Tag: Ryan Christie

Weekend review: Albania 0 – 4 Celtic, sorry Scotland. What the hell just happened?

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I took this game in on Saturday evening from the Electric Bar in Motherwell. Not my local but my other half’s who hails from that part of the country. So not dissimilar a setting to Tirana then where the game was taking place.

It proved to be an apt name though as Scotland produced a free-flowing performance, devoid of suicidal defending and where the referee Vladislav Bezborodov actually showed he had a pair and made the rights calls.

Albania tried some neat passing at the back but Ryan Christie was having none of it and stepped in to feed Ryan Christie who charged into the box before curling it past Etrir Berisha in the Albanian goal to make it 1-0 after a mere 14 mins.

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Alex McLeish tries to make sense of that he’s looking at. 

Usually, it would be all downhill from there for the national team but then the Albanian captain, the wonderfully named Mergim Mavraj, stepped up and wrote his name into Scottish football folklore with a fabulous one-two. The first one was a challenge over the ball on James Forrest and the second was an unnecessary headbutt on Ryan Christie. He got a yellow card for each one resulting in an early bath. Did Christie milk it? Probably. But every other nation on God’s green earth does it so for me he was just being streetwise.

From there Scotland took full advantage. An Armstrong free kick on the edge of the box was needlessly handled by striker Rey Manaj and resulted in a penalty which one-time Celtic target Steven Fletcher duly dispatched on the stroke of half-time and Scotland were now really in dreamland.

I, on the other hand, had to depart to the function room next door to join in the 50th birthday celebrations for Elaine – a woman I’d never met before and didn’t actually get to meet during – but was able to get back through under the pretense of needing some fresh air to witness most of the second half which featured a dominant Scotland display that included two more goals both of which were executed by James Forrest.

The first came after the Celtic winger was released through by teammate Ryan Christie before squeezing it past Berisha and the second was a wonderful goal. Christie found Fraser out on the right wing with a beautiful pass from midfield and the Bournemouth man fed Forrest in the box who knocked it up with his right foot past substitute Kastriot Dermaku before buying it past Berisha again with his left.

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Wee Jamesy scores a belter.

There should have been more and substitute Scott McTominay should have done better with an effort from the edge of the box that clipped the bar though replays showed a wicked bobble just before it got to him.

The pub was actually eerily quiet during that second period. Most people sat, pint in hand with their jaw agape wondering what the hell was going on and when they would awaken from their slumber as only a dream state could explain what they were witnessing on the TV screens before them.

All that aside Callum McGregor was magnificent in the holding role that he has also really stood out in for Celtic recently and is a perfect example of playing a guy in a position where he is playing well in for his club and hey presto….it works for the national team as well.

I’m no fan of Big Eck and think he’s made a bit of a pig’s ear of the Scotland job thus far considering the position the national team were in when he took over but some nights it just clicks and Saturday was one of those nights.

Scotland can now win their group if they beat Israel on Tuesday. The Israeli’s have proven to be a  far more capable outfit than hapless Albania and have far better players, especially in the forward positions, but are also renowned for not performing and the momentum is definitely with Scotland as well as the home advantage.

The contribution from the Celtic players was immense with Christie pivotal in three of the four goals and being smart enough to react to Mavraj’s stupidity as opposed to standing his ground and likely getting a yellow himself. McGregor ran the show and Forrest continued the free-scoring form that has seen him bag 26 goals for the Hoops in the last 18 months.

Injuries aside I’d image the exact same team will take to the field on Tuesday night in the group decider. But then again with Big Alex at the helm……..

 

Post-match analysis: Livingston 0 – 0 Celtic plus the weekend’s events.

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As predicted Celtic got it pretty tough at the Tony Macaroni Arena out in Livingston on Sunday.

The rain was pouring down in Glasgow as I took my place with seven other hardy souls at an otherwise deserted Crow Tavern to take in the proceedings whilst Remembrance Sunday memorials were taking place at the cenotaph across the road that afternoon and the minute’s silence before the game was impeccably observed much to everyone’s relief.

Let’s be honest the artificial surface that has been installed out at what used to be called Almondvale is not fit for purpose and everyone knows that but fair play to Livingston who with their meagre resources have found a way to put 19 points on the board so far this season and are really well coached under ex-Celtic Gary Holt.

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Holt & Rodgers. Sounds like it could be a new Netflix series.

