Glasgow Celtic

[hackjam]

Conceded after 5 min, Lustig failed to stop a cross and 3 players ball watching, bang, we are 1 down. Celtic did go on to dominate  the rest of the first half, created a few half chances, Griff did have a good chance but keeper only had a long range effort from Tom. Went in 1 down at HT,  same again at start of second half. Lustig concedes a needless free kick on the touch line, simple ball into the box, Heandry beaten in the air and a simple header,  we are 2 down. Celtic then up the tempo, keeper makes a good save from Tom Dembele is introduced and from the corner, Tom again goes close. Then Sinclair comes on for the hard working Aussie and within no time, he powers in a great header after good work by KT.

We now had our tails up, Joso had a chance at the death to be a hero but just ran out of time, a brave performance, let down by poor defending.

Hard to listen to Sutton repeating himself throughout.

[salty]

Hard to escape the feeling that we handed them the tie on a plate . Ist goal a carbon copy of last week. Lustig too slow to cut out centres which find our defence asleep. Plenty of space for 2nd with free header. Dembele on for Lustig. Stable door closed when the horse had bolted.

 

Dembele livened things up good goal by Sinclair had the Greeks time wasting and fouling regularly in the last 15 minutes.

 

Now we have to run the gauntlet of Europa League playoff to ensure European football till Christmas. No time to dwell on this setback. Reinforcements wanted. Frightening to note Hayes and Kouassi on the bench tonight.

[smokie36]

20 hours ago, salty said:

Hard to escape the feeling that we handed them the tie on a plate . Ist goal a carbon copy of last week. Lustig too slow to cut out centres which find our defence asleep. Plenty of space for 2nd with free header. Dembele on for Lustig. Stable door closed when the horse had bolted.

 

Dembele livened things up good goal by Sinclair had the Greeks time wasting and fouling regularly in the last 15 minutes.

 

Now we have to run the gauntlet of Europa League playoff to ensure European football till Christmas. No time to dwell on this setback. Reinforcements wanted. Frightening to note Hayes and Kouassi on the bench tonight.

 

With 60m quid in revenue the last two years and zero net spend over that period its rather hard to see past the board milking the club at the moment.

 

Word is of more departures as well....

[balo]

What happened with Ajer ? Is he injured ? From the video clips I saw from Athens he did not play. Your defense were struggling.

[hackjam]

He was supended

[salty]

An uninspiring 3-1 win at Firhill in the League Cup. A few good efforts by Rogic before Griffiths put us ahead. A few morons felt the need to throw a few flares on to the pitch after the goal.  It was annoying watching Celtic poncing about    

 for the remainder of the first half with Ollie hitting the bar on half time.

 

Same letharic approach in the 2nd half. Thistle should have lost a man for a shocking late tackle on Brown for which he was only booked. Young Johnson showed glimpses of his promise . He is not short on confidence but took the wrong option on a few occassions. Forrest and Dembele came on and Celtic were shaken out of their reverie with 17 minutes remaining by a Thistle goal. Hendry very poor here. The prospect of extra time seemed to galvanise  Celtic and good play between Forrest and Gamboa twice saw the full back use his speed to burst clear and centre for first Dembele and then Rogic to finish neatly to put the game to bed finally. 

 

On today's evidence Gamboa would appear to be a far better bet than Lustig. He gets caught on on occassion but in terms of pace he is miles ahead of the Swede.

[hackjam]

Yes, Hendry poor for goal, as was keeper, reckon Gordon would have got a hand to it. Hendry needs to up his game, he is no kid and for such a tall guy, should be more dominating in the air.

Izzy and Sinclair were started well down the left. Sinclair slowly seems to be coming back to form. He set up Griff smartly for first goal, although Griff hit it straight at their keeper when he had whole goal to aim at, still it squeeze in.

Gamboa was a breath of fresh air, totally agree he is a better option-both attacking and defending- than Listig at R/B.

[hackjam]

At the end of the day, 1-1 away from home seems not a bad result.

