celtic constructed a goal from seemingly nowhere. Hibernian took the lead, we took kick-off and Callum McGregor had possession around halfway on the touchline. There followed a 40 yard pass and the most sublime touch imaginable.
Kyogo Furuhashi was facing away from goal, his body on the wrong side of the ball. The keeper narrowed the angle but before anyone in the stadium knew what was happening, the Japanese striker found the corner of the net with a left foot shot. David Gray, the Hibernian interim manager would be entitled to ask, “What happened?” There were 10 seconds between kick-off and goal.
I was fortunate enough to be at Hampden yesterday and at Celtic Park on 27 August 2000 and witnessed two incredible lobs sail into the net from two incredible strikers. The marvel that Henrik Larsson’s goal against Rangers induced was every bit as evident yesterday. After that game in 2000, Martin O’Neill spoke of his ire when the ball left Henrik’s foot, “Players try these lobs but never work.” For most occasions, he was not wrong. The talent required is exceptional.
The first thing Kyogo did was catch the eye of Tom Rogic, Tom knew what to do next. The Hibs defence were not involved in the covert communication, so were late to the party, so much so, that if you watch the replay (I’m sure you have), Kyogo has time to check his run and wait for the ball to drop a little. The finish, ooft! What a special talent we have.
Much of the credit for a great final goes to Hibernian. Overwhelmed by talent and resources, they were within the width of a post in the 94th minute of sending the game into extra time. For a team that never managed to stage an attack until a defensive lapse gave them a corner kick in the 51st minute, that was a performance at the limit of their collective abilities.
Kevin Nisbet got the better of Carl Starfelt throughout. On one occasion, winning a corner kick that let to the Hibs goal, on another, it took the first of two magnificent saves from Joe Hart to deny the Hibs striker. Without Hart, it could have been a different story. Teams we face in the coming weeks will have a plan for Starfelt, so must we.
That’s the first of our trophies back home. The weeks and months ahead will bring greater challenges, but amid the burning embers of 2021, we assembled talented people for the cause. They now look like writing the next great chapter in the Celtic Story.
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Michael Stewart’s ” That’s a penalty! ” squeal on TV could be the subject of a lot of analysis.
Maybe he does have a connection with Hibs and he was getting carried away a bit.
However the tone in his voice suggests not so much a claim for a penalty as an expression of injustice!!
Implying that Celtic are being favoured.
Carl is a good footballer, but is he suited to the Scottish game?
Rest assured, after yesterday, if they didn’t know before,(Ross Co did), teams will play in a certain way against him.
Strength is not his game – perhaps he would be more comfortable in a three – tackling, tidying-up & starting the transition, rather being first challenger in the air. He is comfortable carrying & breaking out from defence.
The plan for Starfelt, should be to replace him short term with Welsh until Julien is fit .
He is not good enough
when Jullien comes back, it will be interesting how we line up. He always played RHS under Lennon; every other CH took turns at LHS.
that could mean CCV playing LHS for he first time since he arrived or Jullien told to suck it up and replace Starfelt and get on with it
NORRIEM
He did the same on Wednesday night against Ross County
https://philmacgiollabhain.ie/2021/12/20/white-flag-over-ibrox/
🤔
Can’t imagine what the comments on here would be like if we had lost.
Probably not a whole lot different to be fair……
Craigan and Stewart’s pish about Starfelt seems to have won over a lot of Celtic fans.
Seems somebody needs to wear the ‘he’s been bullied’ cape of shame last worn by Chris Julien.
HH
https://twitter.com/stninianshs/status/1472879660442820611?t=It9towPtCHvMcfM5kuTeEA&s=08
Pal is a major sponsor at St Mirren, 18 Covid cases……
Oh and as a wee man who has triggered the hell out of me for the last few seasons…
Greg Taylor yesterday.
Magnificent.
I will be donning the Carl Starfelt cloak of shame for the rest of the festivities.
Keep it lit young lad.
HH
BOURNESOUPRECIPE on 20TH DECEMBER 2021 3:33 PM
Brussells sprouts aren’t just for Christmas
How come we can still get Brussel sprouts post-Brexit? So many questions .
BIG WAVY @ 4:51
Greg Taylor yesterday.
Magnificent.
—-
Agree 100% – the guy is learning & improving fast. Loved it when he match Boyle for speed yesterday right in front of me – Boyle is very quick – now we know Greg is too . He looks a Celtic player now – I am so pleased for him….we’ve got a good ‘un there.
This still tickles me:
On Off the Ball on Saturday, guy wrote in
“Rangers fans have a nerve to complain about six minutes added time at Dingwall when they have added 140 years to their history”
Starfelt will be gone when Jullien comes back – as we near the first anniversary
of his injury. I’ve completely given up on seeing him again.
No matter what fans on here saying that a lot of fans agreeing with Stewart and Craigen regarding Starfelts performance yesterday v Hibs,I don’t need them 2 to say how bad a player he is ,I just don’t rate him.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8b5s2X_GI3c
Another £30k uefa fine – equivalent of 50 / 60 season tickets
Get French Football News
@GFFN
·
27m
Official | Lens announce the signing of midfielder Patrick Berg from Bodø/Glimt.
BADA BING
Great video.
JHB on 20TH DECEMBER 2021 3:45 PM
Thinking Tony Ralston might do a job in midfield – Davie Hay started out as a right-back, but ultimately made his name in midfield. Davie wasn’t the quickest – he didn’t need to be. Tony is dogged, got strength and likes to get right into the six-yard box…..and course has an ‘eye for a goal’.
•••••••••••
Yup! Anthony Ralston is the heartbeat of this Celtic team, there was no dynamism without him for a long period yesterday imho.
