Celtic managed to stay in touch at the top of the SPFL with a convincing 3-1 win over an enthusiastic Hearts side, while league leaders Inverness kept up their run of form, winning 2-1 in Kilmarnock.<\/p>\n
Goals from Kris Commons, Anthony Stokes and Teemu Pukki helped to give the team a confidence boost before the trip to Milan, and there were one or two performances that would have given Neil Lennon food for thought as he pondered how best to take something from the opening UCL game.<\/p>\n
Fraser Forster continued his return to form with a couple of important stops, but should have done more to prevent the Hearts goal than stick out a half arsed foot. Howver, he wasn’t really to blame as it appeared the defence and protecting midfield switched off to allow the Hearts player time to pick his spot. ( Most of the Hearts players are still young enough to have plooks. )<\/p>\n
The defence , other than that lapse were quite solid, with Efe Ambrose fast becoming the defender we want \u00a0him to be , and Virgil van Dijk settling in quicker than any of us dared hope. The two play together as though they have known each other for years, unlike previous partnerships who played like they had met on the bus on the way to the game.<\/p>\n
Adam Matthews was fitting in nicely on the right of midfield, allowing Joe Ledley to play more of a relaxed role, but then the Welshman got injured and made way for Georgios Samaras, who isn’t a bad replacement to have in the wings.<\/p>\n
Kris Commons and Anthony Stokes look to be a promising duet, and both can score goals and lay on chances for others. Teemu Pukki when he arrived looked quick and eager, actually he looked very quick and seemed to play as well off the ball as anyone I’ve seen up front for Celtic since the heady days of Henrik Larsson.<\/p>\n
Ach, perhaps we just need a hero.<\/p>\n
The goals were all well taken, Stokes finishing off a through ball with aplomb, before setting up Pukki for his debut goal, after Commons had opened the scoring after Willie Collum had made a terible mistake and awarded Celtic a penalty, ensuring he would be sitting by himself at the lodge this weekend.<\/p>\n
The Hearts defender, Jamie Hamill, who looks like he is auditioning for a role in one of those post apocalyptic films where skinhead bikers attack old women, first of all tried to strangle Anthony Stokes, before sticking out an arm to block a goal bound effort. I thought it was an obvious penalty, but then I wear these;<\/p>\n
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After Anthony Stokes moved the ball back a couple of miles at Tannadice, it was nice to give pundits something to moan about. Well, they didn’t all moan about it. The Independent just ignored it;<\/p>\n
After the game, Lennon spoke of the way his new team was shaping up, and the desire to keep Stokes;<\/p>\n
“We have offered him a contract and will speak to him again.<\/p>\n
“I would like to keep him here, I think he has done very well. Hopefully we can get something thrashed out in the foreseeable future.<\/p>\n
“I thought his skill for setting up the third goal was magnificent. I don’t know how he did it.<\/p>\n
“He is in a good place, his link-up play was good, he was full of running, his touch was good and he took his goal brilliantly.<\/p>\n
“I think he is taking on the challenge of Gary Hooper leaving, and (whether he can) go on to be the number one. He is answering all the questions so far.”<\/p>\n
\u00a0Stokes has come on to a game since Hooper left, his unselfish forward play combined with his finishing have helped to ease any worries that the side will struggle to replace Hoopers thirty goals or so, and with Kris Commons picking up where he left off last year, we may not have anything to worry about after all. Then you have Pukki, who seems to know where the goal is.<\/p>\n
At the back the form of van Dijk and Ambrose means that kelvin wilson was probably right to move back to Nottingham. He would not have been in the team ahead of these two. Some might argue that van Dijk was signed to partner Wilson, but the big Englishman was looking for a way out a long time before he actually went.<\/p>\n
In fact, the manager is fairly pleased with his lot, and, speaking in the Scotsman, noted that the team also has a wee bit extra this time round;<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, we\u2019ve got pace, with Boerrigter, [James] Forrest, when he is fit, [Georgios] Samaras,\u201d said Neil Lennon. \u201cListen, pace is very important in the Champions League. It\u2019s something we really focused on last year, particularly defensively \u2013 [Efe] Ambrose and Wilson, and our full-backs, [Mikael] Lustig, [Adam] Matthews and Emilio [Izaguirre]. [It was important] away from home, particularly against Barcelona.<\/p>\n
\u201cBoerrigter is an interesting one because we haven\u2019t had a quick leftie for a while and he is prepared to go in behind people. If he\u2019s fit and flying then I think he will be useful on the counter-attack in Europe. He\u2019s got the European experience as well. Pukki is very experienced at international and club level [with Finland and Schalke] and I think he will be a good player for us.\u201d<\/p>\n
So, all eyes turn to Milan, with Neil Lennon having already taken himself and his backroom team over to Italy to check out the Milan side in their game against Torino last night, where they drew 2-2.<\/p>\n
Some are saying that they are a shadow of the team of recent years, and the fact they have only won something like half a dozen of their last twenty or so home games in the UCL groups means that Celtic should take something from the match. Their 3-0 whipping of PSV Eindhoven in the play offs suggests otherwise, although perhaps PSV are also a shadow of recent sides ?<\/p>\n
Celtic go into this campaign without the spine of the team from last year, hooper, wanyama and wilson having moved south for differing reasons, yet there is a feeling that the team is, in fact stronger and better equipped for this attempt.<\/p>\n
Okay, so maybe that feeling just comes from me, due to these<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
but the central defensive partnership of Ambrose and van Dijk is better than any we had last year, Stokes and Commons between them offer more than Hooper, who granted would score goals, but offered little creatively, and although wanyama was a powerhouse in midfield, he could be a bit undisciplined at times, and was always a worry over yellow cards.<\/p>\n
The others have gained experience from last year, and will hopefully be a bit more streetwise away from home. The team spirit is still there, and yet again we may see the sum of the parts being greater than it should be.<\/p>\n
Injury worries James Forrest and Adam Matthews look likely to be available, and that gives Neil Lennon quite a strong squad to choose from.<\/p>\n
And when you add the pace factor that Lennon mentioned, we could be in for a decent campaign after all…<\/p>\n
Elsewhere, the betting scandal in Scottish football took another twist as one punter \u00a0( me ) decided that he might as well jump in on the recurring pattern where the opponents of the shamed club Second Rangers lose the first goal before going on to win easily..<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Wonder what Bill Struth would have said about all these shennannigans ? Not that anyone in the press will ask McCoist if he thinks the old Rangers man , to whom dignity and image was so important , would have approved of him fielding a player who bets against his own team.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Mind you, I don’t suppose it matters. Its a different club, after all.<\/p>\n
Aberdeen fans in Glasgow yesterday gave their support to Jim Spence, the BBC man who is being terrorised by the blinkered Ibrox hordes , with this banner<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
See, its not just us. Its all the decent people everywhere who abhor this sort of behaviour.<\/p>\n
Apologies to anyone who missed the quiz yesterday. Thats because, believe it or not, I forgot to do it as I was in a bit of a rush.<\/p>\n
Charles I, St. Patrick and model Tully Smyth gave us the legend that is Charlie Tully Today, its a little easier..<\/p>\n
\u00a0
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