Soccer Football - Scottish Premiership - Celtic v Aberdeen - Celtic Park, Glasgow, Scotland, Britain - July 31, 2022 Celtic's Jota celebrates scoring their second goal REUTERS/Russell Cheyne
We are used to clubs talking a good game against us and then not showing up for business. I don’t believe for one minute that we’re going to be disappointed in Hibs tomorrow.
They will give us a game. They are threatening to do it and we’ve seen enough of them to know that they can do so. They did it at Ibrox for 45 minutes before inexplicably chucking it.
I like Lee Johnson. He talks a lot of sense, and especially earlier in the month where he unleashed on The Mooch and then gave him the first big shock of his tenure at his club. Johnson knows what Ange has said is right and what Goodwin learned late; that you cannot sit back against ourselves or the club from Ibrox and hope that you get a result.
We are different teams, as the boss has said, and we are much more dangerous to clubs who try to play expansive football. But really, the alternative to doing so is to sit back and hope that none of our front men is on his game. If even one can find the net then that’s Plan A up the spout and the opposition are forced to come out anyway.
That’s why when we score early the roof so often falls in on these teams. Hibs’ manager recognises that which is why I think we can count on him being true to his word. They are going to have a go. This team is going to be a good opponent.
Which means they are going to be a tough opponent, and we’re going to have to be on our toes if we’re going to beat them. That makes for a better game, the sort that when you win it you feel as if you’ve been watching something a genuine contest.
It is good to watch Celtic when they absolutely run over an opponent. But I think there’s a real satisfaction to be had in watching your side win when in a great game of football and your victory comes from just being that bit better … a game that otherwise is evenly matched except that you just have the players capable of more brilliance.
It is so much better than watching a quality team try to break down an opponent with no other plan than to contain, to sit behind the ball, to eke out a 0-0 draw. That’s not football, no matter how much our media occasionally pretends otherwise.
And that’s not what I expect tomorrow night.
Good for Hibs, and I expect that they will give it a good go. I’m not too sure about playing Hatate though at right back when he has to actually defend, that will be a bit of an experience for all of us if that’s the case. Hopefully we can keep them pinned back enough to limit their attacking exploits. As long as our own forwards do the business though we should be fine.
Always enjoyed playing Hibs because they never sat in and then up steps Wee Shaun with a 10-0-0 formation to blow my thoughts out the water.
Here’s hoping it’s a good game.
A game before ibrox play it later