Beyond The Score

 Celtic retained their nine-point lead at the summit of the Scottish Premiership with a routine victory over relegation-fighting Ross County. Goals from Jota and perhaps the unlikely source of Bernabei set Celtic up nicely for a battle with Rangers at Parkhead next week. This is on the back of fifteen straight victories.

Despite winning it was clear from the off how much Postecoglou’s side missed Reo Hatate and Aaron Mooy. Most would think Celtic’s first-choice midfield consists of Mcgregor in the holding role with Hatate and Mooy just in front. However, the absence of both the latter meant that the champions walked out at Dingwall playing with Iwata in the holding role and Mcgregor and O’Riley in front. Therefore, the three midfield compartments changed. The dominance in possession was still there of course however, a lack of penetration into the final third was frustratingly evident for the travelling support. Take a look at the 3-1 Hearts victory (where both Hatate and Mooy featured), 72% of the action was either in the middle or Hearts final third, the statistics in the 3-0 away Scottish Cup tie were similar. Despite this, yesterday just 30% of the action was in the final third. Too often it was backwards passes and sideways from Celtic without really putting the County defence under any real pressure.

It wasn’t all ineffective work on Celtic’s behalf though, part of this was due to Ross County’s astute tactics of nullifying their fullbacks. The home side let Starfelt and Carter-Vickers have all the time in the world on the ball before aggressively pressing Johnston and Taylor, cutting off the passing lanes out wide where Celtic can really hurt you. Often Carter-Vickers and Starfelt were invited to travel forward into space but Celtic struggled to break down County through the centre. Their only real chance through that avenue was due to Tomoki Iwata’s individual brilliance. Their most productive opportunities in that half came on the counter when Jota and Johnson could link up out wide and get in behind the Ross County backline. While this tactic doesn’t work at Parkhead due to the space it leaves behind, at a home game against the Champions quite a lot of teams are adopting it. St Mirren were an excellent example as they kept Celtic at bay until going down to ten men. It seems that this is the best way to limit Celtic on your home turf.

It was Willie Collum’s penalty point that gave Celtic the must-needed breakthrough and was a dagger in the hearts of the County fanbase. While VAR became the talking point (again) in the hours after with Kris Boyd slamming its use (it’s funny how he thought it was perfectly functioning after Celtic’s trip to Paisley or more to the point Ibrox) it’s got to be said that by the rulebook it is clearly a penalty. He doesn’t gain an advantage, he’s not aiming for it, but according to the “natural silhouette,” Lacovitti had his arm outstretched. One man who won’t care about the logistics of whether it is a penalty or not is Jota. He put it away with composure to score his twelfth goal of the campaign.

It was his partner on the right, Alister Johnson who continued to impress. As mentioned despite a first half where action out wide was limited he managed to get in behind a couple of times and showed great strength. In the second half as well he was at the forefront of creating many Celtic attacks and continued to grow into this new role he has at Celtic. Jota and himself complement each other currently with four goals in the last three games. While he doesn’t have the pace that now Union Berlin right-back Josip Juranovic had, defensively he seems more solid and doesn’t have the off days that the Croatian used to have. By no means is he a better player, or a less talented one. In fact, he is just a different player who shows the continuing evolution of Ange Postecoglou’s side.

Tomoki Iwata saw his first start in a Celtic shirt and didn’t disappoint. Admittedly, a game against a relegation-threatened side who have no intention of playing much football won’t be the hardest test he will ever face in a Celtic shirt, neither though is it not a reason for Celtic fans to be excited about the prospects of the Japanese midfielder. The midfield injury “crisis” meant that yesterday was his game to show what he is all about. While his role is to be solid and consistent, there were positives to take away from yesterday. He made two key passes, four successful long balls and possessed the highest passing accuracy of any midfielder on that park (all the more impressive considering his passes were more purposeful than McGregor and O’Riley on the day). Mooy and Hatate will likely be back next week, and if it is the case there is no doubt they will walk into the team, although yesterday proved that even without them Iwata’s calming presence will be fit for purpose against Rangers.

Daizen Maeda, who has scored ten goals this season, showed that maybe in these types of games, he isn’t the ideal option. It was telling that after a 1-0 victory earlier in the season away to Aberdeen Postecoglou subbed Maeda off at halftime. He later said he expected the Dons to be more open and go for the game. This is no coincidence. In a game where space is available in behind Maeda is gold dust. The quickest player in Scotland can pin back any fullback and leave them on red alert. No doubt that is why he will play next week against Rangers. Yet on days like this where space is scarce, he is like a man down. He rarely beats players with skill and tends to pass it back. The one chance where the game opened up and he was let in behind he set up Kyogo in spectacular style only for the league’s top scorer to fire a blank. On days like today, Haksabanovic is the better option as his terrific dribbling can cause any defence issues no matter their setup.

While Celtic fans may still be hurting about Giakoumakis’ loss, it’s fair to say that they are growing in love with Ho more and more by the minute. He has the physical presence of the Greek striker but his all-round game is more developed. Giakoumakis often had poor touches, or slack passes. Yesterday though, in one sweet synchronised turn that nearly resulted in a goal Oh showed that his attributes aren’t just limited to physicality. He created three other chances on target during the fifteen minutes he was on. On days like this where chances aren’t plentiful against a stubborn defence it gives Celtic a different dynamic and maybe in the future we will see him start more often.

Alexandro Bernabei completed the victory for Celtic and laid down a marker to be up for selection next week against Michael Beale’s Rangers. He has had a tough start to life in Glasgow riddled with inconsistencies. Throughout though there have been signs of talent, even if a bit raw. His finish was spectacular yesterday and his constant bombing up the wing was reminiscent of a certain man named Kieran Tierney (although without the physicality). Taylor looks to be out for next week’s derby and with no other option the Argentinian will start if this proves to be the case. His defensive attributes don’t seem to be as solid as Taylor’s in the opening games he has played in (making it even more likely that Postecoglou will partner him with Maeda), although in attack (whisper it) he seems to be slightly stronger. His raw pace will force any defence in Scotland to be wary.

This leaves us with the Derby run-in. A run-in that we will become familiar with over the next month and a half. Especially at Celtic Park, you feel like they hold the cards. While not officially champions yet for this campaign, a result next week would all but confirm it. Being honest, I can’t see anything other than a victory for Celtic next week. It’s Scottish football though and derby day, only a fool would predict.

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