But, the opposition are a poor side. We get a great start with Ollie heading home after god work by Johnston on the wing. But then, same again, school boy defending, such a simple ball in and between keeper and defenders, bang its 1-1. Again, highlights the need to get in an experienced  defender, an assassin who can organize. Right now, with Joso going off injured in the second half, we have one-Ajer-recognized center half fit. I don't think McKenna is the answer, especially with silly money being quoted, for an inexperienced kid, who does have potential.

We did create a few decent chances in the first half but in the second half, cant recall their keeper making 1 save. Gordon did make a few smart stops to keep us in it.

We cannot limp along like this, same s last season when all around us are improving but we seem in decline. It was frustrating to watch. Same old, the ball being punted along the back line from sideline to sideline, even when we did progress a little, it was play it back and let them get their full compliment back behind the ball. Something has to give.

I have no doubt that we will progress in the tie, like I said, they are a poor side.

But we are rank rotten at the minute.

[salty]

Another very poor display by Celtic in Lithuania snatching a 1-1 draw from a game they would have won by a cricket score 2 seasons ago. A bright start and ahead in 3 minutes when Johnson cut inside and a dangerous centre which was headed in by Ntcham at the far post.  Celtic well on top but then after 14 minutes conceded another very avoidable goal.  An excellent free kick into the danger area had the defence standing like statues and Gordon far too slow to react saw the home side take full advantage for 1-1. Celtic remained well on top but apart from a good effort by Forrest which forced a excellent save from the keeper it was irritating watching. Celtic wasted chances in cavalier fashion . 

 

In the 2nd half Celtic made few chances and the slow predictable play for the most part was irritating to watch. Indeed the home side had a few decent efforts and forced Gordon into a few good saves. 

 

With an away goal we should be able to qualify but the unease at the way the side is playing is growing and you would hope that we can sign a decent defender before the window closes. 

[salty]

3 points with an uninspiring win over Accies that did little to dispel the unease with the team's current form. Very little to concern us in defence so a rare clean sheet .  Boyata back to "mixed" reaction and of course he got the only goal. Hardly a thing of beauty but very welcome nevertheless.

 

But it was the uninspired approach in attack that was the annoying feature. We are far too slow getting the ball forward which plays into the hands of the defence. We seem unable to work any consistent openings apart from Tierney and a few good layoffs from Rogic. Poor set pieces again even though the winner came following a corner. Lustig kept it alive for a tap in from Boyata.

 

We can hardly expect such an easy ride in the Glasgow derby next week.

[salty]

In the end a comfortable 3-0 win to ensure European Football till Christmas over a very limited Sudova side. It merely emphasized how we managed to snatch a draw last week from what should have been another easy win. 

 

At the back Boyata was very comfortable and certainly made things much more solid . Lustig remains a concern with his lack of pace and is liable at any stage to give the ball away. Gordon is dicey at times with his distribution. I would much prefer he would hoof it if there is nothing on.

 

A landmark 100th goal for Griff with a trademark free kick. McGregor no 2 from Sinclair pass and 3rd goal for Ajer or Sinclair. But several easy chances were missed. Johnston who in time should be an excellent player inclined like Sinclair to wander into blind alleys. Both missed easy chances as well as Griffiths

 

Judging by Brendan's post Match comments both Dembele and Boyata will stay. and he expects Mulumbu and Benkovic on loan to join. Assuming all this it should strengthen our defence significantly and lift some of the fans including myself recent gloom.

 

Whatever 11 start on Sunday in the  Glasgow derby I would anticipate a difficult game.

[hackjam]

Griff looked sharp, did miss a sitter by shooting straight at keeper but he did look sharp with his link up play and passing.

Lustig continues to frustrate all, surely Gamboa or Forrest would be a better option against such poor opposition.

I actually reckoned that Christie showed up well when introduce and would rather try him than persist with Hayes.

Will be waiting/hoping for some transfer window drama, looks like the ex Killie guy is coming in on a free, liked what little I did see of him last season and reckon he will be a good squad addition as we don't seem to have an alternative for Brown, just begs the question as to why he was not got in earlier in the window, guess he was waiting for a better offer.

