I wrote an article a few days ago discussing Chris Sutton’s opinion that Celtic needed to get it right defensively in the Glasgow Derby and that the match would be a test to see whether the centre back pairing of Carl Starfelt and Cameron Carter-Vickers really had rectified problems that appeared earlier on in the season, specifically losing goals to set pieces.
I stated that I had absolutely no doubt that if Celtic held firm at the back that I could only see one outcome due to Celtic’s strength in the attacking areas – a Celtic win. That was exactly the result Ange Postecoglou left Ibrox with yesterday, and it has to be said that this was in no small part down to the outstanding performances of both Starfelt and Carter-Vickers in defence.
Sutton, in his opinion piece in today’s Daily Record, stated the pair were ‘superb’ as they provided Celtic with a strong backbone that has been lacking over the past few visits to Ibrox. He said:
“Cameron Carter-Vickers and Carl Starfelt. I made it crystal clear before the game at Ibrox that those two were going to have to be outstanding for Celtic to win. Both players were every bit as good as they needed to be.
“In fact, they were even better with one of them coming up with a winning goal. Carter-Vickers and Starfelt were asked time and time again to defend their box. To cope with set plays, to match theRangers strength in those situations.
“Time and again they came up with the answers. Time and again they put a head on things. They got a block in. They hustled and harried a striker. Kemar Roofe might not have given them as stiff a test as Alfredo Morelos may have done, but who is to say they wouldn’t have handled him as well?
“There was no clean sheet, but that wasn’t really their doing. They were left exposed when Josip Juranovic got caught with a ball inside. But from that point they were superb and gave Celtic the type of backbone which they have lacked in some of the recent matches against Rangers, especially at Ibrox.”
As Sutton says, the pair stood up yesterday when it mattered. They handled absolutely everything theRangers threw at them, especially during the second half. My own emotions yesterday swung from being frustrated and worried early on in regards to our defence due to the simple goal we conceded as well as giving away cheap free kicks in our own half, something Starfelt was guilty of on a few occasions, to feeling supremely confident towards the end of the game that we wouldn’t concede as our centre back pairing batted everything they threw at us away with ease. They proved yesterday that their outstanding record in the Premiership this season is no fluke.
Sutton continues in his option piece to praise Ange Postecoglou for all the big calls he made yesterday in regards to Celtic’s starting eleven. Most of the talk in the build up to the match was the battle for two spots in particular, the attacking midfield position and who started on the right hand side of the attack.
The Australian picked fellow countryman Tom Rogic over Matt O’Riley, who had been so effective against our title rivals back in February, and it proved a wonderful decision as ‘the Wizard of Oz’ served up an incredible performance proving that on his day he must be regarded as the best footballer in Scottish football. Sutton called it a ‘masterful performance’ and claims that Rogic has been one of the real success stories of Postecoglou’s reign.
The other big call of course was picking Daizen Maeda over Liel Abada on the right. Many thought Abada would get the shout after he terrorised theRangers back in February but Postecoglou chose to go with the Japanese attacker. Maeda proved an absolute nuisance throughout and ran the home teams defence ragged with his endless energy. He also had a huge appeal for a penalty when McGregor took away his legs as he tried to round the keeper but the claim was not surprisingly waved away by Willie Collum. Sutton called Maeda’s energy ‘next level stuff’.
Personally I thought Ange’s game management in terms of who came on and when they came on was excellent also. Bitton came on at the perfect time as it was clear Hatate was out on his feet, and put in a fantastic performance that helped Celtic regain a hold in the midfield area. Abada also arrived for a fading Jota and with the Portuguese star and Maeda having run their full backs ragged, Abada was presenting with two clear scoring chances he in all honesty really should have netted. The other subs were mainly due to injury but all played their part in seeing out a wonderful victory.
As theRangers fans endured all sorts of pain and sorrow last night I hope they recall how they laughed when Ange Postecoglou was appointed manager of Celtic. Doesn’t quite seem so funny now, does it?
Conall McGinty
