Celtic made the short trip to Motherwell this afternoon with fans hoping the team wouldn’t endure any sort of slump at Fir Park after experiencing incredible highs at Celtic Park against theRangers on Wednesday night.
During the opening stages of this contest Celtic didn’t quash those fears as they got off to a relatively slow start but it didn’t take long for our Bhoys to find their stride and once they did we completely blew the opposition away. For the second game in a row Celtic had the three points wrapped up by half time as they yet again entered the break with a three goal cushion.
The opener came in the 28th minute as Liel Abada proved yet again that he can be relied upon to deliver important goals at important times as he timed a run into the box perfectly and buried a fantastic sweeping pass by Wednesday nights hero Reo Hatate into the net past goalkeeper Liam Kelly.
Suddenly, after a somewhat quiet opening period Celtic now looked extremely threatening and we didn’t have to wait long for the next goal, and what a strike it was. Tom Rogic, back in the team after missing Wednesday night due to International commitments with Australia, received the ball from Abada and took a few seconds to compose himself before curling a wonderful effort into the top corner.
Another world class goal from the attacking midfielder to add to his already impressive collection. His post match comments about Celtic being at the top of the pile for the past decade were almost as clinical and enjoyable as his 31st minute strike!
Just before half-time Celtic were denied a stonewall penalty for handball when Motherwell defender Jake Carroll blocked a goal bound effort from Rogic before Abada’s overhead kick was disallowed for offside. Celtic would refuse to let yet another ‘honest mistake’ by theRangers supporter John Beaton derail them however as they pretty much wrapped the game up moments later.
Liel Abada was involved once again as he latched onto a lovely weighted through ball from Anthony Ralston, got his head up and perfectly picked out the incoming Rogic once more and the Australian dispatched the pass into the net with ease as Celtic entered the half way mark in total domination. This presented Ange Postecoglou with the chance to rest players and he took off both Hatate and Abada at half time replacing them with Nir Bitton and James Forrest.
Unlike on Wednesday, Celtic looked like they were going to score even more as they got motoring in the second half and if it wasn’t for Liam Kelly in the Motherwell goal they could easily have had as many goals in the second period as they did in the first. In the end they only registered one further goal as Daizen Maeda netted a scrappy fourth in the 71st minute. The Japanese striker could probably have had a few more as he looked more threating once moved into the middle as Giakoumakis made way for Jota with about half an hour left.
All in all this was the perfect performance after moving top of the table on Wednesday. Fans of theRangers would have been hoping we may have experienced a slump after our midweek efforts but they would have endured even more hurt as we maintained our recent momentum with yet another clinical showing. We are currently flying and seem to be improving every week which is mightily encouraging. The defence should once again receive praise for yet another clean sheet and solid display. I feel like they haven’t received enough praise for their work this season, probably due to the exploits of our attacking players, but they have been magnificent recently.
With players returning from injury and international commitments it was great to see the strength on our bench today. We brought on Bitton, Forrest, Jota, O’Riley and Juranovic during the game. That’s some players to have in reserve and let’s not forget we still have Jullien, Kyogo and Turnbull all to return from injury.
I’m failing to remember any stage during the past when we have had two players in each position of such a high standard. This will be massive going forward as players will know that any drop in form and they will have someone champing at the bit to take their spot in the side. After watching Matt O’Riley on Wednesday I’m sure it inspired Tom Rogic to prove he’s still number one in his position.
Another vital 3 points in the bag for Celtic as we head towards yet another tricky away day up at Pittodrie on Wednesday. Lets hope for more of the same from Ange Postecoglou’s Bhoys against Aberdeen.
Conall McGinty
