SANDMAN’S DEFINITIVE RATINGS: CELTIC @ THE TUNDRA…
“Focus on progress, not perfection.” – Bill Phillips
VINDALOO – 7.5/10 – Save of the season. Required every inch of his youthful athleticism to get the stretch in for that one and flip it over with his ‘wrong’ hand. Great reactions and feet to get anywhere near the pace of the header. Saved the jerseys – at 1-1, going 2-1 down ten minutes into the second-half, wouldn’t have fancied the chances of a sluggish outfield to claw back anything. Confidence is everything for a keeper and he has it in abundance, which translates to his defence. One thing he has to realise, though – he’s not prime Maradona; only Dios can put his foot on the ball facing three opponents and say, “‘Mon then…”. Advice for Vinny would be to put his foot right through it more in future…
KATIE – 7/10 – Appeared the only Celt who desired to score in the first-half. Saw red (literally) every time the Beach End loomed, and KT did his best to thunderstruck anything within range of goal. Of course, his thirst for more blood after Sunday’s thumping header led to a poacher’s pick-off – poking a volley into the net and setting up what felt like a pumping at the time. However, his commitment was required in all areas of the park as they made a battle of it. And when you’ve got green-blooded Celts who’ll die for the cause like KT, the war can be won in spite of the team’s lapses.
AZTECO – 6.5/10 – All energy and dynamism and no-nonsense. Picked up where he left off Sunday, keen and lively. Didn’t quite synch with Yang properly – or maybe vice-versa – but we know now what we get from the Cartel Agathe and it’s a valuable contribution in the traditional Celtic attacking full-back role.
OF JUSTICE – 8/10 MOTM – The Ginger Baresi? Try the Redheid Romario – five minutes in and we’ve got hitch-kick tributes to the diminutive Brazilian God setting up our opener, then hitch-kicks became calf-kicks as Liam got mugged for the penalty. But back he came, scrapping, tussling, coaxing his young sidekick, organising, intercepting, anticipating – it was frantic and he handled it really well through our midfield malfunctions that put the defence on the back foot continuously.
📈 Celtic above Rangers & five points off Hearts
📉 Aberdeen winless in six league gamesWatch highlights from Celtic’s 2-1 win at Pittodrie ⤵️https://t.co/oKLvUFoHoj
— Sky Sports Scotland (@ScotlandSky) March 4, 2026
Edges MOTM for me due to one unheralded bit of defensive brilliance – 85th minute, they get in behind down the left wing, whip across a deadly ball only requiring contact to knock it in, three red shirts haring onto it… Then Liam executes a diving header towards his own goal, twisting to make contact and somehow divert the ball up and away, contrary to the probabilities of known physics. Matchwinning.
🗣️ “Always be prepared for anything”
🗣️ “It’s a special club to play for, I’m sure the big man realised that today”Celtic’s Benjamin Arthur on making an unexpected first start, and Viljami Sinisalo on the “massive” win at Aberdeen ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/nU3NyoZpZc
— Sky Sports Scotland (@ScotlandSky) March 4, 2026
PENDRAGON – 6.5/10 – The bhoy who would be king. “You’re in, kid.”…’In where, Jamesy? Who is she?’ Then the boss told him to get stripped – but not like in the Forrest Files – and before you know it a relaxing stint wrapped up on the bench with his Nintendo Switch becomes an anxious 90 minutes among a bunch of fellas he’d never played with before, on a slippery surface against an unforgiving team of bitter cloggers eager for an upset. Has to be said the big lad performed well under pressure; nervous for a while, obviously, but settled and when the barricades were up at the death he was throwing himself on grenades to preserve the lead. One he can be proud of. Not the hair, mind. We’re knights here, not fair maidens…
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Sure Ben Arthur has to be nicknamed The Cobbler