That was the latest instalment in a long running series of Behind the Couch Celtic away performances in Europe, with the wonderful exception that after Hapoel Be’er Shiva had us on the rack in the opening period of the second half, Celtic put five at the back and closed the game out without any stressful incidents in the final 15 minutes.
There are a few moments worthy of comment:
Hapoel’s penalty came as a consequence of Celtic pressing high up the field for the first time in the game. The home team dropped deep as they were temporarily reduced to 10 men, but when Celtic pressed high to take advantage of an opponent receiving treatment, they easily passed through us, switched the ball left and gave Saidy Janko his first difficult moment of the night.
More on Saidy in a moment, but we cannot allow teams to pass through us so easily. We should never have been caught so high up field. Our alertness, interceptions and tackling were not good enough. Craig Gordon’s block at the penalty was priceless (or at a price of circa £26m, if you’re being picky).
There’s a reason teams who mark zonally at corner kicks don’t mark the penalty spot. It’s because headers from the penalty spot need to be exceptional in order to beat the keeper. Sahar’s goal wasn’t an exceptional header. It bounced before passing Craig Gordon three feet inside the post. It should never have been a goal, and although Craig’s mistake for the second was more evident, the first was as worrying a goal to concede.
We’re fond of talking about “schoolboy errors” in football but Saidy’s lack of awareness of his direct opponent and goalkeeper at the second goal was a classic error from the 9-year-old’s game. I’ll be generous and say he’s not ready for a game at this level. Craig Gordon doesn’t have a let off for this one, either. While his fullback made a mistake, an alert keeper would have prevented the goal and knocked Saidy into next week. Awareness concerns exist for him too.
Whether it’s Craig’s self-confidence, or that the defence don’t have confidence in him, goalkeeping mistakes came perilously close to seeing us drop out of the Champions League last night.
Not that Craig shoulders all responsibility for what was a weak performance. The middle of the park was experimental and looked it. On the back of one of his best games for Celtic a week ago, Scott Brown’s passing, control and influence was miles off the pace.
Scott, Callum McGregor and Nir Bitton were swamped in midfield. Too few Celtic players were showing for the ball, which was thrown forward aimlessly whenever a Hapoel player closed us down. If central midfield is right, your defensive and goalkeeping frailties are less evident, but we were exposed too often at the back last night. There was a period in the second half when watching on TV made it impossible to know where we were going wrong. After a Hapoel chance, we would see a replay, and before it cut back to live pictures, Celtic had lost possession and were again under pressure. This happened repeatedly. Central midfield was the major problem with the performance, if not the result.
Don’t let any of this dampen your spirits. We’re into the Champions League group stage, a fact which will see us break through the £80m turnover mark for the first time. By comparison, turnover was £51m for 2014-15, the most recent season accounts are available for.
Despite the increase in expenditure this season, we’ll pay our bills without increasing borrowing or selling players. We’re on the circuit again, which means we’ll find it easier to attract talent going forward, it means we’ll find it easier to attract commercial deals and pretty much every KPI at the club will become that bit more attainable.
Last night was a transformational day in the life of your football club. We’re back, enjoy it!
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Do you know, this time 6 weeks ago the furthest thought from my Celtic mind was that we would have the opportunity to play in this season’s Champions League Group Stages.
Last night I took my good lady to the diet club and stayed to give her a lift home. Normally I drive home then walk back to meet her, about a mile and a half.
Anyway get in, switch on the telly just in time to see the penalty incident, then the great save.
I switch the telly off and having recovered my nerves I switch it on again just in time to see them score.
Switch it off again.
Put it back on to watch second half and within 2 minutes we are 2-0 down.
Feck.
Switched the telly off again.
The upside is I watched a full showing of Location, Location, Location, with Phil and Kirsty trying to find suitable homes for pain in the arse buyers.
Anyway…………………..booted up the lappy and got onto CQN……………..5 minutes to go…………….then 4 minutes stoppage………………………..then………………………… that wonderful warm feeling when you realise that deep down you knew that Celtic would produce the goods.
That Brendan is the man, mibbe the next Jock St…………………naw, naw, canny be.
But you never know.
Hail Hail the Celts are here!!
TBB as awe naw pointed out i posted last night during and after the game. My wife, girls and i where almost literally hiding behind the sofa trying to hope no more calamaties would occur.
I must say i am chuckling at the immediate expecation management police. Dont expect us to spend. Naw just get an extra 30m but dont spend.
I am also amused at paul and rhe board still worried solely about kpis. Aint that fun?
But perhaps best off all it seems we have been spending loads already! Really. With the wanyama windfalll i reckon we are close to even on transfer window sealings thus far.
But look lets just accept that some simonovic voodoo type accounting will be trotted out.
More money equals bigger bonuses only……pl will be pleased.
Lifted this from a poster from Phils sight, anyone know if this is the case?
While the uefa rules state that the solidarity payment should only be paid to those teams who participated in the scottish premier league the previous year of qualification and only to teams not participating in champions league or europa league, why are the scottish media saying this is a windfall for sevco 5088 when in fact the payment should, rightfully under uefa rules, be going to Dundee Utd? Any help in understanding their mistake would be grately appreciated.
