Bhoy Fett
11-04-2011, 10:30 AM
It was a miracle that Celtic won last night and even more important that complacency does not set in with that victory. This season has not given fans much to shout about but last night was Celtic's first win in Europe since the home win over Utrecht in August 2010.
The win gives Celtic a fighting chance of qualifying from Group I of the Europa League and a much needed lift ahead of Sunday's SPL encounter with 2nd placed Motherwell. Neil Lennon will be pleased with the timing of this particularly with the growing injury list and the uphill struggle the club have at winning the SPL.
Last night saw a good second half from Celtic, though not without committing suicide once again in the opening moments. However, this threadbare and makeshift Celtic side grew throughout the game despite that early disaster.
The captains armband which has been passed about this season like the collection basket at Sunday mass, fell to big Glenda last night. Then he ripped his tights and got hooked at half-time for the young Marcus Fraser who gave a very good account of himself for 45 minutes.
The armband was passed to Kayal who looked more interested than he has done all season. Wanyama was also a stand out for the team covering a lot of ground throughout the evening.
Stokes' finishing was a delight to watch and Hooper's substitute appearance seemed to bring out the best in his game. The full backs did well enough though further forward Paddy's performance was very subdued in comparison to James Forrest, a growing star in this team.
The surprise performances for me though came from Maj and Sammy. There aren't two players with less credibility than these two amongst fans.
I know Samaras has his supporters and gives a good account of himself every 1 in 50 matches but he played well last night. Behind him though came a fairly steady Majstorovic who looked like he was actually demonstrating the basic skills of a central defender.
If this kind of attitude can be found when Celtic are injury ravaged and under perfoming then perhaps Lennon has the key to success. I don't know if that means he will actually need to beat up Kris Commons for real just to keep the injury list high, but maybe he needs to think about reducing the squad size and dropping players more often who don't perform.
I said the other day that we should be using some of those young players we have locked up in the dungeon. Well, Marcus Fraser certainly did the job last night many senior players have failed to do for many a season.
Across the city, the unmentionables are playing their own season 'unchallenged', on the park at least. They remain distanced from any challenge and have a vein of form that Celtic have so far failed to capture.
For many the dream is already over, though the fat lady always has the last word in this game. She may sing on Sunday or she may put the song sheet away for another week but that will be up to Celtic.
Hail! Hail!
BF, MTH
The win gives Celtic a fighting chance of qualifying from Group I of the Europa League and a much needed lift ahead of Sunday's SPL encounter with 2nd placed Motherwell. Neil Lennon will be pleased with the timing of this particularly with the growing injury list and the uphill struggle the club have at winning the SPL.
Last night saw a good second half from Celtic, though not without committing suicide once again in the opening moments. However, this threadbare and makeshift Celtic side grew throughout the game despite that early disaster.
The captains armband which has been passed about this season like the collection basket at Sunday mass, fell to big Glenda last night. Then he ripped his tights and got hooked at half-time for the young Marcus Fraser who gave a very good account of himself for 45 minutes.
The armband was passed to Kayal who looked more interested than he has done all season. Wanyama was also a stand out for the team covering a lot of ground throughout the evening.
Stokes' finishing was a delight to watch and Hooper's substitute appearance seemed to bring out the best in his game. The full backs did well enough though further forward Paddy's performance was very subdued in comparison to James Forrest, a growing star in this team.
The surprise performances for me though came from Maj and Sammy. There aren't two players with less credibility than these two amongst fans.
I know Samaras has his supporters and gives a good account of himself every 1 in 50 matches but he played well last night. Behind him though came a fairly steady Majstorovic who looked like he was actually demonstrating the basic skills of a central defender.
If this kind of attitude can be found when Celtic are injury ravaged and under perfoming then perhaps Lennon has the key to success. I don't know if that means he will actually need to beat up Kris Commons for real just to keep the injury list high, but maybe he needs to think about reducing the squad size and dropping players more often who don't perform.
I said the other day that we should be using some of those young players we have locked up in the dungeon. Well, Marcus Fraser certainly did the job last night many senior players have failed to do for many a season.
Across the city, the unmentionables are playing their own season 'unchallenged', on the park at least. They remain distanced from any challenge and have a vein of form that Celtic have so far failed to capture.
For many the dream is already over, though the fat lady always has the last word in this game. She may sing on Sunday or she may put the song sheet away for another week but that will be up to Celtic.
Hail! Hail!
BF, MTH