Tag: March

St. Paddy’s Day preview and what did I miss?

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Just back from a holiday in a far-flung place with poor internet connection where you could forget trying to upload blog updates.

Of course, there was still enough bandwidth to stay abreast of results so after Hibs picked up a surprise 1-1 draw with Rangers a week ago yesterday after being a goal down for most of the match it was pretty disappointing to see us fail to take advantage and extend our lead at the top to a more or less unassailable 10 points.

Aberdeen have been in pretty sensational away form all season and have also been tough opponents for us every time we’ve faced them this term but having won three from three against them as well as having won every home domestic game this season it was a bit of a shock to see it end 0-0.

I’ll also admit I was pretty frustrated at this ongoing nonsense of playing Oli Burke up front as a lone striker when he’s clearly a winger whilst two recognised strikers in record signing Odsonne Edouard and PSG-loanee Timothy Weah languish on the bench. This started under Brendan Rodgers and has continued under Neil Lennon and it continues to mystify me. If Burke was scoring goals for fun then fair enough but he isn’t and has proven far more adept playing in his preferred wing role and setting up strikers for goals.

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Lenny got the team selection wrong. 

I also wasn’t too impressed with the ‘mental fatigue’ excuse which Lenny came out with during the post-match interviews. The players had a weeks rest and if they are mentally fatigued in mid-March then that doesn’t bode well for a title run in and our efforts to capture an unprecedented treble-treble.

Just accept you should have started with a recognised striker, don’t make the same mistake again and we’ll move on.

As for this weekend we, of course, visit Dundee on St.Paddy’s day. As I actually write this our nearest title challengers are currently losing 1-0 at half time at home against Kilmarnock. Of course, if things stay that way then we can potentially put ourselves in a dream position going into the next Old Firm game on March 30th. It’s already a must win game for our opponents given the current points deficit and the fact that they were eliminated once again from a cup competition by Aberdeen through the week. But it will be a potential ground zero scenario if they fall further behind and we can go 14 points clear if we beat them which with only seven games left which makes it increasingly likely we can win the title against them at Ibrox, something which the authorities will be desperate to avoid.

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Reality bites for Stevie G as the honeymoon period with the press ends.

For the first time, Gerrard is under the microscope as it has become apparent that his team generally blow the big games and that most of his personnel changes have been duds. Eros Grezda anyone?

Anyway, there is still 45 mins of football to play over there and the referee Greg Aitken will most likely be getting an itchy trigger finger soon as the game draws to a conclusion.

We should win at Dens Park tomorrow but Dundee will be throwing everything at it as they fight tooth and nail to stay up and we are not the same team without Christie and McGregor who remain sidelined along with a raft of other impact players. Hopefully, Lenny sees some sense, puts a striker on and we go out and do the business making it a happy St.Paddy’s day in the process.

Below is one of my fondest memories from the Patron Saint of Eire’s day back in the day.

The infamous and glorious ‘St.Patrick’s Day Massacre’ of 1991.

Enjoy:

Hibs 0-2 Celtic: Celtic make the Cup semis amongst flying Bucky bottles and coins.

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Celtic survived Hibs and their fans as we secured a 2-0 win at Easter Road to make it an incredible 25 consecutive domestic cup wins and as well as 11 straight domestic wins on the bounce as we progressed to the semi-finals of the Scottish Cup.

Not much to talk about in the first half as it was pretty stagnant stuff but we got our act together in the second half as the game opened up a little. Still, it was difficult to see where a goal was going to come from until James Forrest took matters into his own hands and fired a bullet in on 62 mins that nearly ripped the net out and sent us on our way.

Hibs didn’t have much in the way of a response and we pushed on eventually getting our rewards when Edouard set-up captain Scott Brown who glided into the box and past the Hibs defence before rifling a thunderbolt in at close range to put the tie beyond doubt on 75 mins.

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Goal machine!

The victory means Neil Lennon has gone 2-0 since his unexpected return to the hot seat at the club on Tuesday with both wins coming in his old stomping ground of Edinburgh.

Off the field, the Hibs fans showed far more resistance than their players as they unsuccessfully tried to pelt Scott Sinclair with a Buckfast bottle and later on a coin as he attempted to take corner kicks in the second half.

In the aftermath, Hibs tried to deflect attention by claiming there had been a bottle thrown by a Celtic fan too. Strange no TV or press cameras picked that up.

Of course, all of this is just a west coast of Scotland problem apparently. That’s the narrative that has been put forward anyway in the last few weeks. The kids in Leith, Dundee and up in Grampian are holier than though we’re told. Mmmmmm…….I wonder how they’ll spin this latest incidence?!

Michael Stewart will no doubt be calling for strict liability which is a total non-starter and easily abused anyway but I wonder if anyone will point out the fact that the game kicked off with an early Saturday evening start time? I tend to find that in our society that that’s when people tend to consume the most alcohol. Just a thought. Others will use it as further evidence that we shouldn’t sell alcohol within football stadiums which is also absurd as the problem is being caused by people bringing in alcohol and the type of stuff you’d never be able to buy in a football ground anyway.

