Soccer Football - Scottish Premiership - Rangers v Celtic - Ibrox, Glasgow, Scotland, Britain - September 3, 2023 Celtic's Kyogo Furuhashi reacts REUTERS/Russell Cheyne
So this is what a title race looks like.
From the moment the final whistle blew at Ross County I was looking forward to today, to seeing what this Aberdeen side had in store for us. The answer is that you can start taking them seriously. It’s not that they won the point or that they were brilliant and pinned us back or anything. They were not brilliant. They did not pin us back.
The point they got was barely deserved. But they did get it and they got it from two goals down. They were resilient. They fought for it. And that’s why tonight the Scottish top flight has two unbeaten teams instead of one. It’s why we’re both six points clear of the mob from across the city, and why they can’t afford to slip tomorrow.
I’ve already had a number of people tell me they are the only winners from today; odd that as they didn’t play today. They may well come out of tomorrow better than they went into this weekend, but that would have been true anyway if they manage to win. That it ended up ourselves and Aberdeen playing this out has helped them in some small way … if they win. That still remains to be seen.
We should have extended our own lead at the top this afternoon. Of course we should. We had more of the ball, created the most chances, had the most shots on goal and we all feel pretty disappointed at the dropping of points. One or two players were off it today and their tactical changes at half time caught us out … Thelin deserves enormous credit for that although we’re our own worst enemies at times.
We looked comfortable at half time without having been brilliant. I thought we would probably go on and win the game quite convincingly. Had we taken our early second half chances we would have. There is no dressing it up today; we blew it. We threw three points away from a strong position. They were disciplined and hit us on the break; we better learn from that and do it fast. They had a plan and stuck to it, and they deserve praise for it, but we should never have let that one get away from us.
The boss agrees that we lacked the killer instinct today. That’s one way to put it . He was furious about the pressing or lack of it. It’s fair to say that I’m not looking forward to Wednesday with any enthusiasm at all in light of our defensive performance today, but O can’t say I’m particularly worried for Hampden; on another day we would have scored three or four in the first half alone.
The story of the day is their team and it should be. The questions were all going to be about them and they answered those questions; brace yourselves because this lot might be fore real. Their manager is an astute tactician and he has instilled a real never-say-die spirit in the players. It’s an outstanding start from Thelin and he has no reason to fear anyone in the league now. He’s masterminded a draw at Celtic Park from two down instead of crumbling as every one of his predecessesors would have done.
Yes, they were cynical. Yes, they wasted time. Yes, they were lucky to finish the match with eleven men still on the pitch … and still, they will say the result is all that matters and they got that, and that’s why we’re still joint top.
For far too long we’ve had to put up with media hype around Ibrox, and the hype has never lived up to it. They will be lucky to still be on our coat-tails come New Year when we go over there to subject them to their next humiliation. They barely laid a glove on us when they came to Celtic Park. Aberdeen ripped their point out of our hands, and that’s what they came to town to do. We’re in a title race at last.
Not long home from the game James, and I can’t really disagree with the majority of what you’ve said !
We blew the three points today, but I have to give them enormous credit for their second half performance!
Game should have been done and dusted by the first 45, but as we know at 2-0 the third goal is always vital!
The fact they got it from a simple pass through our middle was very poor, especially after us being so wasteful at the other end.
To be honest, I’m too long in the tooth to be alarmed at dropping two points today. It’s more about realism than disappointment in my honest opinion.
I give Aberdeen and their boss, great credit for their second half display and I’ve no doubt, if they can keep a strong squad, they’ll be up challenging at the top.
My negatives from today were obviously the dropping of two vital points, and the performances of some of our players.
I’ll not go in too hard as I love Maeda, but today he was as poor as I’ve seen him and gave a loose ball for their equaliser!
Didn’t necessarily agree with Hatate getting substituted but Engels had another quiet game !
It’s one of these things and never ideal after an international break, but that’s why we have a squad !
I’d like to see McCowan starting and I’m trying not to judge Trusty on the right side …but plenty judged Starfelt on the left, when he was one of our most consistent performers!
Can’t say I’m looking forward to the Atalanta game, and it will be interesting to get a head count of Hoops fans, hiding behind couches !
Like I have, for many decades, I’m keeping the faith ! HH
Celtic worried me today, it’s too easy to cut through us when we make one slack pass. Not looking forward to midweek, in fact, I’m terrified!
I wouldn’t underestimate the impact of “air miles” across some of our key players today from the international break. Trusty, Johnstone, Maeda and Hatate spent a lot of time on airplanes. Hopefully they will be more on it in midweek. But our openness in the middle of the park is a concern – fluid going forward and hard to pick up, but we seem overcommitted at times and when we lose the ball our defence is immediately exposed.
I see Atalanta play tomorrow – I’ll take any advantage that may give us with regard to rest and recovery as it will be a real test on Wednesday.
I think that’s a very good point. Hatate and Maeda (particularly) looked well off it whereas Kyogo (who didn’t go anywhere looked sharp). Aberdeen pretty much had their whole squad training for this game for TWO WEEKS whereas we only had our full squad for TWO DAYS. Its not an excuse – that’s what happens when you have international level players – but its a factor.
I agree – our issue is we don’t have anyone in midfield that sees danger before its too late. CalMac is a superb footballer and a brilliant captain (both on and off the field) but he’s not suited to the deep lying midfielder role – he’s a far more cultured and forward thinking player and I much prefer him pushed one further up. We badly need a proper defensively minded central midfielder, particularly for Europe but also for the bigger domestic games where one simple through ball cuts us wide open. Aberdeen’s first goal – whilst a superb pass and well taken clinical finish – was embarrassing from a defensive perspective and would never have happened with Lennon or Scott Brown in the team.
And still we gain a point on Sevco !!!