The only die hard Tim in the team.
That’s another thing that Davie Hay was, a die hard Tim.
Folk will say that probably our best players weren’t die hard Tim’s which would also be true, Dalglish, McGrain, Larsson, being prime examples of that, Dalglish greatest ever UK player imho, so what does it matter then they’d say? It matters because die hard Tim’s can explain that unwritten agenda to other somewhat confused non die hard Tim’s who just don’t get that to this very day, Celtic fc are governed by a very different rule book, maybe even Ange himself finds that hard to believe, and if he doesn’t understand this dynamic, which is always there, but its never written, but its there, waiting to cheat, rob, deceive, and mibbery Celtic, at crucial unexpected moments, and if Ange is employed by an executive who haven’t already briefed him about this hidden rulebook, and I don’t mean for 2 mins at his interview and then its never mentioned again, then Ange might already have missed this ‘trick’ and it could be sitting waiting to be unwrapped on 2nd Jan and start the process of the undoing of Ange, like yesterday I detected from Beaton that, not that he was fair, and he was to an extent, I got from Beaton a vibe, that only long time adversely bitten Celtic fans can detect, and it said,…
“We’ll not take you down today Ange, but it’ll be soon”….. sort of a layer of a mission that Beaton and the establishment that sent him, were playing to yesterday. What I think, or rather what I fear, is that Ange doesn’t enjoy a relationship with an executive who’ll equip Ange with an edge, a psychological heads up in terms of the unwritten rule book that is administered to Celtic managers, which would put Ange a move in front of the anti-Celtic agenda which has always been at play, all the way back to 1888, and give Ange an unwritten psychological edge, that makes him alive to the football, media, and especially the ScotGov who want to jail Celtic fans, clue him up about an anti-Celtic agenda, which would instill a siege mentality in Ange which he could then impart to his players and they too would benefit from that edge, but I don’t see any evidence of that, and my guess is that our executive has actually played down the seriousness of what that unwritten rulebook might visit upon Ange and his players, with fans caught cold, and a denial to Ange of just what is in that hidden rulebook, and what it might mean for him, his players, and Celtic fans? Its as though our executive would be happy for Ange to be blind to the possible ramifications of, the hidden rulebook.
Also, I think you said earlier that only a small percentage have not taken the injection?
The media says 5 million, alternative internet sources say that the media are lying, and its 23 million?
You can believe the media if you want that is your choice. hh
Whoosh there goes another £32k
The Parkhead side have been have been fined a total of £32,587 following incidents in the away trip to Bayer Leverkusen.
Since Leverkusen at home Carl Starvelt has started 11 games of which we have won 10 and drawn 1, a game we didn’t concede in.
How do we deal with these hurtful and utterly avoidable fines?
Who could come in to oversee security?
He’s like Gregg Taylor, who far from having improved is performing exactly as he always has for years. Taylor was good in the run in when the Sevvies bottle crashed, just like he’s been good under Ange
They both don’t look like footballers or elite athletes, so any errors reinforce the belief that they aren’t good enough. But they’re both effective enough, and Starvelt is beginning to be particularly effective brining the ball out of defence. He made a couple of decent runs with the ball deep into Hibs territory yesterday
He’s had a couple of indifferent games but our goals conceded total since he’s settled in suggests it’s a blip rather than anything more worrying
This has the makings of a special team. I think Starvelt will have his part to play when everyone is fit
Ccv, CS, a fit Julien and a dependable Welsh arent a bad collection of CBS to have fir the second half of the season
We won a trophy to add to our history, Starfelt had a poor game,give the guy a break,enjoy the success
Uncle Jimmy @ 6:59 pm
Nice one :-)))
Corner kicks –
The bad news is we lost a goal from one
The good news is we should have scored from two – had we scored that would have been great news.
What is it with so many Celtic fans that they feel the need to criticise? If I didn`t know better, I would think they were being influenced by a very anti-Celtic Media in Scotland.
!!BADA BING!! on 20TH DECEMBER 2021 7:10 PM
We won a trophy to add to our history, Starfelt had a poor game,give the guy a break,enjoy the success
____
I’ll go along with that, even though I was calling for him to be subbed yesterday. I think he’s been pretty good recently. We don’t have a team of perfect footballers (Bitton, Taylor and Johnston all had decent games yesterday but gave the ball away or made the wrong decision a couple of times) but we do have a team who give their all and deserve real support.
What happened about supporting our team and players Win…Lose….or Draw…..Let’s enjoy the moment….get behind our team…..get behind our players….
Starfelt only joining the long list.They have to do it.Can’t be completely happy.Find a victim.
Star felt just unlucky its his turn.
`….get behind our team…..get behind our players…`
….and the more we do that, the more we counteract the negativity of the Scottish Media.You know it makes sense :-))
Cheerio for now.
I don’t thinj I’ve ever heard such criticism of a Scottish league player, as occurred on TV yesterday. Pathetic.
Well thankfully was at the game yesterday so missed the hun coverage of the game. But as someone pointed out, would they do the same for hun players.
reading again The Blood Sacrifice.
one for the stattos/historians.
What was different about the League flag presented to celtic at the Scotland v England international in 1894.
The first picture of celtic park and first of an International game ?
———————–
The Glasgow Irish
@55McCallum
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Dec 1, 2020
#Celtic Looking for a stocking filler. As the song goes ‘If you know the history’ Discover the amazing roll the club played during the Great War war years. Read the untold stories of Willie Maley, Patsy Gallagher and the rest.
See the http://glasgowirish.com
https://twitter.com/55McCallum/status/1333831107725254656/photo/1
long history of losing poor poor goals, and defensive erros in league cup finals.
look at the shambles at the huns goal in 57.