The draw for the semis isn’t until Monday night on BBC after the final match of the round which is Partick Thistle vs Hearts at Firhill and with Rangers playing Aberdeen at Pittodrie tomorrow, as well as Dundee Utd visiting Inverness Caley, whoever we get at Hampden it’s bound to be interesting, to say the least. Isn’t it always.

Tomorrow, of course, Brendan Rodgers begins his reign of broken promises and empty soundbites with Leicester City away at Watford. He says one day he’d like to come back and maybe manage us again once all the fury over his departure has calmed down of course in about ten or so years. What is he like?! I think I speak for all of us by saying I hope he and his new team get resoundingly pumped tomorrow.

C’mon Watford.

As for Celtic our players now get a much deserved week-long rest before being back in action at home to Aberdeen next Saturday at Celtic Park. This should give us a chance to try and get Callum McGregor and Ryan Christie back to fitness as they are definitely being missed. I’m not Nir Bitton’s biggest critic and admire his persistence and professionalism but he and Brown do not for a creative midfield make.

Anyway, that was a good win with two excellent goals that I’ll definitely put up when they become available. It had banana skin written all over what with Hibs three game-winning run under new boss Paul Heckinbottom coming in, the fact that we hadn’t won on our last three visits there and the irony of Neil Lennon being back at his old club so soon after his quietly acrimonious departure in late January.

Job done and we still have a historic Treble Treble within our grasp which seemed like it could be derailed after the past weeks pretty stunning and upsetting events in regards to our former leader.

Well done Bhoys. Keep it going.

 

International round-up: Scotland 3 – 2 Israel. James Forrest Ballon d’OR.

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James Forrest, sorry Scotland picked up from where he/they left off on Saturday night and captured a vital win that propels them into Group B of the Nations League as well as securing a play-off place – and at home none the less – for the Euros against Finland in March 2020.

Ex-Celtic Beram Kayal buried a wonder strike from about 25 yards that gave Allan McGregor no chance on the 9 mins mark. The keeper’s namesake Callum McGregor could have shut the Israel midfielder down earlier but there’s no way anyone could genuinely have expected that.

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Kayal isn’t messing around. 

The goal aside Israel dominated the opening stages and it looked like Scotland’s destruction of Albania three nights previous had perhaps been more down to the Eastern European sides ineptitude as opposed to a resurgence from the Scots.

However, the men in navy blue gradually got back into it with McGregor almost scoring with a fantastic drilled volley from distance that was well saved by Ariel Harush and had begun to pin the visitors inside their own box by the time James Forrest lashed home the equaliser not long after the half-hour mark.

From there on the hosts dominated and a wonderful passage of play saw Steven Fletcher nod onto Ryan Christie who raced down the left flank before lobbing over to that man Forrest again who took a steadying touch before side-footing home the second.

Going into the second half it felt like there was going to be only one winner and Forrest collected from Ryan Fraser in the box before a deft chip left Ben Harush on his arse and set him up to place it in for number three and his hattrick. Similar in execution to his second on Saturday though not quite as spectacular.

Simply put Forrest is on fire right now. So hot indeed you might be able to genuinely light a fag off him.

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They don’t like it up em’.

Of course, Scotland always has a tendency to push the self-destruct button and duly obliged as Eran Zahavi was given acres of space to steady himself and blast home a possible reprieve for the Israelis with a quarter of an hour left.

Much fingernail biting ensued and I thought it only right to put a fiver on Israel to draw as it was sitting at 12/1 – hey if we’re going to blow it then I may as well make a couple of quid – and it almost paid off with McGregor having to produce a fabulous reflex save in the dying embers but Scotland held out and secured three more precious points to top the group on nine.

For Alex McLeish, it was a reprieve. His hand was forced somewhat by injuries into playing a 4-5-1 with Forrest and Fraser on the wing, a recognised left-back playing in position and in-form players getting starts as opposed to the old ‘going for experience’ chestnut. That and James Forrest effectively saved his bacon.

Christie and Armstrong’s energies were boundless and Callum McGregor continues to look very comfortable in a holding role and considering this was a squad with players such as Mulgrew, Griffiths, McGinn, Naismith and Tierney absent it’s difficult not to get excited about possible future prospects. For a start, the football over the past two games has been unusually dynamic and free-scoring for a Scotland team.

The draw for the Euro 2020 qualifiers takes place a week on Sunday – December 2nd – in Dublin and Scotland now know they will be in Pot 3 and that if one of the two tops spots in the group is not secured then they have the play-off match with Finland to fall back on in 16 months time due to their Nations League success.

That’s a long time away and a lot of water can go under the bridge between now and then. But Scotland now have both something to build on and no matter what happens in the qualifiers something to look forward too and a genuine chance of a first major tournament qualification since 1998.

Scotland actually won something last night. It might not have been much but they won something. That doesn’t happen much. So you know, let’s enjoy it as it’s inevitable calamity and disappointment is coming in the post somewhere in the not too distant future.