Boyatas move to Turkey may be pushed ahead if the Croat guy comes in from Leicester, think it would be good for all concerned.

All will be clearer at midnight.

[salty]

Europa League

 

Salzburg, Leipzig, and Rosenborg again.

[salty]

Another Win over The Rangers in the Glasgow Derby 1-0. Celtic much the better side were well on top in the first half. Tierney was consistently creating danger. Both Forrest and Lustig hit the bar and Edouard should have scored but headed straight at McGregor after a delightful chip by Calmac. McGregor was solid in goal for the visitors but lucky to still be on the field after a kick at Ajer following a challenge.

 

Celtic continued to press in the 2nd half and McGregor managed to block a Ntcham shot on to the bar. Celtic finally made the breakthrough on 62 minutes Rogic robbed Jack outside the area  after a corner and galloped downfield. He put Forrest away who exchanged passes with Edouard and then set up Ntcham for the goal with The Rangers defence spreadeagled. They were coming more into the game and with a one goal lead it did not make for  relaxed viewing. Griffiths for Edouard and Christie for Rogic  in the closing stages when Celtic seemed to drop the tempo and were coming under pressure as the visitors pushed for an equalizer. Morelos barged Boyata off it and forced a save from Gordon. Tavanier had a chance but from a narrow angle shot wide. Thankfully we held on for a well deserved win.

 

Easily the best Celtic display . Our defence looked far more assured today with Boyata and Ajer solid. Ntcham, Rogic and Forrest showed up well. After the coming and going on Friday it was pleasing to get the win. Hopefully Griffiths and Edouard can stay injury free.

[salty]

Just watched the lead up to the goal again. It was not following a corner. Rogic passed to Edouard who made a great run laid it off to Forrest and his excellent ball across for Ollie to finish. A terrific goal.

[CelticBhoy]

I laughed at this comment on fb:

 

"Man of the match for (the) Rangers was the crossbar."

 

???

[hackjam]

A much needed win lifts a lot of the recent negativity around Celtic park. The win was a lot more comfortable that the slender 1-0 result reflects. Totally out played a team that came to park busses, I think we hit woodwork 4 times and their keeper was good, now Eddie missed that header, heading straight at keeper with the whole goal to aim at, I am sure we must be practicing this in training. Ayer came in for some rough treatment, including nasty stamp from their keeper. Must say, Lustig had a good game, stood up well to that animal he was marking and their left back got little joy down Lustigs side and even chipped in with a header off the bar. Both center half’s were solid, Boyata did get dumped on his ass but lucky for us, the chance fell to Morelos. It was an impressive team performance and hopefully, jump starts our season.

With the transfer window shut, good to see the Demble issue put to bed, once the player made up his mind, that was it for me and we did get 20M for him. At the end of the day, he was always going to go, just a matter of when.

The Boyata issue continues to baffle me. Unless he has agreed a new contract, I cannot understand why, with one year left, we turned down 9M. Its like we sign a loan deal for a player for 1 year at a cost of 9M. I hope he does sign a new deal. He is a better option than anyone else for that position.

Another disappointing aspect of recent transfer window was the failure to offload any of the dead wood. I reckon there are close to a dozen players that, unless there is something like a plane or bus crash, have little or no future at Celtic. A lot seem happy to sit on their butts and soak up the wages. Was surprised to see that DDV is still on the books, especially after his last horror show. Players like DDV, Biton, Allen, Ralston, Commper, Benyu, Hayes, Kouassi, and even Joso or Hendry seem to have very little future. Its quality over quantity for me.

[hackjam]

A woeful first half performance, compounded by a stupid red card for Nicham, who looked totally out of sorts. No pace or tempo. Second half we seemed to wake up a bit, especially  when Griff was introduced, we looked a bit more threatening but without troubling their keeper. In fact, it was around 84 min before he had a save to make, when McGregor broke the lines and had a tame shot saved. Both McG and KT looked off the pace, Brown did some good tracking back, says it all when he was our best player, Forrest did try to make things happen, French Eddie got poor service throughout. 