To the game itself and the men in Hoops looked a little tired which is no surprise given their exertions on Thursday night against a top-class Red Bull Leipzig team who incidentally hammed VfB Stuttgart 3-0 at home on Sunday to leapfrog Bayern Munich into third spot in the Bundesliga.

Indeed the team was unchanged from then apart from Kristofer Ajer replacing Filipe Benkovic beside Boyata in central defence and in the first 45 mins Ryan Christie – who has really stepped up to the plate in the last three weeks and set up Edouard for the winner against the German three days previously – should have scored but his point-blank effort was saved by Liam Kelly in the Livi goal.

In the second half, Celtic created several chances in the last 15 mins with the best of them seeing Rogic crack in a seemingly goal-bound effort from the edge of the box only for that men Kelly again to somehow touch over.

The wonderfully named Dolly Menga should have walked for the home side in the first half for a clear headbutt on Christie at a corner but it went undetected and it’s likely he’ll now receive a retrospective ban for his efforts.

Livingston ran themselves into the ground and threw themselves in front of every ball and it’s difficult to begrudge them a point. Let’s not forget they have only conceded seven goals all season with the second best defensive record in the league only one behind us.

Sadly Kristofer Ajer suffered a broken cheekbone during events and will likely be out for some time as the injury list piles up at Lennoxtown with Scott Brown, Olivier Ntcham, Eboue Kouassi, Leight Griffiths and Daniel Arzani already out.

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Pretty much the story of the match.

The result sees Celtic back to the top of the league on 26 points even with Hearts but ahead on goal difference with a game in hand.

The Jam Tarts were the latest team to fall victim to the incredible spell Steve Clark has cast over Kilmarnock as the Ayrshire club left Tynecastle with a 1-0 victory thanks to a solitary strike from the previously unheard of Ross Millen. That means Clark now has a 54% win ratio after well over 50 games in charge with a team that were serial relegation candidates season upon season before his arrival. Quite incredible.

Aberdeen kept their recent strong momentum going as they defeated Hibs at Pittodrie to climb into the top six via a winning first-half strike from ex-Celtic Gary Mackay-Steven whilst elsewhere St.Johnstone also continued their stunning run of form which started when we massacred them 6-0 a month ago – by hammering Hamilton Accies 4-0.

Basement dwellers Dundee and St.Mirren battled out a 1-1 draw as respective managers Jim McIntyre and Oran Kearney still seek out their first wins in charge of their new-ish clubs.

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The Donegal man sees red as Morelos endears himself to no one.

 

Oh and over at Ibrox Rangers thumped Motherwell 7-1 as the boys in blue bounced back spectacularly from their keystone cops performance over in Moscow on Thursday evening. The match was actually pretty even until Donegal man Carl McHugh was harshly red-carded for two yellows the first of which saw him dare to go within two yards of loveable rogue Alfredo Morelos. The Columbian then appeared to take great delight in McHugh’s second yellow for handball as he clapped in his face. Thereafter the Steelman folded like a cheap suit and the Govan side remain within touching distance of ourselves at the top of the league on 24 points as next month’s Ibrox encounter begins to really start to heat-up.

Anyway, that was the weekend that was. Top of the league so not all bad by any means. Now into the dreaded international break, we go.

Post-match analysis: Dundee 0 – 5 Celtic. A massacre at Dens while it kicks off big time elsewhere.

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Well, I think it’s pretty safe to say that we’re back to being in fine fettle now.

Domestically at least.

A rampant Celtic tore hapless Dundee apart on Halloween with four goals in the first half all started by a beautiful strike from star man Tom Rogic on the 20 minute mark followed  by a penalty conversion from Scott Sinclair just after the half hour, James Forrest finishing off a sublime passing move with a neat finish on 38mins and then Odsonne Edouard tapping in the fourth just before the half-time whistle blew after some fine wing play and a cut back from Forrest.

The second half saw Celtic predictably drop down a few gears whilst Dundee put on their best guiser masks and started hammer throwing as they committed to keeping the score down.

That didn’t stop Ryan Christie bursting through on goal to finish expertly on 48 mins and Kieran Tierney should have made it six when he placed it past the post when it seemed easier to score after a fine low cross to the back post by substitute Daniel Arzani.

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Arzani wishes the Celtic support a hello and a goodbye. 

Incidentally, we finally got a glimpse of the highly touted Man City loanee Arzani who looked a little off the pace but still pretty tasty all before he went down in a heap on 78 mins before being taken off on a stretcher. Sadly early reports indicate ligament damage and that he’ll be out for nine months so safe to say we won’t be seeing him again. Thanks for the memories, Daniel. We’ll always have Dens.

