Gordon
The game that may finally end the Gordon dominance of the Number 1 position for Celtic. Perhaps its been lack of competition but Craig is showing very poor judgement at times and may soon be getting nervous when the team sheets are announced. A manic game tonight witb a crazy jump in no mans land and a mad header straight into Astana 40 yard lob heaven.
The Pressure is on..which might just be what Craig actually needs. (3)
Tierney
Seemed slightly nervous in first half but gradually found his feet and gave a good contribution..especially winning the 1st penalty. Some nice overlaps in 2nd half and our young prince will need some protection through this season as all those heavy tackles may take their toll. (6)
Lustig
Partnered well at the back with young OConnell and led by example in every tackle including a brave attempt at a possible winner near the end. (6)
O’Connell
A calm and firm giant at the back in 1st half..arguably our best player in opening 45. Quieter 2nd period but kept it safe and sound and will learn well under seasoned Pros like Toure. (6)
Janko
Powered up and down the whole game and never hid despite a few mistakes and lost balls. Deserves a bigger chance on this effort and will improve further with more time to develop on pitch understanding with team-mates (6)
Roberts
Quiet 10 minutes with a man marker snd then dazzled with some runs. Sadly the hamstring alarm then went off and so did Roberts (3) – subbed for Johansen
Armstrong
Lot of huff and puff but this juror at least is still out on Armstrong. Lacked real direction or drive in key areas and needs to really up his game to stay in the side on this showing (5) – subbed for Toure
McGregor
Cant recall a single touch in the first half and sadly second half wasnt any more impressive. May seem harsh but when needed..the young midfielders were lacking tonight (4)
Brown
See…thats Scott Brown!!. Brilliant showing..hassled them and drove our team foward whilst also covering at the back. Played the Captains role perfectly and if he can avoid injury and suspension then this could be one helluva season for our Broony (8)
Forrest
Made a few runs down left side before switching to replace the departed Roberts. Put a good shift in but not many attacking opportunities bar 1 shot high in 2nd half(5) – Subbed for Dembele
Griffiths
First touch was a rocket shot that just went wide and the rest of 1st half of the game was passing him by with Astana sitting deep. Then he duly slotted home the penalty to give us the lead. 2nd half immediately started with a miss that should have seen the game out of sight but the head never went down and Leigh ran front line and also the right hand side well in 2nd half before that lovely moment when he handed the ball to Dembele (7)
SUBS
Toure
Given his first 30 mins to calmly help see the game out at 1-0..?.30 secs later and Astana scored and it was panic time in Celtic Park. Thankfully Toure handled all that was thrown at him and his calm head may prove vital over the next 9 months. (4)
Johansen
Another huff and puff display from a Celtic midfielder. Needs to find that box to box engine and his scoring touch asap if he wants a future in the Hoops under Brendan (4)
Dembele
Like a young Emile Heskey in physique..Dembele struggled to make an impact at first after coming on but what a way to finish his game. Super Moussa calmly made and won the second penalty and while fans panicked..he was ice cool and slotted home his debut goal. Glorious stuff. (6)
MANAGERn
Rodgers
Loads of questions for him to ponder for next qualifier but fair play tonight on a good win. After being forced into 1 early substitution and a change of game plan, Rodgers found a way to win and his substitutions made the difference..which was good to see from a fans perspective (6)
Desi,
Delighted to get through! HH
Well in, and appropriate ratings there Desi.
You are right about that lovely moment, Griff…he’s a gentleman as well as a scholar.
BR gave Astana hope by signalling defensiveness with Toure coming on, in my opinion of course. Dembele got BR out of jail.
Positives:
Not a fan of SB, but he had a great game tonight. Good to see him drop back and change shape.
KT: Celtic will be lucky to hold onto him beyond this season.
LG: Great work ethic. With guile of finish, wee King Kenny dink, could have been a hat trick.
McGregor and Armstrong need other team mates to take their heads out of their arses. Great runs ignored.
Janko: there may, just may, be a player there.
Dembele: Celtic will not hold him beyond this season.
KT meaning Tierney btw
We need a lot more than wan penalty oota Dembele before that Cortes
I always believed that we’d get past Astana, but with a bit of effort. Watching the game and seeing your ratings, the players need to be supermen to score a 9. Well, I won’t be handing you any exams to mark or my first class will become a 3.3. 😉
Astana played a very disciplined game and we lacked that little bit of composure or intuition when it mattered and needed more than just Broony with a calm head.
Its all progress but lets not kid ourself it was a great 90 mins showing.
I see Brendans mentioned he needs the fans to be patient when no forward play circumstances arrive.
Interesting that Griffith and Brown got the highest scores – well-deserved on the basis of their performances. These two were the two BR was saying really encouraging things about to the media. He talks up his players in an intelligent way and I think the way he explains his tactics or how he’s thinking about setting things up is also really encouraging. Can’t wait to see who comes in and who goes out. Hope there is a strengthened mid-field before too long. I think we can hope for a couple of seasons out of Dembele and Tierney – with BR around and CL football they will feel they can progress as footballers and ensure their next move is a really good one.
See when you look at that midfield , as you say a lot of huff and puff apart from broony who was excellent, why wasnt allan given a chance to impress or christie or henderson. Its time for johansen to go, i dont even think he wants to be there and yoing guys like allan are being loaned out with christie not making the squad , what for? . So we can watch the same half arsed performances certain players have gave us for two seasons.
