Daizen Maeda

Celtic 2—1 Rangers

Celtic—all but—confirm their twelfth title in thirteen years with two first-half goals from man of the match, Matt O’Riley and an own-goal from John Lundstram (my man of the match) enough to give us victory. Cyriel Dessers got a consolation goal just before half-time.

Philippe Clement’s men did not do enough to grab a ‘moral victory’. Rangers have lost three to Celtic and drawn one. Their game plan yesterday was to sit in—like the other Scottish, second-tier teams—and hit and hope. But it could have been gone in thirty seconds with a ball flashed across the Rangers’ box almost ending up in the net.

John Lunstram did manage to score for Celtic’s second goal. Carter-Vickers had played an exquisite ball up and over to the left wing. Daizen Maeda was (again) ahead of Tavernier and going towards the touchline. Lunstrum lunged at his cut back and knocked it into the net. Maeda was booked for his celebrations.

Lunstrum was also booked for his tackle in Alistair Johnston just before half-time. Kenny Miller was the only Rangers celebrity that claimed it should have stayed a yellow. Even serial apologist Kris Boyd marked it out as red. It was the kind of tackle Tam Forsyth routinely administered to Celtic forwards in the early seventies. A slide-tackle that took the man and none of the ball. A leg-breaker, in other words. Clement’s reference to it wasn’t favourable, either. He hinted it had changed the game.

In a way, he was right and wrong. Fabio Silva had almost opened the scoring with a cross-cum shot. He also went down for a penalty, nipping in front of Johnston and falling down in the six-yard box. He’d a free header and would surely have scored had he stood up and been braver. Desser’s goal was unexpected as it was expected in ways we’ve come to expect in recent weeks and over this season. Ball from Silva to the back post, on the left-hand side. Sterling beats Taylor. Scales and Carter-Vickers posted missing as he headed it back across goal. Joe Hart watches him head it into the net.

It was a Rangers’ goal that silenced the 60 000 crowd. At 2—0 the game looked finished. O’Riley had three shots and a free kick that was just past the post. McGregor had two or three shots at goal which tested Jack Butland. Kyogo did what he does. He’d popped up outside the six-yard box and his instinctive shot was just too close to Jack Butland. In other words, Celtic were dominating. For every chance Rangers created, Celtic had three or more. But they were still in the game with Celtic only having a one-goal lead.

With Lunstrum off, the second-half pattern and was magnified. Rangers looked buried. Mahomad Diomonde clattered into O’Riley and gave away a penalty. Another pattern emerged. Celtic’s penalty misses. Powder-puff O’Riley penalty added his name to a roster of players that have missed from the spot this season that includes the captain and goalkeeper.

I don’t want to use words like that spurned Rangers on. Kyogo came off, and that allowed Idah to miss two sitters. James Forrest came off. This was one of the big calls Rodgers got right. Kuhn looks an empty jersey and Forrest has been on fire. It looked a no-brainer, but I expected the German to start. But he did almost score. Jinking into the box and taking too many touches and getting his shot blocked.

Maeda. We love Maeda. If he’d any skill he’d be dangerous and worth tens of millions. He scored two offside goals, but he stayed on the pitch and was the right call.

Brendan Rodgers got a bit of payback with the league done. Punters like me that had called him Judas could eat our words. This was the strongest Celtic team he fielded this season. Most of the punters would have picked the same team. Far superior to anything the blue-hoards could offer. We glory in victory. Ranger got forward in the final minutes. The usual pantomime of Jack Butland coming up for a corner. We did see it out in a game that should have been over. If O’Riley’s penalty went in, I’d guess we’d have hit five or six. We flapped a bit in the end, when we should have strolled it. Rangers got what they deserved—defeat.

We won the league because we were better. But we want better than we have. All of last year’s signings can go now. We know O’Riley is going. We need to replace him. We need a new goalie. Scales is a stop-gap. We’re looking at the problem left-back area where we lost so many goals. I’m delighted we won the league. It’s the biggie. Pity about the qualifying round to Champion League riches. That’s always fifty-fifty.

I think Rangers will win the Scottish Cup. Not because they’re better, because they’re clearly not. Just a gut instinct. That will change the narrative for next year and leave Clement and the Rangers’ denizens baying for new blood.  I hope I’m wrong, of course. I wouldn’t want Rangers to win even a game of tiddlywinks. If we win, they’ll still be baying for blood, but Clement will find himself hanging by a thread. Brendan Rodgers can get on his soapbox and castigate us unbelievers again. I’ll take that on the chin any time. We can make a pretty poor season into something better. Nice to see the King, Henrik at the game.       