The performance was a continuation from what we’ve been seeing from the Hoops since the mauling of St.Johnstone at McDiarmid Park nearly four weeks ago and saw us rack up our 18th goal in four domestic games.

Yes, Dundee are pretty much on their arse at the moment with their shellshocked new manager Jim McIntyre probably wondering what the hell he’s has got himself into and gave nothing going forward all night incredibly registering no shots on goal. But Celtic still put them to the sword in impressive fashion none the less.

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Who’d be Jim?

Let’s hope we can continue this on to our top of the table clash with Hearts on Saturday with victory seeing us close the gap to 1 point with a game in hand over the jam tarts.

Over at Tynecastle last night they played out an eventful 0-0 draw with city rivals Hibs that saw their keeper smacked in the chops from a Hibs fan – no way it was a punch but still was uncalled for – and Neil Lennon got coined by one of Hearts more impassioned supporters who our ex-manager would now like to meet for a friendly one to one over a cup of tea or words to that effect.

Elsewhere crisis continued to envelop Rangers as they dropped points to Kilmarnock – who in fairness are no mugs these days as we found out to our own detriment earlier in the season – just as their financial figures were released revealing trading losses of over ÂŁ14 million to the year ending June 30th.  Interesting that they decided to release the figures just before a home game kicked off. It’s almost as if they are trying to divert attention. Still, Dave King is very confident things are moving in the right direction and he looks pretty trustworthy.

I’m told that Europea League qualification will sort all things financial out. Strange how it’s been painted as financial salvation over in Govan yet our elimination from the Champions League and subsequent qualification for the very same Europa League has been painted as a near financial disaster. Funny that.

Anyway, it’s all going well on the good ship Celtic for the moment and there can be no doubt that the team has their swagger back.

Let’s hope the re-established domestic dominance can be translated into a positive European result in one weeks times as we desperately need to beat Red Bull Leipzig at Celtic Park next Thursday.

Anything but victory effectively eliminates us and defeat combined with Salzburg winning in Norway would confirm it.

I was disappointed we prioritised the weekend’s cup semi-final against Hearts over last Thursday nights away game against the Germans.

Europe for me is always where good Celtic teams and managers really prove their worth and by and large in the past three seasons we’ve been found wanting.

I guess I can delve a bit deeper into that quandary next week so for now, let’s just enjoy our continued return to form whilst all of our rivals faltered on Halloween night.

A review of Super Sunday: Celtic break Hearts and the Dons mug Gerrard.

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I took in our game on Sunday from the Dolphin pub in Partick, a good Celtic boozer if you have never been. The green and white sign with the ‘EST1888’ above the door should be a giveaway.

Anyway there with a few friends, I witnessed our match with league leaders Hearts at Murrayfield in front of a crowd of over 60,000.

Due to Hearts pretty incredible results since the start of the season – which has seen them win 13 from 16 matches with two draws and only one defeat – combined with our own patchy form since the start of the term this had been built up as a near 50/50 encounter with many favouring the Jam Tarts.

Indeed they had already defeated us 1-0 earlier in the season at Tynecastle and bounced back from their only defeat of the season so far against Rangers at Ibrox three weeks ago with wins at home versus Aberdeen and away to Dundee to maintain their spot at the top of the Premiership.

But the Celtic side that lost to Hearts back in early August has fairly ramped up the performances levels since then, especially in the past month, and with the capital side also without long-term injury absentees Christophe Berra, John Souttar and Uche Ikpeazu I was personally quite surprised at how close so many thought it was going to be.

Still, that meant that interest had peaked for it and led to not only a magnificent attendance at Murrayfield but also a large crowd in the pub which would be otherwise unusual for any normal national cup semi-final involving us and anybody but Rangers.

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A packed our Murrayfield sees green smoke.

The first half was pretty scrappy stuff with Hearts veteran striker Steven MacLean grabbing all the headlines via standing a mile offside as he placed the ball into the Celtic net only for it to be flagged and also grabbing a handful of Eboue Kouassi’s testicles into the bargain. He’s since been cited for it and according to his ex-St. Johnstone teammate James McFadden on last nights Sportsound he’s known for it so I’d imagine he’s facing a ban. Then again Morelos got his red card rescinded for trying to volley Scott McKenna off the ball at Pittodrie earlier in the season so who knows.

