‘Olivier Ntcham? Difficult to make any sort of excuse,’ David Potter

St Mirren 0 Celtic 0

Well, quite a lot to digest here! Primarily a disappointment, it has to be said, but also enough to encourage us that things needn’t always be like that. One or two players were definitely off form, but form is temporary, as they say.

Olivier Ntcham? Difficult to make any sort of excuse for that irresponsible behaviour. To get two yellow cards before half-time is not a bad definition of stupidity. None of his fouls were necessarily all that bad, but there were loads of them, and he failed to take a warning from his yellow card.

I was amazed to hear Brendan Rodgers saying that the referee got that one wrong! Mr Dallas did indeed make a few mistakes tonight, but not that one. At least that St Mirren man who got booked in the first minute didn’t get booked again! Eleven men would have made a huge difference in that second half, I feel, particularly as Olivier has that ability to score unexpected goals himself.

That said, we could have won. We have three good chances in the second half – Leigh Griffiths, Callum McGregor and Dedryck Boyata all should have scored – although Leigh Griffiths was indeed offside at the death. We had loads of pressure but lacked the cutting edge, and here I am pointing the finger at Odsonne Edouard who was almost totally anonymous.

Callum McGregor looked tired and possibly there is an injury there. James Forrest did a lot, always looked like doing something but seems to have lost his appetite and desire to shoot. Scott Brown was magnificent, as always, and must have been as frustrated as the supporters were at the end. Tom Rogic also seemed to lack a little enthusiasm. The much maligned defence did nothing wrong, and Mr Benkovic looks as if he can fit in quite well.

The commentators said (correctly) that the first half performance was poor. The attitude did not seem to be there. You could not criticise the attitude shown in the second half, but we do need 90 minutes from a Celtic player!

Maybe the awful strip had some psychological effect. If the referee thought that the green and white hoops was a colour clash with St Mirren, the change strip should surely be predominantly green, rather than that awful urine yellow that we saw last night.

St Mirren and their new Manager will be happy with their point, Celtic less so. But the season is still young, and three lessons must be absorbed. One is that we must start the way we mean to continue and the 90 minutes starts at the start! Another is that we must keep 11 men on the field at all times, and the third is that we must take any half chance that comes our way.

No wholesale changes in the team are necessary, although a word must be had with Odsonne Edouard who was sadly anonymous last night. Leigh Griffiths who has shown marvellous commitment really deserves more starts. We also now need to see more of Ryan Christie and Lewis Morgan (when he is fit).

It was nice to see that St Mirren have bowed to realism and opened both ends to Celtic supporters. They were awarded with a virtual full house. Is the penny going to drop at grounds like St Johnstone and Kilmarnock as well?

Celtic supporters were a credit as always, Did I hear “A Nation Once Again” at one point? That’s an old one! Lovely to hear it! What about “Erin’s Green Valleys” some time? We could have done without the “F*** the SFA” especially when it was not really appropriate, and whatever happened to “In The Heat of Lisbon” on the 67th minute?

The commentators – I agreed with more or less everything they said, even Ally McCoist, but it seemed clear that Stephen Craigan is not a Celtic supporter. But we knew that anyway.

So lessons to be learned as we move on. It is still early enough in the season not to get too worried, but the dropping of points must not be allowed to become a habit. Rosenborg on Thursday. I feel I am now beginning to know some of their players by now! Then away trips to Kilmarnock and St Johnstone. A lot of football awaits, and at least the “International break” yawn has now passed. Real football is back!

David Potter

Highlight of the night was the supporters’ banner in praise of Leigh Griffiths…

????️ Brendan Rodgers speaks to @CelticTV after tonight's draw in Paisley. #STMCEL pic.twitter.com/LjdSZtfkBl

— Celtic Football Club (@CelticFC) September 14, 2018

The Celtic Star’s match report – see HERE.