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Win or bust, Rangers at Ibrox, Sunday.

We all know the story. Win at Ibrox and we’re clear favourites. Lose and it’s for Rangers to lose. I’ve not even considered the draw. Win or bust.

We pretty much know what the team will be. It’s much the same team that started against Livingston. Callum McGregor, if fit, will come in for Tomoki Iwata. Quite simply, he’s a better player. He’s been the best player on the pitch in the last couple of derbies. I’ve no evidence to say that he’ll start, other than wish fulfilment.

Brendan Rodgers may take the longer-term view. But there is no longer-term view.  

I’m with Chris Sutton in emphasising the importance of Reo Hatate. His stand-ins, and there’s been a long line that includes Paulo Bernardo, aren’t as good. Hatate, to me, is one of the best midfielders in Britain. Rangers have nobody that would get near him, or indeed our midfield. That’s why I think, if we overcome the usual up and at them, and settle into our passing game, Celtic are much better. But even under the sainted Postecolglou, we had games in which were bullied. I hope this is not one of them.

Up front Daizen Maeda and Kygo strike terror into the Rangers’s backline again and again. Feed them and we’ll win.

It seems that we have options on the other wing. Luis Palma may be available. I don’t really care. He doesn’t do enough for me. (Obviously, I hope he proves me wrong.) Yang looks to be second-pick to Nicolas Kuhn. Kuhn had a terrible start to his Celtic career and looked a dud. He’s played himself back into contention. I know it’ll never happen. Maeda starts for a number of reasons, but I’d play James Forrest ahead of all three would-be wingers.

We need Carter-Vickers to be on his game. Simple. He’s not playing against world-class opposition, but he makes us stronger because he can pass and move. He won’t get bullied.

Liam Scales is back from injury. He’s been a first pick for a while. He’ll need to help Taylor deal with a lot of high balls fired in his direction. He’ll need to make sure he wins his headers at Rangers’ free-kicks and corners. They’re bigger than us and win more headers. We need to have a plan for dealing with that.

Rangers really fancy themselves for this one. They have hauled us back in the league, which is a major disappointment. But let’s be blunt, there’s nothing especially good about this Rangers team. The frustrating thing for us is we’ve not been much better. There’s lots of way we can lose this game. But if we play our football we win. That sound a bit Ange Postecolouish (remember him?) but it stays true.

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Celtic 4—2 Livingston

A victory can feel like a defeat. Daizen Maeda’s hat-trick and a Kyogo goal in the 93rd minute was enough to put us into the semi-final of the Scottish Cup. The performance was shocking but by recent standards not unexpected.  

I don’t really care about the Scottish Cup. I say that a lot. A kind of bargaining chip that I use to convince God, or the higher power of the SFA, to let us win the next nine league games and win the league. I’m giving something up. So I expect something in return. By saying I don’t really mean I don’t mind us winning the Scottish, there’s always a caveat. As long as Rangers don’t win it. On the evidence of today’s performance, we’ll win neither.

We know Liel Abada is away. The boy done well in spells, but not well enough to mourn his loss as if we’d lost Paulo Di Canio. Bernarbei seems to be no loss at all. He was too wee and kept giving the ball away. Around £3.5 million wasted. The problem here is Ralston isn’t great at right back. At left back he’s not even good enough to cover the basics. In other words, a liability worse than Bernarbei.

Rodgers has time on his hands. No European football. The season funnelled down to the next game being win all or lose all. I don’t think he’ll be here for the start of next season. He’s gone for the safe approach. No Carter-Vickers. I hope he’s been held in reserve. Our defence today was on par with Livingston’s and often below that of the bottom of the league team that gifted us two goals.

The relegation candidates opened the game by hitting the inside of the post in the first few minutes. After Celtic took the lead, we expected the game to be finished. The equaliser was a simple enough ball in behind a high line. Dan MacKay, not the quickest, ran onto it and scored from an acute angle. We’re so poor now we’re hoping for Lagerbielke.

Could Joe Hart have done better? Possibly, but he redeemed himself with a couple of decent saves. For example, a close-in Tete Yengi header, in the second-half, was international class.  