Hearts talisman Steven Naismith also walked off early doors with a knee injury and you sort of suspected any chance they had of beating us walked with him.

That aside Scott Sinclair had an excellent effort saved by the Hearts keeper but by in large it was competitive but uninspiring stuff to such an extent the guy sitting beside me announced he’d had enough and staggered out leaving a full bottle of Peroni and an untouched whiskey chaser behind him. Outrageous.

In the second half, we got a spot-kick after Ryan Christie went down under a Ben Garrucio challenge – hardly a stonewaller but the type of incident which is given all the time these days – and Sinclair stepped up to smash it home. Then the Herts keeper Zdenek Zlamal tried to gather a speculative Rogic drive which escaped his grasp and trundled over the line before he clawed it clear. James Forrest was on hand though to bury it and put to bed any necessity for the linesman to make a call. And just in case there was any lingering doubt Ryan Christie capped off a fine few days in a Celtic jersey following on from strong display away in Leipzig on Thursday night as he buried a 25-yard piledriver past the despairing Zlamal on 72 mins.

Thereafter it was a bit of a turkey shoot as Celtic rained down wave after wave of attack on the Jambos goal but a combination of Zlamal atoning for his earlier error plus some last-ditch defending kept the score respectful. Though one of my mates was gutted as he had us to win either 4-0 or 3-1 with the bookies. A sore one indeed.

All in all, it was a professional performance and Celtic have now won 21 consecutive cup ties and have booked their place in their fifth consecutive cup final in doing so. The ‘Treble-Treble’ now really is on plus we also got to shut-up serial moaner Craig Levein who despite his pre-match defiance saw his side ultimately check out with a whimper.

Of course, this was all pretty much night and day compared to Thursday night’s display away in Germany where a toothless Celtic side limped to a 2-0 defeat to Red Bull Leipzig.

Having the suspended James Forrest back was undoubtedly a factor – as was the inferior opposition of course – but also returning was the imperious Tom Rogic and central defender Filipe Benkovic both of whom hadn’t made it for Thursday nights game. No one is really talking about it but personally, I’m a bit disappointed that Sunday was clearly given precedence over an away tie in Europe and one which I honestly think would have been very winnable against Leipzig’s second string if Rogic and Benkovic had been involved. The notion that they suddenly returned to full match fitness in the space of 64 hours is, of course, total bollocks.

Europe now does seem to now be firmly regarded as a pipe dream with domestic success being given the superior status based on decisions like that.

Anway we’re in another cup final on December 2nd so the question is who would we be playing?

That game, of course, took place later on that evening at Hampden Park where Steven Gerrard’s apparently rejuvenated Rangers would battle it out against Derek McInnes’s toiling Aberdeen.

Even with their only real striking options out for this one just about everyone I knew made the Govan side the clear favourites with most regarding it a mere formality.

It proved to be anything but as the Dons produced a classic smash and grab performance that ex-Rangers manager Walter Smith himself would have been proud of as the nephew of Barry Ferguson headed home the winner on 79 mins. He’s called Lewis Ferguson by the way and he won me a not unsubstantial amount of money as I found the long odds on the reds to be too tempting not to indulge.

Even with over 10 mins plus injury time remaining my money looked safe as the toothless light blues failed to breach a pretty rock solid Aberdeen defence and 1-0 is how it finished.

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Stevie G congratulates Goldson on their loss.

So it’s Aberdeen in the final in five weeks. I must admit to being a tad disappointed as an Old Firm final would have been far more appetizing and despite undoubtedly impressive results at home and in Europe, the Stevie G project looks decidedly shaky anytime it’s taken out on the road with Sunday being a perfect example of that.

What with them out of the first domestic competition of the season combined with sitting only joint fifth in the league I wonder if rumours will now abound of an unsettled dressing room, player fallouts and acrimonious relationships between the manager and the board? Or is that only reserved for our manager? I think we all know the answer.

Oh, and what happened to that Richard Wilson’s tweet from Thursday evening which claimed that after Sunday was out the way there would be ramifications due to the performance and result on Thursday night? It’s Tuesday and still nothing. Maybe it will all kick off tomorrow. Or maybe it was all bullshit to start with.

 

Post-match analysis: Red Bull Leipzig 2 – 0 Celtic. More misery on the road and rumours off the pitch abound!

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A depleted Celtic side were easily dismissed by a more or less second string Red Bull Leipzig.

