An away trip to Livingston with a plastic pitch and 4 seasons in one day to contend with is never going to provide a footballing spectacle is it? Usually not, but today Celtic provided a performance much greater than I expected, especially in the second half. We always know when we go up against Livingston that it will be a war of attrition and this lunchtime fixture at the Tony Macaroni stadium proved no different.
In matches like this claiming three points and moving on to the next match is all that really matters and Celtic done what was required today, and then some. By the end of this one it really could, and should, have been at least five. We were utterly dominate during that second half.
Ange Postecoglou once again rung the changes as the Celtic manager continues to fully utilise his squad this season. As ever it was a strong line up with the likes of James Forrest and Arron Mooy returning to the starting eleven. In a match such as this an early goal is priceless as you know the opposition won’t often stray from their ultra defensive style so when you are presented with an opportunity in front of goal it is vital that you take it and that’s exactly what Japanese striker Kyogo did in the 9th minute.
Left back Greg Taylor, who’s levels seem to be increasing by the week, was the provider with a wonderfully timed through ball straight to the feet of the Celtic attacker who took a couple of touches before unleashing a ferocious strike that was placed perfectly into the top corner via the inside of the post leaving the Livingston goalkeeper with no chance.
It was fantastic to see Kyogo bury such an opportunity as he has seemed to had absolutely no luck in front of goal lately and today will have done his confidence the world of good. Hopefully we see him go on a goalscoring run now in our remaining games before that 5 week long break for the World Cup.
The first half was exactly what we expected. Livingston sat in and I hoped their big striker, who was in a constant physical battle with Cameron Carter-Vickers, would provide them with a threat up front. The first half wasn’t a great spectacle to be honest but with Kyogo getting that early goal there was no need to panic as the home side weren’t proving much of a threat at any stage of the match.
Celtic spent the whole half in control and constantly probing the Livingston defence but didn’t really create too many clear cut chances in the process.
The away side started the second half however with added vigour and were totally dominate, with the hosts barely getting any moments of possession never mind creating goal scoring chances. It looked like only a matter of time before Celtic would increase their lead, with players seemingly happier to shoot whenever they got the opportunity, unlike the first half.
After scoring the winner against Heart’s last weekend, left back Greg Taylor tried adding to his goalscoring exploits by having a pop from outside the box as Celtic applied the pressure. Despite failing with this attempt it didn’t discourage the Scotland international who a short time later would double Celtic’s lead with an almost identical strike, this time however it flew between the Livingston keeper’s legs as Taylor netted a memorable goal on what was his 100th appearance for Celtic.
It seems like I’m saying it every week but he really is cementing himself as an integral parts of this Celtic set up under Ange Postecoglou. Surely no one at this stage is still doubting his ability?
Celtic were in cruise control at this stage and Livingston looked absolutely clueless as to how they could work themselves back into this contest. As usual the Celtic manager started looking towards the bench after the hour mark as he rested players before the midweek tie against Real Madrid in the Spanish capital.
The Livingston players hearts must have sank by the time Giorgos Giakoumakis and Jota entered the fray with Celtic looking ever increasingly like scoring a third. The Greek striker in particular was being handed plenty of chances although rather uncharacteristically seemed to have left his shooting boots in the changing room.
After a potential handball in the Livingston box, the first real VAR moment to crop up in the match saw Willie Collum correctly award Celtic a penalty and Giakoumakis stepped up hoping to put to bed his penalty miss last season against the same opponents which cost Celtic maximum points. Unfortunately the striker was to miss once again, hitting the post as Livingston breathed a sigh of relief.
I love Giakoumakis but I have to say that short run up really annoys me in a penalty taker. When I saw it I just knew he was going to miss. Thankfully not many will mind as the game was already wrapped up but if that would have been an important penalty he would be getting pelters for that effort.
Just as the penalty miss seemed to have put a slight dampener on the proceedings, another substitute in the form of the returning Jota managed to put a smile back on all our faces as he connected with a fine cross from David Turnbull to net the third. It’s great to have the Portuguese star back and you could see how much he enjoyed getting on the score-sheet after returning from injury.
All in all today was a fantastic performance from Celtic who went to their bogey ground, dominated the game, and won convincingly in the end. Many looked at this fixture as the one that could trip us up before the season goes on its break for the World Cup but this Celtic team negotiated it perfectly. At no point did Livingston ever look like causing an upset.
It’s great that no matter how defensively minded teams set up against us that this team always seemed to find a way to break them down. Full points from the three games until the break are now a must, especially against 3 teams we should have no problem dispatching if we are fully focused on the task ahead.
On to our final Champions League group game now and a daunting meeting with the current European champions at their own ground. Hopefully with nothing now to play for in their group Celtic will go for it and try to give Madrid a bloody nose and our travelling fans a memorable night in the Bernabeu.
Like the majority of this Champions league campaign this will be yet another learning curve for this squad and provide another chance to test yourself against the very best in the world. I have no doubt they will benefit from this experience as we once again tackle the competition next season.
Conall McGinty