Maeda’s second goal seemed to have settled our nerves. We went in at half-time ahead and expected to go on and win comfortably.

Matt O’Riley gets caught on the ball. Tete Yengi who was playing up front himself, held off our two central defenders and scored low past Hart. Yengi has recently scored more goals than the Celtic strikers and played better than them today. Most strikers fancy their chances against this Celtic defence. And for good reason. We’ve been linked with the Hearts striker, the Aberdeen striker, now the Livingston striker caught the eye. Whoever we play next will probably also be made to look decent.  

Idah missed two decent chances. Didn’t lead the line well. And looked like a reserve Norwich striker. After the penalty miss against Hearts (which could have changed the game) let’s hope we’ve not seen the best of him.

Kyogo on the bench and coming on to score has perhaps pushed him back into the top spot in the team.  

Kuhn—who has all the markings of being a complete waste of cash—coming into the team, wasn’t make or break for him. He’s on a four-year deal. This was his best game. He set up the first goal and might even do something. I suspect not, but there’s a glimmer. I like to use words like I’ll reserve judgement and hope to be proved wrong

James Forrest, coming back into the reckoning and coming on for Kuhn, speaks for itself.  Ironically, Mikey Johnston does for West Brom all the things we’d hoped he’d do at home in Paradise. Sometimes it feels like the world is conniving against us.

 Bernardo comes back into the team, despite offering nothing better-than-average performances and sometimes less (a goal against Rangers obviously makes him popular). He missed two good chances today and was substituted midway through the second-half.

 Iwata doesn’t do enough. I’m not sure what he’s for. He doesn’t add stability. He doesn’t move the ball fast enough. In a word, average. He was lucky to get away with a Hearts’ goal being chopped off last week, because he got caught on the ball in the middle of the park.

 Maeda does the running and doggies for the team. He’s always going to start. Livingston also have a makeshift team. His hat-trick had all the things we have come to expect. The ball bouncing off him rather than controlling it for one goal. He could have hit five. But thank God for his final headed goal and hat-trick.

We’re into the hat. Let’s hope it’s Rangers we get. That way we’ll play them three times and that will decide our season for us. We need Carter Vickers back. We need McGregor back. We need Hatate. This collection of misfits has all the markings of collective failure and we’ll hear all the usual mealy-mouthed words of needing to rebuild.  

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St Mirren 0—2 Celtic.

Celtic at home to Livingston in the quarter-finals isn’t the pick of the round. But it is a pick we’d have taken.

Celtic’s Japanese duo, Kyogo and Maeda score a goal in each half on the sixteenth and fifty-second minutes take us into the next round. Anyone watching us recently knows how easily that can be overcome. The Celtic defence knows what to expect from a Steve Robinson team that measures his players by their height and muscularity. Apart from a Gogic overhead kicks, one which hit the bar, and another palmed away by Joe Hart, the Celtic defences for once deserve plaudits on a stick and uneven park that made playing football tricky.

 Brendan Rodgers shuffles the team once again. Liam Scales, last year’s loanee, has become an ever-present (on merit). Ralston, of course, is in for the injured Johnston. Welsh a stand-in for Carter-Vickers, with Nawrocki an unused substitute on the bench, highlights, yet, again, money wasted. Bernarbei in for Taylor. The young Argentinian was unlucky to pick up a late booking today. And he has played well enough in his last two games to maybe make Taylor’s return a choice that is not automatic.

Bernardo drops out, no great surprise there. Kuhn, at best anonymous at Easter Road, also is replaced by Maeda. He showed his usual tireless energy (and  lack of control and wrong choices)

Palma comes back into the team, for no better reason than the other wingers have been indifferent. The Honduran was booked for a dive inside the St Mirren box. But he also had an assist in both goals.

The big news was Kyogo starts, but so does our penalty taker, Idah. Rodgers played Kyogo in a less advanced role in friendlies at the beginning of the season. Rodgers made the comparison of playing Edouard and Dembele up front. Idah had one or two chances to shoot, but he didn’t take them and was largely anonymous.

Kyogo’s, twelfth goal of the campaign in the sixteenth minute, and the opening goal here, was a slick move. McGregor out wide to Palma. His cutback to the edge of the box taken first-time by Kyogo. It may have taken a slight deflection, but it ended up in the corner of the net. And it gave us that cushion we needed as St Mirren continued to lob balls into the box.  

