Bodo/Glimt goalscorer Ola Solbakken reckons that the Norwegian Champions should have scored more against Celtic last night. The Scottish Premiership leaders may have had one eye on the game at Easter Road on Sunday, where a win will see the six points deficit from the start of the year turn into a six point advantage at the top of the table ahead of the later kick-off at Ibrox.
That said a 5-1 aggregate defeat in the third tier competition of European football is hard to take for the Celtic support, particularly the hundreds who made their way to the Arctic circle to watch what was a hugely disappointing Celtic performance. Football turns around fast though and three points on Sunday at Easter Road will lift spirits considerably.
The one other worry at the back of all our minds is the forthcoming trip to the Tony Macaroni in Livingston to play on that plastic surface. Celtic didn’t cope with it the last time and certainly struggled last night in the wintery, windy night , with underfoot conditions probably treacherous and while the weather isn’t likely to be as bad in West Lothian, we still need to find a way to win on these surfaces.
The win over Celtic certainly is a major achievement for the Norwegian side, who were playing in the second tier of Norwegian football not so long ago.
“Today’s match is high on the list considering the time and where we stand,” Solbakken said afterwards, as reported by Daily Record. “We have a lot to go on today, we won 5-1 overall. Still, I feel we should have punished them even more. But the performance over two matches is very good.
“Their principles are exactly the same (as per the first leg at Celtic Park last Thursday night). They did the same as in the previous match. When we were in Glasgow I was very excited about where we were going, but I realised early on that we were doing well.
“Today I am not surprised. Today we could have been much better, despite the fact that it was a good match.”
🇳🇴 | Ola Solbakken
Interesting to see from @HereCelts that Ola Solbakken was offered to Celtic last summer.
Out of contract in December the Norway international would be available for an absolute snippet of his worth.
We should be all over that.pic.twitter.com/FWdfOHSYp5
— Everything Celtic (@aboutceltic) February 25, 2022
Some great reporting by Celts Are Here this morning regarding Ola Solbakken. The popular Celtic fan media site carried an opinion piece this morning arguing that Solbakken is exactly the type of player that Celtic should be looking at signing this summer as the Postecoglou rebuild goes into the next phase.
They then followed that up by speaking to the player’s agent who confirmed to Celts Are Here that the player is 100% out of contract in December and there’s no extension clause. Not only that, Celtic scouts were offered the player last summer during the rebuild.
“There’s no clause and no option (for Bodo to extend his current deal). Ola was offered to Celtic scouts last summer.”
Having seen the player at close quarters Ange Postecoglou will be well placed to determine whether Ola Solbakken is the type of player he wants to sign. He may also be having difficulty seeing how he is going to get the best out of James Forrest who is struggling to show any of his best form in a season that has been interrupted by ongoing injury concerns.
I’ve lost count how many times people in our support have written off James Forrest.
That being said, I’m really struggling to see what he’s offering the team right now.
In my eyes, a club legend. Not many have or ever will achieve what he has at Celtic but he’s struggling. pic.twitter.com/5jlmwM53Oe
— Everything Celtic (@aboutceltic) February 25, 2022
Over this play-off tie, Solbakken certainly has done his chances of getting a move to Celtic no hard at all.