Keep up the great work Phil,
I’ll read back later, cheers.
Baba, I’d almost take a 4 goal HOME pumping off them in return for beating them in the Santiago Bernabéu!
PRESTONPANS BHOY
1st October pencilled in.
Blane Valley, early doors then McChuills in the High Street from about 2:00pm on.
BMCUWP will keep us advised.
Be great to meet up.
This will be my third in a row, God willing.
Great bunch of ghuys, just great.
Hard to scroll by any of them after a Hoot! :-)
vfr800a8 on 24th August 2016 4:44 pm
Fear is taught.
You must be taught to be fearful.
If you put a child into a swimming pool the child will naturally keep itself afloat, i think it’s called the bradiecardic response, if you throw a 25 year old into a vast expanse of water that can’t swim, they’ll drown, they have no faith in their own ability to keep themselves alive.
Of course there are exception.
Kinda a glass half empty guy!!! As you’ve probably guessed!!! hahahahaha.
#HH
Sipsini,
Already been disproved mate
The lord Nimmo fine will see to it that Sevco get zilch.
SIPSINI
Dundee Utd get the dosh!
Not the manky mob who don’t actually need it as they have £30,000,000 in the bank already.
C’MON THE CELTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Walking past a couple of deady bears in work today I kid you not this is what I heard one tell the other and I quote ” He is definately our number one target after Lescott” Senderos. I just kept walk without even looking at them absolutely pissing myself on the way by. You had to be there honest
SIPSINI on 24TH AUGUST 2016 7:54 PM
_________________________________________
Hail Hail fella, hope yer well.
Ye see, if the huns don’t get they’re money
look for a ‘mysterious’ amount of debt appearing
on the balance-sheet just in time for the agm.
The ‘mysterious’ amount of debt will be placed into
a bank account somewhere and will be drip-fed to
Rangers FC(that’s what Celtic FC call them) yeah, drip-fed
to keep the old firm alive and, season ticket money assured.
Simples.
YNWA.
…..off-oot….
Seems Rostov are taking a leaf out of the John Kennedy book of defending.
Watching the Rostov – Ajax game. Both defences as wobbly as a blancmange. Big Efe would approve.
Flights booked for Celtic v Killie on 24/09
Can’t wait
SFFS
Saor Uladh
Beat me to it!
To give Janko a wee bit of credit, he didn’t get a 2nd yellow card, i thought he might have been hooked after half an hour.
Sipsini
Wheres your charitable nature?
We are about to bank >£20M so maybe we could throw a few grand their way for some new roofing or perhaps even just some tins of paint to give their place a wee tidy up?
Hope Ajax get hammered.
Saor,
But the good thing is that Ajax are playing as much pish as we did last night, which is nice :)
Paul67,
I don’t agree with you slaughtering the Celtic players— Craig Gordon’s penalty save put us thru. Janko is 20 years old. I thought Robert Grieve from the Sun had written the article.
The team Brendan inherited was weak ; he has improved them but we have a long way to go.
The reason we were in a mess was Lawwell — who you have not uttered one word about in years despite him destroying the club. Yet you attack the players which were the product of downsizing.
Have a good look in the mirror. I hope Brendan can force Lawwell out before he undermines him.
Don’t bother addressing the bonus thief —- I think conflicted is the word—-just cut the players some slack when the objective has been achieved. Brendan will take care of the rest.
Philboy
re. you wondering about a certain poster.
Troll!! Obvious.
It’s not often I agree with currant buns at work but when they were telling me my team were crap and would get gubbed in the group stages I found myself agreeing with them with my bigger than biggest most stupidest grin ever and saying “A know, but we’re in the Champions League!!”
Davidopoulos on 24th August 2016 8:07 pm
Ha! Just switched over and i thought – I’ve seen that kinda carry on recently!!
Now that we have successfully negotiated 3 booby trap qualification rounds
Odds are that we will probably be alright
Guest appearance by a few dissatisfied Ibrox fans at the end of the vid
Janko was unfortunate to get booked in the first place as it was not a penalty, I wonder if he would have been booked if it was just a normal foul and free kick?
prestonpans bhoys on 24th August 2016 8:08 pm
This team has gone backwards – hard to beat Russian sides on their own turf though.
Like i said i hope they get tanked.
#HH
EMERALDBEE………………..
Had my doubts for a while……………….
Will this be (if he’s still No.1) be the first time Gordon plays in CL group stages?
THEMAESTRO72
Got told that too.
Reminded them that we did the damage in Paradise with a scintillating performance as it seems to have slipped their minds and that there will be more of them to come………coincidently one of them will be against them in a few weeks :)
Gerrin’ Rostov.
1-0
Rostov 1 Ajax 0
Saor Uladh, Re Gordon, I would imagine so, His previous Clubs being Hertz & Sunderland.
Ajax getting beat what a shame……
Hopefully, Ajax on their way out
1-0 Rostov. Ajax torn apart.
Rostov impressive going forward
corkcelt on 24th August 2016 8:20 pm
He seems to be at Celtic for years.
Thinking back, he joined after Forster left.
If Ajax do make it through here I’d say they would be an ideal opponent for us…even though I’m bored to tears of seeing Celtic play them.