Palma’s cross into the box, in contrast, was volleyed onto the bar by O’Riley at the back post. Maeda knocked in the rebound to give us the safety net that we needed with St Mirren pushing up the park and winning many of the fifty-fifty duals.

Joe Hart had a good game coming out to punch away many of crosses coming into the box. Our midfield and forward lines not so good a game. We didn’t dominate possession as we do usually. The playing surface didn’t help. A win is all we wanted. We got that. Move onto a home tie against the team bottom of the league. Few would back against Celtic making the semi-final. Today’s tie looked a lot tighter on paper.   

Hibs 1—2 Celtic

Adam Idah scores from the penalty spot early and late—very late in the game, the 91st minute—to give Celtic three points. In many ways this mirrored the second-half debacle at Pittodrie at Easter Road this evening, Joe Hart was as virtual spectator. In the second-half the home team pushed up and Celtic capitulated. We lost control of the game and almost lost the game.

Brendan Rodgers had some thinking to do after we dropped two points at Pittodrie. Celtic have both a poor record at Easter Road and a poor record with taking penalties. He made a couple of changes to the starting line-up. Some worked better than other.

Many of us thought Anthony Ralston would come in at left back for Alexandro Bernarbei. I was hoping that wouldn’t be the case because Ralston isn’t great on the right, but completely hopeless on the left. Rodgers proved prescient. Triantis clattered into and stuck the heid on Anthony Johnston in an aerial duel, in the first five minutes, wiping him out and clear penalty. Ralston came on at right back. Bernarbei’s composure and use of the ball meant that he’d probably his best game in a Celtic jersey.

Adam Idah scored from the penalty spot. Celtic dominate possession and create most of the chances. Daizen Maeda in for Palma looked the right call. The Japanese forwards runs in behind and his work rate were a welcome addition and made Beranabei’s job much easier. We’ll forgive Maeda for taking the wrong touch as he did with one ball over the top, because of this. We’ve even come to expect it.

Hibs had seen little of the ball but passed up the chance of the half. Twenty-four minutes in Jordan Obita goes down the left and whips in a cross. It bounces off Martin Boyle into the path of Elie Youan. He’s central and got to score. Liam Scales gets a touch to deny him an equaliser and it goes over the bar.

But Obita too easily shrugged off January addition Kuhn, who gets his first start in front of Abada. Nothing about his performance suggest an upgrade. When Abada came on with twenty minutes left he didn’t go great either. Ironically, the standout winger in green and white by a wide margin was Elie Youan, who missed that sitter. Most attacking threats came down Hib’s wide left.

Although Idah scored two penalties, but he also missed a few chances. Maeda, for example, set him up early in the second half with a whipped cross with which he hit the bar. Later, chasing a winner, he looked ponderous and made the wrong choice with the ball at his feet. Marshall also made a save with a through ball from Bernardo.

Hibs levelled on the hour mark. Like Aberdeen, they had pushed up and taken the game to Celtic. We are prone to losing goals from free kicks and corners. Joe Newell’s free-kick is headed down by Fish. Dylan Levitt on the edge of the box, hits a volley through a sea of bodies and into the corner for his first goal for the club and a Celtic sickner (again).  

Hib’s substitute Myziane Maolida almost scores immediately when he comes on. An acrobatic overhead effort saved be Joe Hart, followed by another shortly afterwards, more easily dealt with.

The game could go either way. Rodgers brings on Palma for Maeda. I’m not sure this makes the team better. Abada for Kuhn doesn’t weaken us. Kyogo coming on for Bernardo makes the difference.

Youan again gets away and Fish inside the box looks like scoring but the ball slides narrowly past Joe Hart’s post.

Heading to injury time, Idah makes a hash of a cut back. Kyogo gets a shot away, but it is easily saved by Marshall.  But VAR shows he went down under a challenge from Newell just inside the box. Cue the Norwich loanee to step up and win the game.

Phewwwwwwwwwwwwww. As Chris Sutton remarked, every game for Celtic is a tricky one now. We’re too easily bullied and St Mirren are a big, physical team on a small park. It will be interesting to see what team Celtic put out. I think we’ve found a penalty taker, but have we found a team that’s good enough to win week in and week out. Four points out of six is much better than two. But teams get at us too easily now. We’re there for the taking. We need to weather this storm. Perhaps the Norwich loanee will be the January signing that’s actually worked in our favour. For those two penalties alone, it has been great business because we’re going to the wire and it’s going to be thin margins. What now for Kyogo?

