At long last a European victory to be happy about, and a good performance at that! The game proved a few things. One is that a strange kick-off time on an unusual day will not prevent 50,000 Celtic fans from attending, another is that Celtic are slowly but definitely improving, and yet another is that there is no limit to the backing that their fans will give them. The fans were superb today and saw a game worthy of the team’s name.
The first half saw a lot of fine Celtic passing and ball play, but without getting into the penalty area too often, and I’m sure I wasn’t the only fan who felt “Aye! Aye! Here we go again.
All bubble and squeak but nothing to show for it! A goalless draw or maybe even a 0-1 defeat and back to square one!” But no, Celtic kept playing, and a touch of sheer class brought the first goal (well played Jota and Kyogu) then more sustained play brought a second which David Turnbull almost made a pig’s ear of. In between, there was a missed penalty which, to be fair, was a good save by the goalkeeper, and then two chances near the end which should have been put away.
But what I enjoyed most of all was the improvement in attitude and “game management” skills. Nothing stupid or gung-ho, but playing the ball sensibly out of defence (I thought Cameron Carter-Vickers was outstanding today), Celtic kept a grip on things. You can never tell with Celtic or in football generally, but I never really felt threatened by the Ferencvaros attack, and it was a very mature and sensible performance from all the Celtic defence and midfield.
I have mentioned Carter-Vickers, but I also liked McGregor, Turnbull, Rogic and Jota who is, quite simply, a class act. No-one failed to pass muster today, and the team and management deserve high praise for this performance. The substitutes even made an impression with Mikey Johnston reminding us of his ability once again, and Celtic finished well on top.
So where stand we? Possibly second place in this group is asking too much after our disastrous start (although on today’s show I wouldn’t rule anything out) but a draw in Hungary should see us into the Europa Conference League. That is by no means beyond us.
A cheering, encouraging sort of a day, made all the more remarkable by the backing of the fans (Heat of Lisbon bang on the 67th minute, and I thought I was beginning to forget about doing the huddle!). The corner has now been turned. Let us not throw it away against St Johnstone on Saturday. Let us keep the moaners silent for ever!
David Potter
