The game in the first-half passed Celtic by today and was a reminder that if we’re not very careful, we could just as easily lose control of the Scottish Premiership this year as we have done in European competition. After some early poor performances in the beginning of the season which saw us eliminated from the League Cup and lose points to the Saints at home, we’ve been relatively steady in domestic action.
We’ve beaten our main rivals for the title, theRangers, at Ibrox and have saw off Aberdeen and Hearts away amongst others. We’ve also did what we’ve had to do at Celtic Park up until the last few weeks which have been concerning. We seem to have carried that poor European form into our bread and butter football in the League and it’s really starting to become a concern for the manager, as was evidenced in his post-match interview.
Against Motherwell, we looked like we could play for two days and not score, whilst we missed another penalty and conceded from a set-piece yet again. That curse struck once more this afternoon and if Rodgers doesn’t nip it in the bud now, it could be a real problem heading into the New Year, as we’ve still to play a fair amount of football before that transfer window opens and we can improve the squad, as well as getting influential players back.
Today’s conceded goal from a set-piece was another case of us being too weak individually and collectively to get the ball clear and safe away from the danger zone of the six-yard box and goal line. Mark Wilson was helping out on the punditry panel this afternoon with James McFadden and Kris Boyd, and was critical of Celtic goalkeeper, Joe Hart, for not being tougher around the box when those deliveries come in towards him. He said: “Joe Hart has to be much stronger… he’s allowed himself to be taken into the back of the net there.
Listen to Mark Wilson and the panel discuss Joe Hart below…
It is worth mentioning that Hart made a huge save at 2-1 in injury time to deny St Johnstone before the ball went back upfield for Celtic to score the third of the day.
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