Tonight we take on Aberdeen at Pittodrie. In many ways there is an irony that we return now that we are top of the table, since it was at this ground we banished the impending doom of away day blues to start picking up points again way back in October. I said at the time that the 2-1 victory we earned courtesy of a Jota goal late in the match could be the genesis of Ange Postecoglou’s reign as manager.
And to be fair, it certainly looks that way as things stand just now. Having had minor blips throughout the ensuing period after the victory in the North East, we haven’t given away much apart from a couple of draws that came down to a lack of finishing ability, mostly due to successive injuries. Giakoumakis missing the penalty against Livngston at home was a sore one, considering the golden opportunity we had with the last kick of the ball that afternoon at Parkhead. So too the agonising draw in Paisley when we just couldn’t breach that Buddies’ defensive wall, having the ball for virtually the full game.
With the refreshing of the squad recently we have certainly taken it up another level, as evidenced in the way we dismantled theRangers and Motherwell in the past couple of games before half-time. The Hearts game should have been the same but we tired, understandably, in the middle of the park that night with two new debutants engulfed in the vociferous atmosphere of Tyncastle in the form of Reo Hatate and Matt O’Riley. We still made it in the end and of course that’s what counts at the final mark up come May.
I expect another extremely tough and taxing game for us tonight against our former captain and his teammates. They did not make life easy for us earlier in the season and are not likely to start doing so now, that is despite their poor form of late. All the more reason they will be desperate to put on a show for their manager and supporters. I thought after the game they drew with the Ibrox side last month all they were missing was a striker and they would be possibly competing for a top three spot in the cinch Premiership. They dominated the away team that night and weren’t afraid to put it about. We should prepare ourselves for much of the same – note to Jota.
The foot should be firmly to the floor by Celtic this evening, just as we have done so well of late. Although it will be tough with the conditions, I still think we will have too much in the tank for the Dons if we play to our potential. With the League table having everyone on marching duty because of the mere single point, it should be remembered that the desire shown in the previous two games are what is required if we are to pip this title, from under the noses of a gloating fanbase and football team that have fleeting delusions of adequacy because of their covid cup win.
Full steam ahead, Celtic!
Paul Gillespie