CORPUS CHRISTIE – 7/10
Man, the Saviour with the tangerine sandals certainly can’t deliver a cross as well as one of his sermons. He performed his familiar cultured role of dropping off the front and turning when there’s no gaps to run into. And everything was set nicely for him to be our match-winner – movement, touch, a persistent edge making him a tough prospect to mark, almost scored a sweet one…
But… Waaay off with crucial deliveries from great positions. Percentage return must be low. A fine detail that just needs adjusting in the moment, yet something so vital to our game as we flood the box only to see the ball fail to pass the first man (defensive first man that you see winning ALL our corners and crosses, noobs – old football adage: ‘Get the cross beyond their ‘first man.’)
Burning the orange boots might be a start. Ask yer Da’.
FORREST – N/A
Jamesy lasted half an hour (ladies…). But some sort of genital strain had him limping out of it in a baffling few minutes when we checked the team-sheet to see if he’d been on from the start in any case.
FRENCH EDDY – 6/10
Le frustration. Not 100% sharp means he looks sluggish on the ball as those deft touches don’t match the acceleration. A full-on Eddy had a hat-trick tonight, but reality was a half-yard off the pace. And required a strike partner to take the weight…
SUBS:
PINGPONG – 8.5/10 MOTM
Thank Ghod for the wee mhan. Exuberance and energy and dynamic, direct wing play seemed the antithesis of
this Celtic display, yet was what made the difference in the end. Buzzed in, around and at them, tormenting their left side; Jinky-esque relentlessness.
The dividend was paid out at the death after two near things, and he’s credited with setting up a winner and possibly saving face, a Euro season, and jobs. Phew.
THE YETI – 7/10
It was almost too much to expect that he grabs another vital goal, and in the spirit of disbelief we were
experiencing he contrived to do anything but score from a yard out in a schoolyard scramble. Twice. But he was lively and sharp in the danger zone.
ELSHAGYONLASSIE – 8/10
What a touch. Tension headaches subside all round as he guides that in with all the class he often promises. The sub nobody wanted scores the winner we all did.
.@CelticFC with what looks to be a stoppage time WINNER! 🔥
Mohamed Elyounoussi got the all-important breakthrough that should send his team into the next round 🍀 pic.twitter.com/LzmdAIU5FM
— Premier Sports 📺 (@PremierSportsTV) September 24, 2020
LENNONY – 6/10
Two up front? Well, for 11 minutes… Then he took off our top striker as we chased a desperate win. And… his sub scores the winner. So, eh, ya-boo to you whingers…But past Celtic Euro triumphs under Lennony have been marked by the sides’ great tempo from the start – something we used to complain about when The Snake set us up to get savaged.
Yet last night Lennony had it far too relaxed, to the extent we flirted with disaster instead of having the tie dusted by half-time protein bars. We hope he was as bemused as you or I at the ineffectiveness of his formation; nullified by a simple regimented defensive block. By default he found the answer – a winger to get in behind and turn the back line. Will he learn? Will we see another winger (left) in before the window closes? Hmm…
OVERALL – 5.5/10
And Riga take the Rangers’ “wuruld recurd” of being the youngest club Celtic have ever played in competitive action. And they used to be called Caramba, a Bart Simpson expression of surprise. So ‘Ay Caramba!’ it was in the 90th minute as Elshag popped up to make the Duff beer taste sweeter; A good thing, because the previous 89 had been diluted Colin Nish.. Anemic, tepid, hesitant play with the ball frequently mistaken for a shuffleboard puck as the players googled ‘urgency’ on their phones. Side to side we went, side to side Riga went, organised, determined and pushing themselves to the limit of their abilities.
Credit to them for the outstanding effort – if they’d scored first late on they’d have won. Shocking complacency from our bhoys – we seemed to forget how to sweep aside lesser teams and fell into the classic sinful approach, making it grim viewing and no doubt many television sets will require therapy after being sworn at so aggressively.
We chalk this up as a vital win, though we need some sort of mental reset to find team cohesion again, rather than playing as a loose collection of individual talent relying on a handful of good performances to see us through every week. Perhaps the end of the transfer window will see a more settled Celtic ready to forge on.
We can hope. We can also hope we won’t see such inept tomfleckery almost disgrace the Hoops in Europe ever again, against a side no better than middling SPL fodder. Almost papped out of Europe by Motherwell. Jesus wept. But we got there in the end.
Go Away Now
Sandman
ALSO READ…Riga 0 Celtic 1 – ‘Any win away from home in Europe is a good one,’ David Potter
