So the weekend’s over and we’re now seven points clear.
That sentence would have seemed fanciable in the wake of the 2-1 loss to Rangers back on December 29th but after their bottle smashed at Tynecastle a week ago yesterday they also dropped more points with a 0-0 draw at home to Aberdeen on Saturday.
To be honest the Dons deserved more with Sam Cosgrove fluffing his lines in front of goal twice and Allan McGregor producing a fabulous second-half save from an Ash Taylor header.
But we’ll take it.
The following day we rolled up to South Lanarkshire and New Douglas Park – or whatever the hell it is they are calling it these days – to play struggling Hamilton Accies who are at the bottom of the league and are having to endure their manager Brian Rice being banned from the touchline for at least five games after admitting gambling offences.
The home side were well organised and resolute and we were lacking the spark that saw us blow St.Johnstone off the pitch after only 30 mins last Wednesday evening.
To make matters worse they took a shock lead through Marios Ogkmpoe after only 26 mins with a bullet header from a corner kick as big Christopher Jullien struggled to deal with the bullish Hamilton attackers physicality.
You started to worry it might be one of those days as we toiled to find any rhythm and the hosts looked well up for it but then it all turned just the half-hour mark.
A long straight ball forward by Jullien evaded the Hamilton defence and allowed Leigh Griffiths to race through on goal only to be pulled back by young defender, the aptly named Jamie Hamilton who as clearly the last man and as a result had to walk.
Ally McCoist spouted a load of nonsense from his half time analysis desk that it was harsh as he thought Sam Woods could have got over to Griffiths had Hamilton not pulled him down but Super Ally clearly had his union jack boxers on when making that claim. He also wanted Leigh Griffiths off for a nothing incident earlier in the game because apparently, it would’ve been a red if it was Morelos. Yeah because he’s never gotten away with stamping on players before has he Ally? Not to mention this incident wasn’t a stamp at all. Total nonsense and desperate stuff from the ex-Ibrox manager.
Anyway back to the game and from the resultant free-kick at the edge of the box which occurred after the sending off Odsonne Edouard stepped up and smashed home the equaliser.
In the second half the ten men of Hamilton stood up and refused to crumble and going into the last 15 mins of the game the tension was palpable.
Neil Lennon had already gone for it bringing on all three subs in the returning Ryan Christie as well as Jonny Hayes and Tom Rogic with the two strikers kept up top.
It finally paid off with only twelve minutes left as a quick throw-in from Hayes eventually led to the diminutive Irishman feeding Ryan Christie on the wing who put in a fabulous cross for big Jullien to net the ball like a seasoned marksman with a wonderful side-footed finish.
And after that, the floodgates opened as Edouard played a wonderful one-two with Rogic which resulted in our third and then he missed his hat trick after being set-up by James Forrest before returning the favour and cueing up Forrest to net our fourth.
So somehow a tight and frustrating day had turned into a 4-1 spanking and three vital points.
Edouard’s two goals really were subline and that takes him up to 22 in all competitions so far this season with 18 of them in the league.
He’s been in terrific form since returning from the winter break with five goals and his partnership with Griffiths in a 3-5-2 formation seems to be suiting both as Griffiths is also back to something resembling his very best.
Oh and a special mention to young Stephen Welsh who slotted in for Jozo Simunovic in the back three. Like most of you, I hadn’t actually heard of him before and though not under much pressure for most of the game he slotted in nicely with a composed display.
On to Wednesday now and we entertain Motherwell.
They remain third in the league despite a 1-0 loss away at Livingston at the weekend with a three-point advantage over fourth-placed Aberdeen and their form has been by and large pretty excellent all season.
Indeed they are only ten points off their total for last season already in a campaign that saw them finish a disappointing eighth.
They are one of the highest scorers in the league with 34 and have won six out of their last ten league games with three losses and a draw and amongst all that they also saw off Dundee 3-0 away in the Scottish Cup fourth round.
Playing with far more intent and vigour this term than last we hammered them 5-2 on their home patch back in early August when the season was just getting going but they proved far tougher opposition at Celtic Park in early November when we saw them off 2-0.
The star men are 21 year old Allan Campbell who has come off the Noth Lanarkshire sides conveyor belt of young talent as well as big central defender Declan Gallagher who was signed from Livingston and the summer and is now part of the Scotland squad having impressed all season.
Northern Irish defender Liam Donnely and English striker Chris Long are also both under 25 and have 20 goals between them this season so are definitely worth keeping an eye out for.
During the January transfer window, they added strikers Rolando Aarons on loan from Newcastle and Mikael Ndjoli also on loan from Bournemouth until the end of the season though lost one of their prized assets in James Scott for £1.5 million to English Championship side Hull City.
Hopefully, we can keep our run going which has seen us hit the net 13 times in our last four league games and maintain our lead at the top as Rangers begin to feel the pressure.
I’ll take any win at Fir Park but I’d like to see us start with a lot more intent and not just wait for the hand of fortune to intervene before we get going like it did yesterday.
3-1 Celtic. You heard it here first.
....Always A Tim! 