A routine win for Celtic at home again tonight marks their fifth in a row, but there were more than just a few doubts about the manner of the victory by a lot of the Parkhead faithful tonight. A dominating performance in the first half was countered by a completely lacklustre second half, and if it wasn’t for the magical fingers of Scott Bain with just seconds remaining, we could’ve seen what was an easy win on paper turned into a draw against a currently poor Aberdeen side.
John Kennedy was amongst those to acknowledge this; on media duties tonight, the assistant manager was extremely complimentary of his sides’ output prior to the interval, but visibly upset with the performance following that.
Speaking to Celtic TV, Kennedy said: “A good win for us, it adds to the run we’ve been on so that’s a plus obviously. We started the game really well, with a lot of control and we created some decent enough chances. Second half, we played a bit more ragged and when you don’t get that second goal, you can always expect a bit of pressure at the end of the game.
It was a performance that typified the Celtic we have all come to know in recent times. The issue isn’t really conceding many goals as such, but there is an element of lackadaisicalness to this Neil Lennon side that seems to constantly invite pressure that simply gives fans’ the jitters. Yes, there have been five wins in a row, and that is not to be dismissed. But the majority of victories this season have been by slim, slim margins; in fact, only three of Celtic’s last twelve league games have resulted in a winning margin of more than one.
Of course, these defensive frailties in turn means that there are less goals scored at the right end of the pitch, something Kennedy picked up on in his interview.
“We were looking a bit tired, lost a bit of control and gave the ball away cheaply, giving the ball away in areas that we shouldn’t, as opposed to the first half where we could switch the play, move the ball up the pitch comfortably to try and pin Aberdeen back with a second but we just didn’t do it often enough.”
“With the play and possession we had I’d have liked to have been a bit more comfortable towards the end, but again we stood strong, defending well from set plays, we acted physically out there which has been questioned this year so it was good to see that side of it where we ground it out in the last ten minutes and prevented them from scoring any goals.”
“He’s got the quality and that’s why we brought him here.”
Bar the official Twitter handing the Man of the Match award to Kristoffer Ajer, it was another enigmatic performance from Davie Turnbull tonight. Having started slowly in the East End of Glasgow, Turnbull has gone from strength to strength over the last couple of months and is now arguably the first name on the teamsheet.
“He’s been great. He came in and had to bide his time and be patient. It took him a bit of time to get used to the intensity and how we work, but he’s got the quality and that’s why we brought him here”, Kennedy said.
“His awareness of the game is very good, he’s great at finding those little pockets, and especially with Soro, Callum (McGregor) and Broony in behind him, feeding him those balls into that space and then when he gets faced up by the Aberdeen defence he has the quality to do what he did from 25 yards out. It was a really good team goal culminated by a moment of individual brilliant in the end.”
It is a step in the right direction as always, but the general consensus at the moment is that the league is almost rendered useless. The results this season are akin to walking (or wading) through a pool of marmite; despite your efforts to enjoy a slow trudge to the end, there is the knowledge that even once you get to the finish line, you’re going to need to change.