[salty]

A dreadful first hour from Celtic. Ntcham was like a bull in a china shop and was sent off for a mindless challenge being a 2nd yellow. Celtic policy seemed to lull everyone to sleep and snatch one on the break. We could easily have been behind at Half time.

 

The introduction of Griffiths brought Celtic to life and we were on top for the last half hour. We had chances but it was infuriating watching poor decision making and missed chances. Overall we did not deserve to win. We are making far too many passes for passes sake. 

 

The glasgow derby apart we have been lethargic in many of our outings which is worrying.

[salty]

An 87th winner saw Celtic open with a win over Rosenborg in the Europa League. Griffiths on as a sub headed home after Boyata had set him up with a well directed header. Up to then it looked as if we were failing to score again as we huffed and puffed fruitlessly. There were some decent passages of play but nothing sustained.

 

The visitors goalie made a good double save from Rogic and Edouard before half time but that was after a lethargic opening 30 minutes. The centre forward shot over after Rogic has set up a chance for him. Other that that unlike the CL game Eddy was very poor and Ntcham gave the ball away on numerous occasions. As usual Tierney was the best player making several good runs and a few dangerous centres which had no takers.

 

Our best period was came coming up to half time and at the start of the 2nd half. After that we lapsed into mediocrity with only an odd flurry to raise hope. Defence was solid though Lustig scared us all with contact in the box but thankfully the forward was booked for simulation.

 

It looked like another damp squib until the sting in the tail. Overall it did little to dispel the unease you now feel watching Celtic. Scoring seems to be a lost art. On tonights evidence surely Griffiths has to start and pray he stays injury free. Brendan only brought him on with 17 minutes approx left for the ineffectual Edouard. 

[hackjam]

Benkovic looks the real deal, while good to see another clean sheet, the performance, against a poor side, was so lacking spark and tempo. Its just not happening, similar to St Mirren last week. Something needs to change. Feel a bit for Eddie, just need to get him more involved, would like to see him and Griff paired together, maybe leave Aussie Tom on the bench. Maybe time to give Sinclair a run?? Too many times, we seem to just have one thing o our mind, get he ball back to our center half's. Maybe need to go more direct, like the ball over the top to Boyata that he set up for Griff. Take a bit f a risk, OK maybe give up a bit of possession but against the likes of St Mirren and Rosenborg, they are not going to hurt us.

[hackjam]

Another dreadful performance. Only KT showed any attacking threat. I guess the Rangers win just papered over the cracks. We are in meltdown.

Boyata so lucky to stay on in the first few minutes, then misses a sitter from a corner and should have had a penalty. Killie did try to play football, unlike our last 2 league opponents. We did not create anything, then a hopeful ball into the danger zone was not dealt with and Griff was alive to it, 1 -0 up, Boyata then misses another good chance.

So went in 1 up at HT,  Christie and Sinclair were both poor in first half- I would have hooked both at HT.

Created nothing in the first 20min of the second half, then bang, they are back level. Finally, Sinclair is hooked but surprisingly, its Morgan, not Aussie Tom or French Eddie or Forrest. Christie with a good effort that was well saved and then McGregor replaces Mulumba, who was solid enough but did not offer much going forward. Eddie eventually enters but with only 12 min to go, hardly enough time to make an impact. Then in the last few seconds, a sloppy winner.

It was the same old, side to side passing, with no penetration. I think the commentator said its the worse start in 30 years,

[salty]

Another shocking performance. When Benkovic cried off and was replaced by Hendry I was worried. So we were back to uncertain defending as well as a lack of cutting edge. Our goal only one in 3 away games was a result of kamikaze defending by Killie though full marks to Griffiths for reacting so smartly. Apart from that we created very little despite our majority possession. Deja vu all over again.

 

Defensively in the second half we went to sleep and Killie took full advantage. I felt Mulumbu was getting stuck in and when he left we began to come under pressure again with devastating consequences.  

  

Even Brendan looks bewildered by the turn of events this season. Worrying times.