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Celtic 2—1 Rangers

It was no great surprise that Rangers fell from the height of mediocrity to their first defeat at Parkhead. The surprise for me is it’s taken this long. Of course, I’m biased. It took several seasons until after he’d left Rangers and had retired from football to admit Brian Laudrup was a good player. Rangers huffed and puffed and did little until the last ten minutes of injury time to raise the blood pressure. But I still didn’t think they would equalise.

There were two wonderful goals. Of course, all goals against Rangers are wonderful. Paulo Bernardo’s strike through a packed penalty box and into the net had me sitting on the moon for a while.

Kyogo has been off-form and not scoring. But he’s always a blizzard of activity. Always moving, closing down. Trying to get in behind. His take on the turn proved pivotal. Outside the box, he took a touch to create space and put it in the top corner. Two minutes into the second-half and Celtic had a two-goal lead.

Balogan’s red card when he wrestled Daizen Maeda to the ground was the work of Kyogo closing him down and feeding his speedy teammate. The form Maeda has been in, he’d probably have stumbled or fell over his feet. Celtic should have comfortably seen the game out from then on in. Added more goals.

Maik Nawrocki came on after thirty-five minutes with Stephen Walsh going off injured. He did OK and seems a good enough passer of the ball. I’m not sure why he’s fallen so far and so fast down the pecking order. He gave away the free-kick outside the box which led to the Rangers goal. James Tavernier’s strike was another top corner effort.

Celtic won the match by having better players. Cyriel Dessers’ chance for an equaliser, before half time, came from a dreadful pass by Alistair Johnson back towards Stephen Welsh, who mis-controlled it. Dessers took so long to shoot it allowed the Celtic defence to get back and for Joe Hart to amble out, clutching his Zimmer frame, and collect the ball. We’ve got Kyogo. They’ve got Dessers.

Good players in these matches look as if they’ve got time to pass. Chris Sutton advised Todd Cantwell to watch Callum McGregor DVD’s. He bossed the midfield in the same way that Kyogo always seems to score against Rangers. Matt O’Reilly got a bloody nose. But our prized asset was a level above the Lundstrums and Sterlings.

Paulo Bernardo only usually plays in our most difficult European fixtures were we get routinely start well, concede and get turned over. He got booked for over-celebrating his first goal. The referee didn’t book me for over-celebrating because he recognised I was too drunk to care. The referee could have been sent off Bernardo for a late tackle and a second yellow card. In other words, he carried a bit of luck. He’s seen off Odin Holm and David Turnbull for the starting spot in midfield. It’s now looking conceivable he might see off Reo Hatate, the best midfielder in Scottish football last year, for his place in the Celtic team. That’s encouraging.

Alistair Johnston could also have been sent off. He caught Abdallah Sima with a swinging arm. He’d already had a yellow, and he too was lucky. But the most talked about decision of the match also involved the Canadian. With hindsight, we know Rangers players were already offside. Johnston didn’t know that and he made several errors. He tried to shepherd the ball out. He didn’t. He tried to hold off Sima. He couldn’t. And he handled the ball. Stupid is as stupid does. He got away with one and so did we just before half-time. I think Johnston is average. I’d be looking for better, and I don’t mean Tony Ralston.

Joe Hart had a good game, but I’d be shopping for a replacement now.

Greg Taylor was decent. It’s no great secret that all teams in league hump the ball up to the left wing and try and get up the park. Win free kicks and corners and score that way, because they’re not going to see much of the ball. I’d like a new left back.

Daizen Maeda hasn’t played a good game since his return from injury. Dare I say it? We’ve a million wingers but Luis Palma is the only one that looks better than average. Even then it’s not a given. Bring back Paolo Di Canio.

We do need another centre-forward regardless of the Asian Cup. It’ll be an interesting transfer window. We’re supposed to be linked with Scott McKenna. Decently average. I’d hope for much better than another squad player. Top of the league and your no. I think we’ll stay there. But not win the Scottish. Too inconsistent. Too fragile defensively.       

