It’s Firhill for Friday thrills and goals as the INVINCIBLES march on…
Three nights after the encouraging draw at the Etihad, it was Firhill for Friday Thrills, as the Hoops continued their quest for the flag. My daughter was still playing for Partick Thistle Ladies, so she had arranged for tickets in the Jackie Husband Stand for the short trip to Maryhill. Gary Mackay-Steven’s impressive substitute cameo role in midweek saw him start a game under Brendan Rodgers for the first time, in place of hamstring victim James Forrest. Cristian Gamboa and Leigh Griffiths also came in for Jozo Simunovic and Moussa Dembélé, with Mikael Lustig sliding across into central defence.
A tight first half saw Celtic finally nudge ahead on 40 minutes, great work on the left by Griffiths setting up Stuart Armstrong for a tap-in at the same end where he and pal Mackay-Steven had scored on their Celtic debuts back in February 2015. A lightning start to the second period then enabled Celts to stretch the lead to 3-0. First Griffiths set up Armstrong again, his short pass from a free-kick on the right wing curled beautifully into the far corner by the blond midfielder, enjoying a rich vein of form at that time. Two minutes later, Gamboa won the ball in midfield, the Costa Rican feeding Griffiths, the little striker then turning his man brilliantly to fire past Tomas Cerny in the home goals.
There was a brief flurry on the hour from the hosts, which saw them pull a goal back, Liam Lindsay looking suspiciously offside before his looping header beat Craig Gordon. That potential injustice was balanced out minutes later, when Sean Welsh nodded home from another set-piece, this time the linesman’s flag raised for offside. TV highlights would later suggest that both decisions were incorrect.
Griffiths then went close to clinching the game with the best move of the night, the striker twisting past several defenders to bring out an outstanding save from Cerny. With nine minutes remaining, the points were safe. A fine run down the left by Emilio Izaguirre was followed by a delightful cross over the backtracking defenders to pick out substitute Callum McGregor, making a late run into the box. His finish was unerring, leaving the Czech keeper no chance as he rounded off a good night’s work at 4-1, enjoyable fare for the Celtic supporters within the 7,609 crowd at Firhill. For once the combination of that scoreline and Partick Thistle was not the stuff of nightmares for Hoops fans of a certain vintage.
A rueful Thistle manager Alan Archibald later reflected on a long night against the champions.
“We made it tough for ourselves. You can’t give good sides goals. We struggled with the basics tonight. They got in behind us with a couple of long balls and that was the disappointment. Good sides can cut you open but I thought we gave them goals. We got into good positions, but we didn’t do anything with it. You’ve got to have that belief and we didn’t have that tonight.”
Whereas Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers was a happier man.
“I don’t think Partick Thistle have conceded more than two goals in a game this season. On the back of Tuesday night [away to Manchester City], with only two days recovery, to come here and play to that level was exceptional really. You give Partick credit tonight. They made it really difficult but the mentality in the team is very strong. I can see the development, the relationship between training and the game. They are taking on board the concepts of our build-up play and consolidating the game, and then we’ve obviously got goals in the team. We’re staying very composed and calm under pressure, and that’s a really good sign.”
*Extract from Invincible by Matt Corr, published in May 2020 by The Celtic Star.
Just click on the cover to order your signed copy
— Li'l Ze (@LilZe_7) December 9, 2020
