Celtic return to form
Sitting in the baking afternoon sun of Gran Canaria, it was good to see Celtic get back to winning ways before making a mad dash for my plane home. It could have easily have been double figures for Ronny Deila's men against a lethargic Ross County side who looked beaten from the off.
I could single out each of Celtic's starting eleven for praise but there were three stand-outs for me. Returning from injury, Mikael Lustig took the right back spot from Efe Ambrose, to the delight of much of the Celtic support and his service down the flank, linking up with the imperious John Guidetti and Callum McGregor seemed to work almost instantly. If the Swede can retain full fitness then surely he will be one of the first names on the team sheet for the club.
Anthony Stokes scored the pick of the bunch with his first-half strike and grabbing the fifth in the second half made him my man of the match. The Irishman has been coming in for some flak over the last month due to his lack of goals but I have been a vocal supporter due to his tenacity and continuous work across the front line. When he scores, we tend to win with considerable ease - his previous goal was against Dundee United in the 6-1 win earlier in the season.
Meanwhile, Stefan Johansen has been a mainstay in midfield and, while his form has not matched that of his first few months at the club, Saturday afternoon was one of his finest showings for the champions. Playing alongside Scott Brown allows the Norwegian to get forward and his vision was second to none. The midfield works so much more effectively when Brown is there to sweep up any discrepancies.
The big negative from the lunchtime kick-off was the injury to Emilio Izaguirre. The left wing-back had been pummelling the Ross County back-line for the majority of the game and those with green and white leanings will be hoping that Deila's comments saying he will be back on Thursday night prove to be true. PF
Aberdeen got it all wrong
Yeah, it's no fluke that Accies are still top of the table. There haven't been too many times that Aberdeen have been properly pumped under Derek McInnes' charge, but Friday night was a horror story for the Dons.
This was partly down to the home side; Hamilton weren't cagey in the slightest and came out to play their own game. With Mickael Antoine-Curier such an effective target man, Alex Neil's side were able to go long when necessary and, even when the big forward didn't win the ball, his teammates swarmed round any loose pickings like wasps around a jam sandwich. Danny Redmond and Dougie Imrie buzzed everywhere, while the presence of Grant Gillespie in front of the back four allows Ali Crawford and Tony Andreu to gamble on trying to support Antoine-Curier - Andreu's two goals came from tremendously timed late runs into the box.
But a woeful performance from the visitors was also a significant factor. I understand Aberdeen had been training on Falkirk's artificial pitch earlier in the week; presumably they had also read my recent piece from The Terrace, given that they set up their side for a physical battle and a more direct style than usual. It was not a wise move from McInnes; with Ryan Jack tucking in from the right of midfield to give the Dons an extra man in that area, Shay Logan was left on an island against Redmond and the overlapping Stephen Hendrie and was tormented all evening.
As for the rest of the back four, the less said the better. I couldn't tell if Mark Reynolds was at left-back and Andy Considine in the centre, or if they were simply pulled out of position so often that it just looked that way. And Ash Taylor? Good grief. Aberdeen surely would have been better concentrating on what they do best, rather than overcompensating for their opponents, and for the surface.
There's no sign of the Accies bandwagon being derailed yet then...though one imagines they'll have plenty of trickier games than this one. LS
Partick need to play for 90 minutes
Oh, Partick, if only you didn't keep shipping late goals. Having turned three points into none against Hamilton earlier this season, and then let in a last-gasp winner to a dreadful St. Mirren side a few weeks back, the Jags missed out on a well-deserved point at Tannadice. To be fair, Nadir Ciftci was a country mile offside in the build-up to the penalty decision, but not getting the points their performances merit is a recurring theme for Alan Archibald this season.
That's four defeats in a row now - a run which leaves them only three points above the likes of St. Mirren and Motherwell. If they are to have aspirations of a top six finish then they need to correct this soon. LS
No case for the defence
St. Johnstone's woes in attack are well documented - in fact, even their 'goal' on Saturday shouldn't have counted, as Murray Davidson's effort didn't cross the line. But it's clear now that their back line, so reliable in recent years, is now in a deep funk.
Against Inverness last month, they were completely unable to cope with pace and movement, which resulted in the benching of Frazer Wright. With Tam Scobbie still injured, Tommy Wright has been using Dave Mackay in central defence, but the evidence from the defeat to Killie is that this hasn't helped. At 34, Mackay is slowing down as well, and he was even less equipped than Wright to deal with Josh Magennis' muscle. In addition, the right-back area is weakened with Mackay having been moved from there and Gary Miller struggling to fill in. Add in a malfunctioning Steven Anderson - imperious last season - and St. Johnstone are in trouble until Scobbie comes back. And even then, is the ex-Falkirk man really good enough to fix all the problems? LS
Willie Collum v ICT & St Mirren
Referees are no strangers to abuse from the terraces but when both sets of supporters at a game unite in dishing out the abuse then it's probably safe to say you've not had a good day at the office. Willie Collum found himself in this rather odd position with a puzzling display during the St Mirren v Caley Thistle game.
Collum dished out nine yellow cards including a red for Inverness's Ryan Christie in a puzzling display that left both sets of supporters irate at his approach to handling the game. Whilst the players must accept some responsibility for their niggling fouls leading to a very stop-start match, Collum was frustratingly inconsistent. John McGinn can count himself lucky not to at least have been yellow carded having committed numerous fouls throughout the afternoon. Likewise. Ross Draper was fortunate to remain on the park as he bench pressed the St Mirren midfield whilst already on a yellow.
Officials make mistakes. They are only human after all. But a degree of consistency in how they handle games would be universally welcomed by supporters. AS
Andrew Sutherland (AS) occasionally writes for When Saturday Comes. He would never miss an ICT match unless he was offered a date with the lead singer of CHVRCHES...who he would then take to said ICT match.
Iain Meredith (IM) is technically a Rangers fan, but these days he tends to support them ironically. He only agreed to help with this blog because now he can tell his wife that he's "only watching the game to help a friend out".
Paul Fisher (PF) is content producer for Celtic Live, so you can guess where his allegiances lie. His dayjob is as a journalist for the Ardrossan Herald. Believe it or not, he's big in the Scottish Lawn Bowls scene, if there is such a thing.
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