It was a hard night for Celtic supporters watching on at Celtic Park last Thursday night as Bodo/Glimt to all intents and purposes handed the Hoops a bit of a schooling on home soil, and it appears for Celtic captain Callum McGregor it was just as ‘tough’ to stomach out there in the heat of the battle.
As reported in Daily Record, however, McGregor isn’t for conceding this tie despite chasing a two goal deficit in the Arctic Circle tomorrow night. Instead Calmac sees plenty of positives from the amount of possession Celtic had at Celtic Park and feels a bit better use of it could make a difference.
“Being out there, you can normally tell how the game is going. We had good possession in good areas, we just lacked a little bit of quality in that sense, where we have normally been good. Sometimes you come off the pitch and think ‘that was tough’.
“It was a tough game for us but I still felt there were a lot of good moments for us and a lot of good situations.
“We will analyse where we went wrong and go for it and try to turn it around.”
Celtic did have plenty of possession in the 3-1 home leg defeat to the Norwegian Champions, although often the build-up play was ponderous and passes were delayed when a fast execution would have allowed Celtic to exploit space faster – particularly to Jota and Liel Abada on the wings, who looked as if they were failing to perform, when in truth they were either having to drop deeper to receive the ball, or received it too late and any advantage of a quick transition was lost, as the Norwegians slotted back into position and double up on Celtic’s wide players.
Callum McGregor himself was also often closed down as an outball in that first leg, as the Norwegians crowded Celtic’s midfield pivot, leaving the passing from the back to Celtic’s central defenders, something the Norwegians were comfortable to allow to happen.
And rightly so it proved, as Carl Starfelt and in particular Cameron Carter-Vickers exhibited hesitancy when it came to forward passing, particularly moving the ball quickly to wide areas, and with spaces only opening up momentarily, before a well drilled Bodo Glimt side closed down passing lanes, it often meant Celtic’s attempts to gain positional advantages and create one on one’s in wide areas were lost.
McGregor however feels that missing speed and accuracy in the final third can be fixed on Thursday and the Hoops have to show a clinical edge when it comes to the final pass and then a ruthlessness in front of goal.
“We are that type of team that we still want to be aggressive even if we are going away from home, we still want to play the same way, and that way will get us chances. It’s then just being ruthless and clinical when the chances come.
“We had some good chances at good times in the first leg and just didn’t take them, or the final pass wasn’t there, and that can be the small difference at this level. So we have to realise that and when we go there, we have to be spot on.
“We have to play quicker and be more aware of what’s around you, the spaces are only there for split seconds and you’ve got to play the pass or make the action in the final third.”
Tomorrow’s second leg tie with Bodo/Glimt will be a tough ask, however Celtic showed there are weaknesses in this Norwegian side.
As much as Celtic were drawn out of defensive positions with too much ease, particularly on the left side of our defence, at the other end Daizen Maeda’s pressing caused the Norwegians concerns of their own. Unfortunately, the coherence of Celtic’s press seemed off kilter, as others didn’t seem to be able to keep up with our Japanese forward’s front line of defence tactic, and as he ploughed a lone furrow as a result, Bodo Glimt soon realised they could exhibit more patience than they initially believed.
If Celtic can press more coherently as a unit tomorrow night,there is a far from assured defensive line Celtic can take advantage of. Add the extra care and speed of thought in the final third that Callum McGregor is advocating, and Celtic, with lessons learned, can certainly outscore Bodo/Glimt in Norway. From there it will be down to whether or not our defensive line can learn their own lessons when it comes to positional discipline and passing bravely and earlier when in transition. If they can, this tie is far from over and Celtic can certainly still qualify, despite the schooling received in that first leg at Celtic Park.
COYBIG
Niall J
