Quite a day this one! Due respect was paid to Big Billy – dignified yet enthusiastic, and the world left in no doubt that Billy would certainly be on the short leet for the greatest Celt of them all, and would probably win the award in any case.
The ground was noisy (as his family wanted it to be) and full of cheer with the Kilmarnock players and supporters joining in tastefullly as well. Credit to them!
????5⃣ Paying tribute pre-#CELKIL to our greatest ever captain, Billy McNeill.
Rest in peace, Cesar. You'll Never Walk Alone ????⚪️ pic.twitter.com/dzbWX8QxMG
— Celtic Football Club (@CelticFC) April 27, 2019
And then the game! I suppose it depends on your viewpoint.
It was actually an exciting game with Kilmarnock surprising everyone and laying down a reasonable claim to be considered the second best team in Scotland. On several occasions they might have scored, but Scott Bain had at least two good saves, and the Celtic defence, far from error free today it has to be said, just about coping with the pressure particularly the last desperate five minutes when Mr Collum gave Killie a series of free kicks, some justified, some not.
At this time of the year, a win is a win, and one seldom sees or expects scintillating champagne football. It is all about scoring more goals than the opposition.
Much has been made about 67 minutes and number 5 scoring with his head; even more spooky was my remark to the chap sitting next to me as we won the initial corner “This is where we could do with Billy McNeill”…
Anyway divine intervention or not, Jozo got the goal and we got the three points which mean that another point does it, and if Aberdeen even draw against Rangers, we do it as well. I don’t think any of us really expected Hearts to do anything against Rangers last week, but Aberdeen are a different matter. They are far from being poodles of Rangers, and always have their own agenda – a simple one. They hate them!
But today, Celtic had a few weaknesses. A great deal of loose passing which included Scott Brown, characterised the midfield. McGregor and Forrest looked a bit off on occasion, and Odsonne Edouard and Tom Rogic were not a success upfront. Scott Sinclair did have a few good runs but without any great success. The best defenders are always those who recover best from their own mistakes, and this was certainly true of Kristoffer Ajer today.
For Billy ????5⃣#CELKIL matchwinner, @SimunovicJozo, hands his shirt over to the McNeill family at the end of today's emotional match. pic.twitter.com/Zr9Kp55hQE
— Celtic Football Club (@CelticFC) April 27, 2019
The substitutes should perhaps have been on a little earlier, and I would have liked to have seen Oliver Burke getting a run today. “Run” is possibly a good word, for he would have run at the defence. The close passing, attempting to walk the ball into the net approach certainly did not work as far as Odsonne Edouard was concerned, and Tom Rogic’s shooting was more than a bit off today.
Still, a win is a win, and it was very welcome. A good game for the neutral (but who was neutral today?), a good performance from Kilmarnock who possibly deserved a draw in a game that was full of emotion and drama. But some things never change – Willie Collum was as eccentric as ever!
We are almost there!
David Potter