Scott Allen…a player who gets better with every game he doesnt play. If he isnt doing enough to get into a team of Deila or now Rodgers then it suggests the problems might be with Scott Allen…which by rumour accounts is true.
One way or another i wouldnt expect to see him there in September but happy for him to get next few SPL games to prove Himself and give others a rest for CL.
Christie is at least in squad and young guys need careful handling and i reckon Brendan will look after him fine over whole season. It looks like Hendo is going down the McGeogh route but happy to be proved wrong and see him make it especially if a Biton or Rogic move on soon.
There is no ‘gilding the lily’ with you, I thought it was a descent team endeavor against a stuffy team who played 5 at the back, who were no ‘pub team’and simply trying to hit us on the counter attack. Having one up top at home is never ideal, but the team are actually looking like a team again. 7.5 can do better. hh
Yip..decent is a good summation for a great result against a solid but limited outfit.
Was a great finish to a tense game and We will need to step up overall though and thats reflected in my ratings.
Agree about midfield Armstrong Mcgregor Forrest can all go thought johannsen had reasonable game janko reminds me of agathe instead of giving johannsen stick lets take close look at goalkeeper HH
So did i mate i just cant see how better players are getting shipped out and left out for guys like johansen and although he didnt play last night biton. I think henderson and christie are great wee players and it annoys me to see them in the stand while other non performers keep thrre places. Have the makings of a right good side though, toure will make us solid and have to say oconnel is a class act , big eric looked like our best defenderbut on this form the youngster wont be shifted. Griff played well however he needs to start taking his chances and compose himself more , seems like every euro game he misses a sitter which could have put the game to bed. Henrik would put those chances away . Great from the wee man though
Keeckaboo,got thru,end of. A patchwork team,with big players missing found resolve and a fight that was sadly lacking previously.These are young bhoys who were asked to play in a high pressure game,what prices have we paid for them in transfer fees,compares to other ritcher sides,fuck all would sum that up,lets get real here,you get what you pay for,we are asking for top drawer performances from young men,they are not and never will be a Larsson,Sutton,Balde. Mjalby etc.So my message and thoughts are,well done yoo young bhoys in green,spend some fucking money board and help these kids out,a six for Rodgers,naw a defo 9.H.H.
I thought our goalie was genuinely unlucky with the goal last night. He hasn’t been the same since vid and jd left. He had a great understanding with them both. Settled centre halfs are a key position in any team. Our goalie has played behind different ch’s on a weekly basis since then (and he had a great season – funny that?!)
Still devoid of football in the middle of the park, although the captain looks like a new man to me.
Need to persevere with griff and moussa up front – it’s the only way.
that team last night would never have got past Astana with Ronnie at the helm.
Team score 7
Brendan score 9
Spot On.
Agree about the fight mike , the pressing in numbers will serve us well and is a joy to see after the disjointed performances from last season. Broony was immense playing as the holder , ive made that point on here for ages thats where he should be
Result is ALL at this stage.
Do think Gordon has been a bit ropey, but this is due to the central defense inconstancy …. Keepers need to be confident in the pair in front of them so they don’t need to make rash decision because they not sure if the CB will deal with the situation or not.
COYBIG …. in the draw Friday 🙂
Good ratings! Broonie may be back to his best. We need him at his best. O’Connell will improve with experience. Chuffed at the penalties and how Griff let Dembele get on with it. My tired old heart was just about to explode when Demebele got ready for the penalty. Finally, we’re getting some luck. Toure looks taller than he is. At 5’9, he’s shorter than me and most youngsters look taller than me these days. How does a 5’9″ central defender manage?
Next draw tomorrow:
Dinamo Zagreb/Ludogrets Razgrad (Bul)/FC Copenhagen/Hapoel Beer Sheeva (Israel) Dundalk.
If we get Dundalk,their ground is too small so we’d play them in Dublin. I’d really fancy Dundalk for a change. None of these teams are too far away. Astana was a tough gig and better teams than us have found that out.
As good as that result was lastnight and it was good we need to boost the starting 11. Thats if we want to have a go at decent sides.
The goal was to get through and we did that…I didn’t think we played all that well-I also wasn’t very impressed by Astana-thought they were quite an average side…thought Brown was the best player on the park-hopefully he can keep fit-agree about Gordon…he is looking very nervous indeed especially when he knows he may have to leave his line…thought Johansen had a good game when he came on-his pass to Griffiths was outstanding-hope BR can get him playing to his full potential like two seasons ago….still not sold on Dembele-but showed real composure to put away that penalty and maybe this is the break he needs to start his Celtic career…looking forward to draw Friday…could we have a great season our hands? Fingers crossed!
Desi
Good summation, the most marks should go to BR, he varies things, changes tactics and formations and the composition of the team and gets us through. If we can strengthen the team a bit i am optimistic.
Loved Dembele’s comment, on steam radio, when he was asked about Scott Browns spectacular effort;”I didn’t think he had that in his locker.” Neither did we mate.
A fully fit Brown will do for me. Gordon, great first season, not so good last season decidedly “iffy” this season but a fair point about a settled defence, especially centre backs.
I think we should handle Tierney with some care, he is a young super player but i would like to see him used with Izzy, and just nurture him through.I suspect he will not want to leave Celticc anytime soon
Celts debut, and a belt and braces sub for the last half hour to shore up with a five. Questionable choice in hindsight.