Another game. Another Celtic victory. Oh and another clean sheet. So that’s 6-0 now in terms of the 2019 winning streak and 16-0 on aggregate since returning from the break. These intros are now more or less writing themselves.
So last night Celtic secured another three points as the march towards eight consecutive titles rolls on. As expected a somewhat demoralised Hibs team in disarray since the departure of their manager Neil Lennon offered little. In their dugout, Eddie May continues to look as about uncomfortable as a pilgrim in an unholy land no doubt suffering flashbacks to his ever so brief yet disastrous tenure at the helm of Falkirk nearly a decade ago. Time flies. He also disclosed after the match he’d put off having a vasectomy so as to attend the game. That’s commitment. Either that or he bottled it.
Under Lennon, Hibs were a challenge every time we met them. Indeed in the last six league encounters between us and them, we’d only beaten them twice suffering two defeats and drawing twice in the process with an aggregate score of 10-10. Every game had been free-scoring save one with goals flying in at either end. However last night they offered little and Celtic pretty much did as they pleased with Timothy Weah and Scott Sinclair both going close before Jeremy Toljan cut in from the right to feed Christie in the box and the Scotland internationalist turned and buried it nicely to open the scoring on 24 mins. The rest of the half was more of the same.
In the second half, Celtic continued to create chance after chance and it should have been two when Boyata’s point-blank header was saved magnificently by Ofir Marciano. But the points were wrapped up finally on 63 mins when McGregor fed Christie from his own half and he scampered forward before releasing Burke with a nicely placed through ball that was duly executed in the box by that man Oliver Burke who finished via a deflection from the diving Darren McGregor which dinked over the despairing Marciano.
As a result, Celtic move onto 57 points with their third consecutive 2-0 win and remain six points clear of second-placed Rangers who stayed in contention thanks to a 4-2 win at Pittodrie over Aberdeen which sees the Govan based side pull five points ahead of the Dons after a controversy-filled affair. Having gone into the break 3-1 up thanks to two goals from Alfredo Morelos and the customary penalty for James Tavernier all looked comfortable before Englishman Tavernier conceded a penalty in his own box early in the second half that was converted by recent goal machine Sam Cosgrove. Then back up the other end, that man Morelos continued his pantomime style approach to the beautiful game as he raked a foot down alleged Celtic target Scott McKenna before appearing to take a stud to the face as the big Reds defender retaliated. Morelos went down like he’d been tasered by Grampians finest and both were subsequently shown red cards. Thereafter the home side dominated and were unlucky not to get another penalty when Allan McGregor unsuccessfully tried to break the shin of young Lewis Ferguson before a breakaway deep into injury time saw Jermain Defoe bury his new sides fourth goal and secure the points.
Earlier on today Alfredo Morelos red card was rather brazenly appealed by his employers. If the SPFL – or is it the SFA? – actually, entertain it never mind overturn the original decision then any last lingering shreds of credibility the ruling body have in Scottish football will be thoroughly doused in petrol and incinerated for good. It would be lunacy. So that’s probably why it might happen.
As the candles dimmed on Aberdeens’ unlikely title challenge they were also more or less extinguished over at Dens Park where Kilmarnock were held to a 2-2 draw by relegation battlers Dundee. 2-1 down at halftime Steve Clarke’s men got it back to equal terms thanks to a spectacular free-kick from Chris Burke and then laid siege to their host’s goal before Kenny Miller raced clear on the break in the dying embers and won a penalty. He stepped up to covert but fluffed it though and Dundee passed up the chance for two undeserved but vital extra points.
Livingston stopped the rot of their recent five-game losing run by batoning down the hatches at Tynecastle and securing a 0-0 draw against their favourite team Hearts whilst the Brian Rice revolution got off to a flyer at New Douglas Park thanks to a 2-1 win for his new charges Hamilton Accies against St.Johnstone for whom the wheels have really come off recently. That’s their fourth league loss on the spin having only lost two of their previous thirteen.
The season of woe over in Paisley continues for St.Mirren and their beleaguered manager Oran Kearney. They suffered their sixth loss in a row on league duty via a 2-1 home defeat to Motherwell and that’s their 19th in 25 in what has been a truly awful campaign. Their 0-0 draw in his first match against us back in mid-September must feel like a managerial lifetime ago for Kearney and you wonder just how much longer it can go on for before the latest axe swings on a Premiership manager’s head.
As for the rejuvenated Motherwell, that’s their fifth straight league win in a row now with nine goals scored and only two conceded. Youngsters such as Jake Hastie, Allan Campbell and David Turnbull have really come into form and they now look almost odds on to catch struggling St.Johnstone for a top six place which seemed nigh on impossible going into the winter break.
This weekend it’s back to the cup and we entertain that very team I’ve just written off in St.Johnstone on Sunday. Injury wise we are still likely to be without Odsonne Edouard and James Forrest with Tierney, Rogic, Benkovic and Griffiths also still way off. Emilio Izaguirre could also struggle after suffering a heavy tackle to his ankle last night though according to Brendan it’s not as bad as first feared. Bayo made the bench last night and might see some game time but again the expectations will lie with our go-to guys McGregor and Christie as well as the new Timothy Weah / Olly Burke connection.
Kilmarnock will be hoping to repeat their recent win over Rangers in the Saturday evening game and there will be all the razmataz and glamour of the Highland Derby on Monday night. Expect Dundee Utd to also fancy themselves at a dejected St.Mirren in what could be another nail in Oran Kearney’s Scottish football management coffin.
....Always A Tim! 