Celtic took apart a struggling Ross County in Dingwall yesterday though despite the scoreline it was a less than vintage performance.
Once again Odsonne Edouard was missing from the starting line-up with the ‘niggle’ which kept him out of Thursday’s Europa League game with Rennes now apparently bad enough to see him a doubt for next Sunday’s League Cup final with Rangers.
Boli-Bolingoli, Hatem Abd Elhamed and Mohamed Elyounoussi also all continue to be absentees with Greg Taylor, Jeremie Frimpong, Tom Rogic and Lewis Morgan all drafted into their positions.
Celtic started brightly enough and in the opening minutes, Ryan Christie rattled the bar with a free-kick from an acute angle.
He did find the net on 11 minutes after Celtic were awarded a penalty with Keith Watson downing Morgan in the box with a swipe of his ankle although Christie’s initial penalty was actually saved by County keeper Nathan Baxter the rebound was duly converted.
It looked like it would be a turkey shoot thereafter but County scored out of nothing with Ross Stewart heading home at point-blank range on 24 mins and suddenly Celtic looked rattled and disjointed.
Shades of the away display to Livingston two months ago were starting to creep in though normal service was resumed 14 mins later as big Kris Ajer strode forward and released Ryan Christie who easily beat the County offside trap and slotted home for his 15th goal of the campaign. An incredible return from a midfielder and at only the halfway mark of the season too.
In the second half Celtic completely dominated with Taylor and Frimpong’s rampaging runs pinning the hosts back and the third goal was conjured up via a beautiful move that saw Morgan’s tame cross into the box backheeled by Taylor to Christie who laid it off to Rogic who applied the finishing touch despite a deflection off the vain sliding challenge of Ross Stewart.
That goal pretty much sealed the points and was overdue with Callum McGregor having rattled the post minutes before it with a finish almost identical to the one he executed at Ibrox in the 5-1 game back in 2017. Any excuse to get that scoreline in eh?!
Mikey Johnston replaced Rogic on 72 mins and scored the goal of the game as he tore down County’s right side and then finished across Baxter into the far corner with aplomb.
We could have had another couple before the end but 4-1 is how it finished which keeps us top of the table though just barely as Rangers hammered the hapless Hearts under the ‘leadership’ of Austin MacPhee, 5-0 at Ibrox later in the afternoon.
This means our lead is maintained by only one goal with both teams sitting on 37 points.
On Wednesday the battle at the top continues as we entertain Hamilton Accies and look to make it eleven straight wins since our defeat against Livingston in early October.
The Accies battled to a 0-0 draw away at Livingston on Saturday in a totally forgettable affair and that means their winless run has now extended to eight with four draws and four losses, with 17 goals conceded and only 8 goals scored in that time.
They sit fourth bottom, only a point above the bottom three who are all locked on 11 points and they have the third-worst goal difference in the league and are joint third as the lowest scorers.
Needless to say, Wednesday should be an opportunity to not only grab three points but also really try and extend that goal advantage.
Though Brian Rice’s team have reverted back to more of the style associated with his predecessor Martin Canning that being to keep it tight and try and frustrate. Rice’s initial boasts of free-flowing, expansive football have long since been abandoned in the face of a dogged season-long relegation battle at the bottom of the league.
Whilst that is going on the game of the night will undoubtedly take place up in the northeast as Rangers visit Pittodrie.
Since a 5-0 hammering at Ibrox back in late September, the Dons have lost only one of eight – a 4-0 hammering at home against us – with five wins and two draws putting them firmly into third spot on 28 points.
With four wins and a draw in their last five which has seen them score ten and concede only three, they should prove a much sterner task for the Govan side than what they have been up against domestically in recent times which has seen them go on a ten-game unbeaten run themselves with nine wins and a draw and 14 goals scored in their last four league games alone.
Still, I’d make Aberdeen extreme outsiders though you’d hope they’d go hammer and tongs and really give Rangers something to think about at least and perhaps soften them up for the final against us on Sunday.
It’s also the start of a really tough four-game period for our biggest rivals with not only the visit to Pittodrie in two days followed by the League Cup final but then a vital Europa League decider at home to Young Boys a week on Thursday and then two away games in succession against high flying Motherwell and a revitalised Hibs.
Once Wednesday is out of the way I’ll dedicate a full preview to the League Cup final which will be our first meeting with the light blues in a major final since the 2011 final in the same competition.
Until then I’ll predict a solid 2-0 win against a robust Hamilton though I hope of course for a lot more.
....Always A Tim! 