Celtic 6—0 Aberdeen

Celtic hit six goals, three in the ten minutes added on at the end of the second-half. Brendan Rodgers has brought in Odin Holm and Yang to the team that started well for six minutes but were hit for six and dismantled in Madrid. Questions have been asked. The usual suspects on display. Maeda is a big loss. Quite simply, he does the work, and the doggies of two players. Yang has shown some flashes of potential. Now it’s time for him to step up. And he did today. Scoring the first in the nine minutes. An outside of the foot cross from Luis Palma allowing him an easy enough header from four yards.

I wasn’t sure about Luis Palma when he first arrived. He seemed to lack pace and didn’t have a trick in him the way, for example, Jota had. But the Honduran had the beating of Nicky Devlin today. As did Yang on the right wing against MacKenzie. The Aberdeen defender also gave away the penalty with a late challenge on Oh.  That width, and use of the ball, made it easier for Celtic to penetrate a packed Aberdeen defence. Palma edged it, the better of the two wingers, and had a good shout for a man-of-the-match performance. Without doubt Celtic have a new penalty taker. Hatate and Turnbull have both missed penalties in recent games. With Luis Palma you get the feeling this isn’t going to happen any time soon. His penalty on the 77th minute—from a clear foul on Oh—was  composed. He was watching the keeper before he hit it. I like that confidence. All it takes is one miss, of course, for me to not like it.

Celtic had picked apart the Aberdeen defence in the first five minutes. Kyogo failing to score from around the penalty spot. O’Riley failed to keep down the rebound from the Aberdeen keeper, Roos, and score.

They combined to create the second goal in sixteen minutes. Yang cut inside across the penalty area. O’Riley took his perfectly weighted pass to the touchline and cut it back. Kyogo nipped in at the front post and it looked a simple enough goal, but it was all about the constant movement.

Odin Holm makes his first Premiership start and steps into a midfield that largely picks itself. McGregor and O’Riley fill two slots. Hatate fills the other. But as we know, the Japanese international is out injured. Bernardo has fluttered about to no great effect and didn’t appear today. Early days, but my guess is when the loan deal is finished, we won’t be keeping him like we did with Jota. I hope he proves me wrong. Pity we can’t say the same for Lagerbielke.

Turnbull, is also his own last-chance scenario, at least offered another decently taken goal after coming on a substitute of Holm. It was typical Turnbull strike in off the post from outside the box to make it 4—0 in the 92nd minute, but it looked to be in slow motion and the keeper should perhaps have done better. The former young Scottish Player of the Year remains on the bench. But three goals in his last three games give him a stronger than usual chance of starting.

Turnbull had a hand in one of Oh’s late-late goals in the 96th and 99th minute, but it was that man Palma again that had a major part.

Holm got himself sent off against Feyenoord in Rotterdam and has pretty much faded since then faster than memories of Michael Beale, but Holm has come off the bench and showed some decent touches in cameos. Holm has a chance to stand out and make that other midfield slot his. He’d an early instinctive shot from a ball played into him from Palma, early in the first half, which Roos palmed over the bar. I’d guess he’s ahead of Bernardo and on par with Turnbull for that other midfield slot before Christmas and, in particular, the Old Firm game.  

The major talking point were the goals. Kyogo’s head injury five minutes into the second-half was our major worry. Slobodan Rubezic went for a header and wiped out the Japanese international. He got a yellow card, which might have been a red, but more importantly, Kyogo was helped up and was able to get up and walk off the park. If that puts him out of contention for the next Japanese internationals that would be a bonus. We’ve enough injuries to contend with. Oh proved himself, on the day, to be an able deputy with his late double, which was an easy enough game, more a training exercise. Aberdeen, like Celtic in Madrid, mustered one effort on goal, a Miovski flick which never looked like going in. A gulf in class. I hope Aberdeen are able to pick themselves up play better, and more importantly win, in their next home match after the International break.  

Aberdeen 1—3 Celtic.

Brendan Rodgers goes with the same team that defeated Ross County. He said before the game Celtic were ‘a work in progress. A lot of the principles will be the same’. For the first time in years, I was wary of going to Pittodrie. Three goals, two scored before half-time, one from Liel Abada, another from Kyogo, the third, our settler coming from Matt O’Riley. The young Englishman, who plays for Denmark under-21s, needs to add goals to his game. He’s been doing that. He’d a good shout today for being man of the match. The principle that matters most is winning. That’s two wins in two for Rodgers.  