[salty]

A 1-0 win put us through to LC semifinal where we will meet Hearts. Griffiths finally scored 7 minutes from the end after he had blown 2 great chances and McGregor another one right on HT. As usual we did nothing of any note until late in the first half and were more dangerous in the 2nd half before finally getting the breakthrough. Boyata was sent off in the final minutes for mouthing at the referee. Ref was seen to produce a yellow card but our stupid defender could not keep his mouth shut and a red was produced. In the final seconds Bain made a ridiculous rush from his goal never got near the centre but fortunately the Saints player was not able to direct his header on goal.

 

Overall it was an improvement of sorts on Sunday . We made more chances all of which bar one we blew. Umpteen corners forced with the usual results. So a win but I doubt if Hearts will be too worried on this evidence.

 

Ajer went off injured so we better pray that he and Benkovic are fit for the semi final which is not till late October.

[hackjam]

We were same same in first half, dreadful to watch but for m lot of the second half, we seemed to find our spark and did finish well. Ollie played well and put 2 chances on a plate for Griff and CMcG, both missed.

 French Eddie was awful and deserves dropping, we so need a big strong striker who can hold up the ball/make life uncomfortable for defenders. Forrest seems to have lost his spark but continues to suffer from lack of support from an overlapping R/B.  Lustig may be needed at center half next few games, so should see the more positive Gamboa.  Hendry continues to uninspired me but did do better when introduced for Ayer.

That was a whacky decision by keeper at the death, just got away with it. While Boyata was stupid, I don't ever recall a player ever getting a straight red for foul and abusive language.

No time to regroup, with Aberdeen up next but I am slightly optimistic.

Oh yea, don't get me started on corners…………..

[balo]

I was hoping to see Ajer back from sickness before the Nations League, but he was off injured again ? Is it serious ?

[salty]

https://www.celticnewsnow.com/news/celtics-defensive-nightmare-intensifies-with-ajer-news/248866/

[hackjam]

A hard earned valuable 3 points against a well organised Aberdeen side. First half was poor, created little, Eddie did crack the post before departing injured. GMS had a great chance for visitors after walking through our defence, with Boyata missing a simple oppertunity to clear.

We were better in second half, eventually Sinclair with a delightful back heel, should do his confidence the world of good. Visitors did have another great chance, a simple set pice saw 2 of their players move unattended to near post, bread and butter defending but no leadership.

That Ref is a disgrace.

Lustig continues to offer little at full back, Forrest and McGregor don’t seem to have that spark of last season and Ollies poor form continues. Browns best work is tracking back. KT our best player so far this season. Would be good to get the Leicester loanee back ASAP with Ayer looking like a month away.

While there was slight improvement, we desperatly need inspiration

[salty]

Another edgy performance and viewing not helped by also following Ryder Cup. Our goals tally has really dried up and we seem to be unable to score more than once. A smart piece of work by Sinclair got us over the line.

 

Aprt from hitting the post and being denied a penalty little imagination in final 3rd. Gordon saved us when our former player weaved through the defence and Griffin cleared off the line from the resultant corner.

 

If we continue to operate on razor thin margins you would expect a lot more dropped points ahead.

Edited September 30, 2018 by salty

[salty]

Outclassed 3-1 in Saltzburg in game 2. The Austrians gave Celtic an object lesson in fast flowing football. An early goal well taken by Edouard but it soon became apparent we would be under constant pressure. The feeling was that it was only a matter of time before we conceded and so it proved. Somehow we held our advantage till HT. 

 

The 2nd half proved to be in similar fashion. Outclassed in midfield unable to keep possession our defence was under constant pressure. Boyata was solid but Lustig and Hendry were very poor. Gordon made a good block but eventually the pressure told with 2 quick goals . Lustig and Hendry very weak for No 1 and Hendry asleep for no 2. Forrest red carded and no 3 from the spot. Poor control from the winger but he was fouled initially by the forward

 Apart from the goal our front men seemed incapable of retaining possession or finding a colleague though they were existing on meagre rations as our midfield was non existent.

 

Another depressing watch.