salty

In hospital sompostscwill be sporadic,Toadd to physical woes a nervous wreck following updates as Celtic did their best to throw away the chance to increase the head at the top. only for a Greek bearing gifts.

A stunning Glasgow Derby display from Celtic which few of us had forseen, We grabbed the initiative from the off bolstered by an early goal ,and never let go. As we approached HT we still lead by only 1-0 despite several dangerous efforts. As I anticipated McGregor was having his usual blinder in goal, and was keeping The Rangers in it. JH made a terrific grab to deny Arfield and Celtic went downfield for Abada to set up Hatate for a terrific 2nd bending it round Goldson and past the unsighted goalie. Parkhead erupted. I had hardly time to think of dont give anything away when Juranovic set Hatate clear to fire in a centre which the alert Abada took advantage of a dozing defence to fire in a 3rd. A thunderous ovation greeted Celtic at HT; Unsurprisingly Celtic were not as effective in the 2nd half but what was pleasing was the solid defensive display and the hard working display of the side . The nearest to a goal was a rocket from sub Jack which rattled the bar but otherwise we were comfortable. Hatate MOTM but huge performances from the whole side. But for McGregor it could have been a rout. While the huge feel ,good factor is difficult to avoid we are a point ahead with 14 games to go and we need to keep the foot on the accelerator. Somehow I feel Ange will be well aware of this and a full complement will be used to maximum advantage in the games ahead.

Just about recovered from yesterdays happenings. With the Rangers dropping two points a chance to cut the gap at the top. A stubborn Defence greatly aided by Celtic through Overhit/Under hit crosses and passes and general maddening play in the final third. To describe it as frustrating was putting it mildly. A string of corners delivered into the middle of a packed defence were easy meet for the packed defence. By the closing stages I could have boiled a kettle on my head. Then when Bitton was sent off it looked all over. I have always felt he is far too prone to the mindless foul. Then when all seemed lost we produced another Dingwall. Jota who was one of our best players produced a great cross to Abada who was in front of goal. He controlled it superbly and smashed into the roof of the net . The condemned team escaped again. One can imagine the relief of our overseas brigade. So on to the Glasgow Derby on Wednesday. WE could go ahead in the table but I would say if we avoid defeat it will keep us well in the hunt. Thanks to Bitten's stupidity we have another place to fill. We can hardly expect Ferguson to have as poor a game in The Rangers goal as yesterday. TrY to hang in there until we get our internationals back injury free. We are back in the race and we need not to lose any ground.

Terrific 1st half followed by a very poor 2nd half saw us hang on desperately for the 3 points. Great goal by Hatate and a 2nd from close in by Giakoumakis had us well in control but then we steadily began to fade and were hanging on at the end. Open season by the "official" in the Cup Match had reduced our playing personnel for this game . Our completely new midfield faded steadily and we were under almost non stop pressure in the closing stages. We were fortunate that Boyce missed the penalty as it is very doubtful if we could have rallied to have gone ahead again. We are going to need a lot of Anges "resilience and grit" in the coming week. I would hesitate to use CJ as he is unlikely to be match fit . But with Starfelt in defence it does little to calm the nerves. We are between the devil and the deep blue sea here. Hopefully the official on Saturday will apply the rules and crack down on "agricultural" challenges. We will need as many fit players as possible for the Glasgow Derby.

Good to get back in action last night and get the 3 points, The main interest was in new signings and both Japanese acquitted themselves well. Daizen scored early soon after we survived a mighty scare. But it was Reo who was the star with a very promising display in midfield. Juranovic's penalty made it fairly comfortable and with no cock ups in defence it was a relatively relaxing evening though the 2nd half was conducive to insomnia. The one item of bad news is that it now seems Kyogo could be out for a month. Just as well we have options up front. Cup match at the weekend so there should be changes.

After dropped points midweek a welcome 3 points today at St Johnstone. A lively start with 2 goals by Abada after excellent play by Jovanovic and Rogic. Tam was excellent all throug but the team gradually began to lose impetus and Kyogo went off injured early though we are told its nothing serious. With Starfelt back you could not rule out a mistake and though we were completely on top he gave a hospital pass with 20 minutes to go which led to a well taken home goal, The nightmare scenario of more dropped points reared its ugly head but fortunately a rare Bitton goal made the issue safe. With the return of covid who ,the hell knows what lies ahead . Hopefully the coming weeks will see the return of our walking wounded and the transfer window will see the resumtion of our title hopes.