It was end to end stuff. When that happens we expect Celtic to win, because we’ve better players. Duk and Mivoski conjured up a free kick on the edge of the Celtic box in the first minute. Leighton Clarkson fired it past the post. A let off for Celtic.

Celtic’s first goal was flagged for offside. Daizen Maeda’s cross shot might have been sneaking in, but Abada popped at the back post to make sure. Replays showed the shot wouldn’t have been going in and Abada wasn’t offside. VAR helps put us one up.

From the kick-off Maeda should have made it two from a cutback. His shot saved by Kelle Roos.

I’m prone to say most goals against Celtic are down to dodgy defending rather than the brilliance of the other team. Aberdeen’s equaliser comes into the former category. A ball over the top. Carter Vickers was the wrong side of Luís Lope. He allowed the Aberdeen forward to get to the bye-line and cut back for an unmarked Milovski. Maik Nawrocki nowhere man.

Former Drumchapel Amateur, Nicky Devlin, trumped that. He played a headed back pass to his keeper with Kyogo lurking. Kyogo scored with his usual efficiency. He proved unlucky with another effort and missed a good chance.  He never stops. Abada also hit the keeper when he really should have scored after being played in by Maeda.

Aberdeen won a succession of corners and free kicks. We’re a smallish team. That’s been a problem for us. Greg Taylor was brilliant last year. He got smashed with a ball in the face here. He’s had a dreadful preseason getting beaten too easily down his side, and that’s extended into the start of this season. No alarm for now, if Bernabei could defend, maybe he would be starting. Taylor needs to get back to where he was.  

 Two-goal Turnbull started, got booked and hooked at half-time. Reo Hatate came on, and for twenty minutes we looked much better with his presence He helped set up the Maeda miss—from which he should have scored—with an exquisite pass switching play to Abada. The Japanese substitute was himself substituted. But he’s a level above what we’ve got. Holm came on for Hatate and helped set up the third goal. There’s much to admire in Holm, he’s been talking the talk, we want him to do his talking on the park.

Yang looks good when he came on and Forrest looks rejuvenated. The former’s fast feet set up O’Riley for the killer third goal. We were dreadful in the opening spell against Ross County and could easily have lost a few goals. Hart was in the spotlight again, but he was good today. He even came out and caught a ball, clattered into substitute Stephen Welsh, who replace Carter Vickers as half-time. Perhaps he was telling him reinforcements are arriving this week and to pack his bag. Perhaps what was most noticeable was Hart kicked the ball long. It didn’t always work, or it worked better when Yang came on and he’d something to hit. But with Aberdeen’s forwards and midfielders pressing up and onto the Celtic back four it was a little reminder they too have big gaps in behind their defence. When we go to Ibrox this was be especially important. We’ve got the speed to hurt any team. We need to defend better. Ralston is no longer the worry, it’s shifted to the right-hand side. But for now, Greg Taylor has enough credit in his performances to cut him some slack. Our next game is on Kilmarnock’s plastic pitch. A surface he knows well. Hopefully, he gets his feet and season sorted. We’ve injury concerns. But new signings are coming. We’re growing into the season. At Celtic, of course, we’re always one game away from disaster. Quite simply, the better team won today, with a little help from Devlin. We’re already in the Promised Land of Champions League. We can wait and see until next weekend.

Kilmarnock 1—4 Celtic.

No longer a must win. Celtic were 4—0 in 18 minutes, and it was just a matter of how many we would score. Kyogo benefitted from a slack back pass from Fraser Murray to skin the defender and beat the keeper for the first goal in the opening five minutes. He also took a penalty on 28 minutes after Taylor had been fouled inside the box, but he hit the post. Maeda was first to the ball, but couldn’t score to make it 5—0.  The Japanese international winger had already scored from a Johnnston cross to make it 2—0. Matt O’Riley popped up with another two goals, both top class finishes from just inside the box, and also offered a man-of-the-match performance. It looked like one of those days when the score at Tannadice, when we hit nine, could be surpassed. But it didn’t happen.

With the game won, the intensity and fluid passing stopped. Just before half-time, our skipper Calum McGregor tried to take the ball past Liam Donnelly and was pushed aside. His shot was saved by Joe Hart, after another rebounded shot by Armstrong, the ball came back to Donnelly who put it away. Hardly game on, but half-time substitutions were inevitable.