For 30 mins Celtic looked okay and Odsonne Edouard nearly even scored but thereafter it was the usual as we were battered senseless in the last 15 mins of the half conceding two goals and it could have been more.

In the second half, Celtic played to keep the score down looking passive and content with it staying at two-zip. Leipzig accommodated us by and large barring a Konrad Laimer run where he skinned half of our team whilst running from midfield before shooting just past the post and a moment when Augustin cracked a long-range shot off of the same stick.

Ntcham broke through on goal late and if he’d passed to his right to McGregor it was a certain goal but he went for glory and cannoned it off the keeper’s legs. Even if it had gone in there is little to no chance that we’d have equalised as the Germans would have just switched on again.

Right from the off all looked lost as we were without the suspended James Forrest, injured Scott Brown and in the days leading up to the match, Tom Rogic and Filipe Benkovic were also ruled out. Added to that Leigh Griffiths still isn’t available and Mikel Lustig was deemed not fit enough to start.

This meant starts for forgotten men Cristian Gamboa and Eboue Kouassi as well as the rarely seen Lewis Morgan and serial bench warmer Ryan Christie.

All that combined with our long-standing, pretty atrocious away record on the content meant that our chances were pretty much slim and none and slim had just left town.

Leipzig themselves were without their injured midfield playmaker Emil Forsberg as well as star striking duo Timo Werner and Yussuf Poulsen who were rested on the bench but still had far more firepower on the pitch.

Of course, we helped them with an awful attempt at a clearance from Kouassi resulting in a fresh air miss so bad it also confused Boyata whose own attempt also missed and it fell to Matheus Cunha who couldn’t believe how much time he had to control it and lash it home.

The second saw Marcelo Saracchi dart down the wing after a wild suicide sliding tackle from Gamboa was skipped over with ease and his resulting cross saw another woeful attempt by Kouassi to clear once again befuddle Boyata and resulted in Bruma lashing it home.

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A familiar sight on the continent as our players trudge back to the centre circle after conceding another goal. 

It really was comical stuff. Kouassi had a blinder in just how bad he was though incredibly John Hartson labelled him as one of our better players at halftime. I actually kept an eye on him and he was passive throughout with his shoulders dipped and looked lost. Basically a carbon copy of his display earlier in the season against Hearts.

Boyata was also awful in the centre of defence. In the second half, he needlessly gave the ball away on numerous occasions, something he’s well known for, and was left in the wake of the rampaging Laimer when he nearly scored which saw a pretty pathetic attempt by Boyata to stop him.

That aside just about everyone in a Celtic jersey struggled with McGregor, in particular, going missing for much of the game.

It’s really all we’ve come to expect away in Europe under Brendan. Nothing changes tactically and his record now reads 4 wins from 19 away games with 10 defeats and an incredible 38 goals conceded.

We can’t keep a clean sheet away from home against anything resembling quality from the continent and outside of Edouard don’t to appear to have much of a goal threat on the road either.

The loss of some of our best players was definitely a factor and was felt sorely but it somewhat negated by Leipzig resting so many of their top performers yet still looking streets ahead.

The mistakes at the back happen time and again and the players brought in are clearly not good enough. Not only that but most are also Brendan’s signings.

Tactically we are way too open and the moment we concede panic sets in and our shape collapses.

Leipzig visit Glasgow in a fortnight and it literally is a must-win game. If we lose and Salzburg win in Norway as expected then we are out. That’s right we’ll be out with two games still to go from Europe’s second-tier competition. That’s the same competition where Rangers have gone unbeaten in 11 straight games so there really are no excuses.

Inevitably in the fallout, more rumours have surfaced about Brendan’s relationship with the board which seems to be par for the course after we record a negative result.

One of the main fuels to the fire was this tweet by BBC correspondent and self-confessed Rangers fanatic Richard Wilson:

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If there’s any truth in this then next week should be interesting. I mean what else could ‘serious upheaval’ mean other than heads rolling and whose heads would they be?

Thes semi-final of the League Cup on Sunday against Hearts now takes on even more importance as a negative result will likely lead to further rumours of things coming to a head.

There seems to be an attitude prevalent amongst Celtic fans that Sunday was the priority which I found a bit incredible considering Europe is where we want to be but maybe shows the mentality that has crept in in recent years. That being that Europe is perceived as a pipe dream where making any significant progress is fanciable and we are almost willing fodder for the big clubs.

Anyway onto Hampden we go and on and off the pitch I think we can expect some fireworks in the coming days. Should be interesting at least.