Many Celtic fans thought the first half yesterday was as bad as they’d seen this team play in this campaign. At half time, Celtic cyberspace was abuzz in fury, much of it directed at the manager for his change of tactics before the game kicked off. The general consensus was that the boss was about 45 minutes from having his head on the block.
It wasn’t just that we were trailing by a goal and looking in real trouble in this title race. It’s that there was just nothing happening at all to even spark life or hope. The team looked utterly bereft of confidence and ideas. And there was something worse.
You saw a team which looked absolutely all over the shop, as if the players had only just met one another. That was the worst of it, that feeling that you were watching not a team but a collection of complete strangers thrown onto the pitch at the same time. The idea that this was a functioning unit, that these guys could pull together, seemed ridiculous.
What’s worse is that all week long they’d talked the talk. How they were going to finally step up to the mark and show the rest of the league why we’re champions. There was talk of meetings. There was talk of showdown talks and clearing the air in the dressing room. That’s what we saw at the end of it all, that dreadful first 45 minutes.
And the second half turned the whole mood. The second half saw us up the tempo, saw us up the aggression, it saw the emergence of a genuine hero, and the team played like one. It knitted together somehow. They came out in the second half swinging.
If we’re going to win this title, that’s what we need. Not only the football but the attitude, and you saw what it meant to every player in the team at full time. They celebrated with more than just relief; it’s the first time in a while it’s felt like we were all in a collective endeavour, and that’s the real victory yesterday, that feeling that we were all on the same page.
The goals were excellent. Idah added so much to the team, but everyone pulled his weight and you saw it in everything we did in that second 45. Now we need to take that exact same attitude into the game against Dundee on Wednesday.
If we do that, we might yet pull this thing around.
James watch as EBt bigot McInnes sets up aryshire Huns to lie down to the scum just as thug naymark set up dirty fearts 12 game run then tinkers with players to leave them wide open against sevco McInnes will do the same no doubt HAIl! HAIL! Keep the faith we can do this back the team 100000%.
Yup .. totally agree.. yang showed up with the big fella idah .. we will see more improvement all over the pitch after this .. come on you boys in green .
Hopefully build a win mentality and we’ll see where we are in the next 4-5 weeks.
Fcuk knows what Rodgers said at Half-Time – But by Fcuk we sure as night follows day need more of it !
Idah was the difference with the way he is strong enough to take a ball in and protect it to allow mid to get more involved in an attacking sense. His power is a big plus. Kyogo is forever taking wee fancy flicks rather than holding onto the ball and this has hurt us in previous games as we couldnt put defences under real pressure. .
If anyone can remember, a few days ago I stated that it would be better Celtic
going in at half time drawing or even a goal down and that would stop the second half, even from OF Sevco, cavalry charges from the opposition, who were adopting a nothing-to-lose, do-or-die approach every second half now. That was the only “tactic” McInnes and his like had. But with the ball firmly on the other foot, it was Celtic`s turn to play them at their own game and it worked to a treat, even the late strikes, a la Kilmarnock last week. I think that a psychological problem was at play before, let`s hope it has now lifted. So let them all get the first goal now and instead of jeering, cheer it instead. That would make them think we had all gone completely mad.
I hate to be a naysayer, James, but I think the last 6 minutes of the game simply paper over the cracks. Motherwell have been on an awful run, but for 90 minutes they looked the better side and worthy of a at least draw. Then, as some sides do in extra time, they tired – Celtic put in two crosses of quality and we won. McGregor, Taylor and Scales were woeful, Kyogo hooked and Bernardo was anonymous. Unless and until we can play well in two halves of a game, the league is lost.
Paddybhoy
If they keep scoring winning goals in added time, which is every bit a part of the game as normal time, then what goes before doesn`t really matter. Keep papering over the cracks, I`ll be happy with that, as long as the cracks never appear. A poor first half followed by a successful second is better than the vice-versa that we saw even under Postecoglou, The opposition has been getting plenty of praise, even from Celtic fans, for their great tactical awareness and yet when Celtic emulates that, they are lucky. I
have given Rodgers plenty of stick but I must give him a wee bit of credit for Sunday.
Idah denied goal scoring opportunity.
Collum thought there were covering defenders. Only reason they were close was because he had been impeded for several seconds.
At the resulting free kick, Motherwell defender was only 6yards away when the ball was struck….impartial, uncorrupted competent refs would really be a bonus.
I seriously hope we win this league, for plenty of reasons.
Whatever Brendan did to get the midifeld pushing further foward and pinning Motherwell back in something he has to employ, especially at home where I think we look more ropey than we do when playing away.
Obviously you are right. Watching it again I agree it was night and day. But it was still too close for comfort.
I need to see more before I will take heart and be of the opinion that we are fighting for the title.
I pay for celtic tv as I live abroad. However it is rarely I watch the game, I listen to the commentary and click back if something “happens”, so I don’t see much. I did not watch any of the second half apart from Adam Idah’s goal and added on time.
Of course I am happy a out the result but having watched the game, without the nerves,afterwards I have to say it was a hard watch. Maybe if the commentary was good( we need to sign the lass that did the hibs tv) but it was fkn dire. The second half may have looked better but that was due to motherwell trying to protect their lead. Our best performer this year , Matt O’Riley seems more interested in scoring exquisettely crafted beautiful goals that are instagram worthy than just putting the ball in the net!
We do not service Kyogo properly, we hold the ball in defence until the opposition get back and recover their shape. We have 11 games left, we cannot afford to lose any of them! The only hope is yesterday had an air of “we never stop” about it. If we keep that up we can win this league but we need to be relentless every minute of every game from now on.
None of us are ever fooled by our erratic performances and only playing for 45 mins per game. However, instead of letting others focus on the negatives, let us take the positives from the second half and scoring three goals. Watching our team at present would test anyone’s heart rate and blood pressure, and that first half yesterday was brutal. Nevertheless, we got out of jail, got the 3 pts and move forward to Wednesday.
I would suspect, post matches, that the gap will still be 2 pts as I expect us to beat Dundee, and McInnes to succumb/lie down to his favourite team. We may be pleasantly surprised but either way, it’s so important for Celtic to continue the aggressive, attacking football, to ensure another bit of confidence returns !! Team selection will be interesting but CCV’s presence is so important!!!
So good to see a big striker rise above the defenders and score a headed goal. Long time since I’ve seen that
Yes last big striker was giomakis how i wish we had held on to him.
Every game of late has been a test for us, its something were not used too. I know with the way we are playing its one game at a time I get that but the biggest test will be going to Ibrox with the none of us there. If we can beat them for the third time in a row what statment which would turn this whole thing around. That would propel Celtic to go and win this league