Kyogo scored the first, missed a penalty, but the biggest cheer was for his closing down, rushing back sixty yards to put a tackle in. Oh replaced him. It was the South Korean’s chance to impress the watching Jurgen Klinsman. His national side’s new manager. Oh was booked for a high boot, had a half chance from a cross, but didn’t see much of the ball as Celtic had a poorish second half. Turnbull and Mooy and seventeen-year-old Rudi Vata came on in 70 minutes for McGregor, Maeda and O’Riley. The countdown to the league title continues. Nobody will remember this victory at Rugby Park tomorrow, apart from another seventeen-year-old Ben Summers who came on for Haksabonovic with two minutes remaining to make his debut. The game that really matters is the one at Hampden in two weeks’ time, which tells us whether it’s going to be a double or treble-winning season. Nobody at Celtic would say that, of course.  Yuki Kobayashi’s crisp passing from the back may get him more game time, but it won’t be against Rangers, and we know it will be Starfelt and not Carter-Vickers that will drop out. Tomoki Iwata strolled it, but O’Riley may have done enough to get in front of him for a first-team jersey. Mooy came on and was poor on the plastic pitch. The Australian has been sensational, but he’s dropping down the first-team-picking order, especially when Hatate comes back. Sead Haksabanovic didn’t score and didn’t do enough to take Jota’s position, but he’s a great player. Most of the best early play tended to come down Maeda’s side. He flashed a ball across the six-yard box in less than two minutes. That pattern continued until half-time. At full-time it was time to get away and move onto the next game against Motherwell at Parkhead next week. It’ll be interesting to see who Postecoglou starts with.     

Celtic 3—1 Hearts

A double header against Hearts in the league and cup. Three goals and three points. That’s all that matters for now. Hearts and Celtic goal scorers, Ginnelly and Maeda went off injured in the first-half.

Postcoglou has made a couple of changes from the team that started against St Mirren. Ralston slots in with a couple of defence splitting passes. But like many, I suspect, Johnston will be back for the match at Tynecastle this weekend.

Bernabei played. He’d a good enough game. VAR was looking to give him a red card, after, apparently, the Hearts manager told Andy Halliday to tell the ref to look at a foul he committed on Devlin. The young Australian was booked late in the game after kicking every player wearing a Celtic shirt and the management team too. Bernabei had the last laugh.  He finished the game on the front foot with a flourish, but his defending can be suspect. He was targeted.

Taylor, if he’s fit, will be back, because quite simple he’s confounded expectations (well, mine anyway) and is a first pick.

 We’re used to scoring early, but in the last two games we’re losing early goals. Ginnelly has pace and has proven to be in the past a bit of a handful. He did so again getting in behind the defence to score with a back-post header in the sixth minute.  

Matt O’Riley gets a start. Hatate drops out, but comes on as expected. I’m fans of both, but Hatate is a first pick and one of the most exciting midfielders in Europe. Abada getting a start and Jota dropping out is one of the easier calls to make. Jota, despite scoring at Love Street, didn’t have the same impact as Abada. But the Portuguese winger was better when he came on early for the injured Maeda.  He hit the post after cutting inside with the keeper beaten. He also had a hand in the third goal.

Kyogo kept making those runs in behind the Hearts defence. He created the equaliser, beating the offside trap and playing the ball for Maeda to bundle into the net. But he also walloped the keeper and the post. Having to go off injured. Which was a shame as he was having the run on Hearts defence.

Kyogo put us in front at the start of the second half. Mooy, who’d a good shout for being man of the match, picked him out in the box with a perfect pass. Kyogo took it first time and swept it past the Hearts keeper with his weaker foot. Zander Diamond was no longer time wasting. The Hearts keeper went down injured on four or more occasions.

Haksabanovic is something special. His goal was more an individual effort. He came off the left touchline and stepped past two defenders and picked out the angle to put the ball into the far away post. Goal of the game. And game over with around fifteen minutes to go.

Celtic kept the ball for the last ten minutes and only one team looked like scoring. It will be all different at Tynecastle, but I suspect possession statistics will be much the same. Hopefully, we don’t lose the first goal. The loss of Ginnelly could be a blow for Hearts. We are better. But as VAR has shown anything can happen. If the referee had listened to ex-Rangers misfit Andy Halliday, Bernabei would have been off in the first-half. Some things don’t change.