Five talking points from an ice-cold Paradise

1. DEMBELE and Edouard, dangerous duo. Celtic have a striking partnership there which provided 3 goals in 45minutes after the on-loan PSG striker replaced Scotty Sinclair at the interval. These two had combined to great effect against Hearts on 30 January, each scoring with Boyata getting the third. It was 3 more goals today with Dembele grabbing two and Edouard finishing things off. Celtic lacked penetration and threat in the first half but not in the second and this pairing may well be something Brendan Rodgers will look at for next Sunday’s visit to Ibrox.

2. A FIRST OUTING FOR COMPPER. The German veteran, well in this young Celtic side a 32 year old is a veteran, eased himself into the Celtic side. An early slack pass raised one or two eyebrows in the stands and led to 5 minutes of play inside the Celtic half. Throughout the game he was competent enough while looking slightly rusty with his first touch and distribution. On the plus side he has 80 minutes of football under his belt in a Hoops jersey and looked pleased with himself as he high fived everyone on the Celtic bench after being replaced by Callum McGregor.

3. TEAM NEWS EXCLUSIVE. The Celtic Star’s wee exclusive this morning that Marvin Compper would start and Paddy Roberts would be on the bench proved to be accurate. It’s worth pointing that out given the amount of made up Colin Nish we’ve all got to put up with. And with Celtic due at the Ibrox next weekend there is almost certainly going to be an unsettling or negative story or two coming our way.

4. MORTON moderately decent. Today’s visitors brought a bigger support than just most of the teams in our league and the standard of play from Jim Duffy’s side was on a par certainly with anything in the bottom six. Morton and currently sitting in third position in the Championship behind runaway league leaders St Mirren and second placed Livingston. They are being chased by the likes of Dundee United, Dunfermline and Queen of the South. Falkirk, tomorrow’s visitors to Ibrox are further back and are apparently a decent side. Inverness Caley Thistle are in seventh spot. For those who think we would benefit from a bigger league, the Championship does seem to have strength in depth.

5. A DAY FOR THE DIEHARDS. It was cold, very cold. Celtic’s ground-staff has done a miraculous job clearing snow from around the ground although the poor souls struggling along the treacherous pavements along the Gallowgate as our bus passed by certainly did earn the tag of being faithful through and through. The pitch was fine so there was no reason why the game should have been called off but our bus had around a dozen hardy souls on it rather than the usual 40ish. That was the situation on most of the buses arriving at the ground. But we’re through, back at Hampden and on course for another treble. Next stop Ibrox. Hope everyone there today has a ticket if they want one.

THE CELTIC STAR PODCAST – FEATURING DAVID LOW

THE CELTIC STAR PODCAST EXTRA – FEATURING CELTIC BY NUMBERS

About Author

The Celtic Star founder and editor, who has edited numerous Celtic books over the past decade or so including several from Lisbon Lions, Willie Wallace, Tommy Gemmell and Jim Craig. Earliest Celtic memories include a win over East Fife at Celtic Park and the 4-1 League Cup loss to Partick Thistle as a 6 year old. Best game? Easy 4-2, 1979 when Ten Men Won the League. Email editor@thecelticstar.co.uk

Comments are closed.