A happy day for all Celts as we resumed our trophy accumulation after a season off. Great for our boss as well as the players. Two excellent goals by our returning superstar. Read today he played through a pain barrier. Thankfully no sign of any injury yesterday so hopefully he will be available and fully fit for next number of cruical games. His lightning reflexes must be a major worry to all our rivals . Hardly had stopped cursing Starfelt when out of the fog Kyogo struck for the equalizer. I think it was Taylor who delivered the killer pass from what I read but I had no idea either. Terrific piece of quick thinking for Tam to provide the killer ball for the winner. Several other good performances in the side but Starfelt had a dreadful game. Misses with free headers and some suicidal defending he is becoming the Efe Ambrose of this side. It does not inspire confidence in tight encounters. Away to St Mirren on Wednesday hopefully it will maintain the feel good factor.

These games are playing havoc with my nerves,. We got out of jail in the dying seconds thanks to Big R. The relief was incredible. I think most of us had given up hope of a winner especially with 10 men. The inability to get a 2nd always worrying as we are always liable to concede from a set piece. Scales good assist for Abada goal but poor defending for RC goal Chance to win 1st trophy under Ange on Sunday. Noises being made about kyogo playing some part. On the bench perhaps. Feel mote confident with AR back.

A trip to Norway not Denmark in the Conference League.

We got away with it yesterday with a narrow win after another nerve shredding display. A moment of inspiration from the free kick together with a terrific save by JH was enough for us to stay in touch. But failed to get a 2nd which is not an unusual scenario. Only saw highlights and got more edgy as the game progressed after HT. Very happy to go in 1-0 after scoring in the last few seconds. Bu then proceeded to blow several decent chances to make it safe. Another dose of nerve tonic for Wednesday night away to RC, A trip to Denmark for Euro conference in February.

Overall 9 points a good return in the group given we lost our first 2 games. But at what cost our win will play out in the next few weeks. I hope I am wrong but I worry that points will be dropped here and there despite a monopoly of possession with no cutting edge. As you say we desperately need Abada and MJ to step up to the plate. Hopefully these guys can buy us time until the return of our big hitters. Some promising displays by our lesser lights to get the win,

An emphatic 3-0 win at Tannadice with the highlight a solo goal from Tom Rogic of the highest quality. Turnbull a 2nd before half time and Scales adding a late 3rd to give a somewhat realistic score line. In truth it could have been 7 or 8 such was the extent of Celtic dominance. Kyogo missed about 3 or 4 chances he would have normally buried and there were other good opening wasted. Apart from pass backs JH could have read the paper for most of the game. The only time we were under pressure was a poor pass from JH and extremely sloppy play from Starfelt, Other than that it was a very easy ride for the Bhoys. Apart from his goal TR was outstanding and continually was instigating promising openings. It was a chance to utilise the squad . MJ was decent today and Taylor returned after a long absence, A particular disappointment today was Forrest who never really showed and was pulled at HT with possible injury issues. Turnbull was lucky to avoid serious injury after a horrendous tackle from the aptly named Butcher. Yet the ref bottled it by only issuing a yellow. The standard of officiating is shocking. No doubt the guy in charge will again make a tv appearance to "explain" the difficulties in officiating.

Another nervy win to stay 4 points behind. The only goal by Kyogo in the first half showing again his lightning reactions but it has to be admitted he looked marginally offside. It should be pointed out that we were on the wrong side of a dodgy call at Tynecastle in the opening League game when it was 1-1. The most frustrating aspect is our failure to make our pressure translate into goals though Hearts were defending doggedly and not giving away anything easily. As so often Craig Gordon returned to frustrate us on occasion. He foiled Forrest by recovering to get a touch and force him to hit the post instead of a easy tap in. Ralston had to go off injured after providing the match winning cross. The visitors came much more into it in the 2nd half especially when Jota and Welsh both went off injured in rapid succession and it didn't make for relaxed viewing. Starfelt returning after a spell out was very solid making some good blocks and clearances. Hearts had some chances late on but fortunately were unable to convert. Happy to get the 3 points but at what cost to the squad who lack depth and quality in many positions. It was annoying to observe that some morons were throwing bottles as Hearts were taking corners late on.

Agree with your comments on Leverkusen game. We blew a chance to overtake Betis. Only followed yesterday’s game on radio. Thankfully we got 3 crucial points. A fluky winner but an iffy penalty conceded.. Of late we have lapsed into narrow wins which are not good for the nerves. Jota again the man. Hearts on Thursday the first of 9 games in December. The lack of quality in the squad a worry.. Hopefully quality identified and recruited for 2nd half of season.

A semi final to join a long list of dreadful games with the result being what mattered. After a lively start by Celtic St J got to grips with the game and smothered Celtic in the final 3rd. Apart from Jota Celtic carried little threat.. The thought of going behind was a frightening one and some of the kamikaze ball playing especially by JH was nerve wracking. Celtic did not help themselves with slow build ups. JF not for the first time came to the rescue and bore out Ange's assertion that he looked in his best shape this season. Hopefully he can stay injury free and ready to go in Germany though unlikely for 90 minutes.