Celtic head to Dens Park for another early Sunday kick off after an energy sapping European away game on Thursday night. It’s a computer that decides how these fixtures land, right?
The players may well be feeling it right now but with another international break after today, most at least can think about some rest and recuperation being implemented into their training plans for the next couple of weeks rather than the rinse and repeat of European midweeks and domestic weekends with little pause for breath. Before that however we all need one more herculean effort from the players to ensure Celtic remain within touching distance at the top of the league.
Last week’s slip up and two dropped points against Livingston at home, means there is no room for error at Dens this lunchtime. The European away win in Hungary and stunning performance to boot, almost wiped the memory banks of the pervious weekend’s struggle to break down David Martindale’s ten men behind the ball anti-football approach to the beautiful game, but it comes back into focus as we return to domestic duties.
In truth Celtic only had themselves to blame. There seemed to be a lack of risk in Celtic’s play preferring to control the game but forgetting to input the important element of taking a chance or two, to try something more than side to side movement hoping to tire the opposition and wear them down. A stuffy resistance held firm on most occasions from our opponents and without the ball carrying committing of opposition players, offered in normal circumstances by the absent Tom Rogic, few players took the bull by the horns and deviated from the safety of 85% possession and a belief the door would come down if we simply knocked on it gently enough repeatedly.
There were few shots from distance, little from the central midfielders to try and break the lines through the middle, and bar Jota and Ralston few players even trying to be particularly accurate with their wide deliveries, never mind gamble further, get to the by-line, cut the ball back and force Livingston players to turn and face their goal.
But then again it was one of those days. Goalless draws at Celtic Park are something every Celtic manager has had to bear over the years as teams park the bus, not so sure many have had late penalty opportunities passed up like we did last week mind you, but the least said about that one the better.
Today’s opponents may well look to Livingston for inspiration; however, Dee manager James McPake and ageing midfielder Charlie Adam have both indicated they won’t necessarily follow the exact gameplan of Livingston and may well make a game of it.
Mind you the last time they came face to face with Celtic they took six of the best from the Hoops so the temptation to retreat may well remain a consideration. Whether they do or don’t Celtic need to find a way to overcome the Dens Park side, and again they’ll need to do it without the invention of Tom Rogic.
David Turnbull’s best performance in weeks against Ferencvaros will give us all hope but the main thing every Celtic – and indeed Dundee fans – will be looking for is whether Kyogo Furuhashi starts this game or is on the bench. After a hat-trick in the previous meeting between the sides both sets of supporters will have very different views on that one.
To put it simply Kyogo has to start this game. His blurring movement and expert finishing left Dundee chasing shadows last time out ,and a few of their players would have gone to bed hoping for a restful night’s sleep only to have flashbacks of what happened that day.
Three of the assists that day were supplied by Ryan Christie and the sixth goal by Odsonne Edouard, as such the rest of the Celtic team will have to find ways to supply the ammunition Christie in particular did that afternoon. If they can Celtic’s matchwinner is our Japanese Bhoy and this is not time for considering further squad rotation.
The added advantage Celtic have is that although Christie has flitted to the retirement village of Bournemouth, his replacement Jota is very much on the same wavelength and Kyogo and can certainly supply similar ammunition as well as being a goal threat all by himself.
A Midday Sunday kick off on the back of a European away day is a tough ask for this Celtic team, however apparently that’s the way the supercomputer spat out the fixtures, and yet again we’ll just have to get on with it.
The last time the sides met the Sunday morning headline on the BBC was ‘Kyogo Furuhashi ignites side with mesmeric display’. I’ve a feeling Monday morning headlines this time around will read much the same if Ange Postecoglou unleashes Kyogo from the start today. It will then be all about supply and demand. Kyogo will demand it and Jota can supply it, and those two are the key to returning from Dundee with a vital three points today.
Niall J
