Less than seventy-two hours after a difficult away game in Turkey, Celtic travelled to Perth in frigid conditions to take on a St. Johnstone side who have been on fire for the last two months. And Leigh Griffiths, Scott Brown and Nir Bitton were missing. It wasn't unreasonable to think that Ronny Deila's side might be vulnerable.
So much for that. Say what you like about their European campaign, but Celtic's record in league games straight after continental duty has been impeccable - ten wins out of ten. Like so many times this season, the champions started slowly and could have fallen behind...and like so many times this season, once they got the opening goal they ran away with it. Is that a bit of luck, or just that other teams don't believe in themselves, or that other teams just aren't good enough? Probably a bit of the second, and a bit of the third.
Nadir Ciftci's sudden return to form bodes ill for everyone else; the biggest weakness seemed to be an overdependence on Griffiths for goals. Going into the second half of the season, Celtic have a four point lead plus a game in hand on Aberdeen. At a similar stage last year the gap was smaller - just 2 points. And there's no further European distraction. Depressingly for the rest of us, it looks like no-one's anywhere nearer to challenging their dominance. This victory, over one of the stronger teams they'll play this season, confirms that their name is already on the 2015-16 title trophy. LS
Hearts, Hearts, Inglorious Hearts
Kudos to over 1200 Hearts fans (notwithstanding the one muppet who let off the firework in the away end...) who made it to Pittodrie despite a Saturday lunchtime ko in the middle of December with the game on TV and travel disruptions caused by the Forth Road Bridge closure. I was out at the Old School House later that day with a couple of those Hearts fans, when I bumped into another one of those Hearts fans, Guardian & Observer golf correspondence Ewan Murray. While he agreed with me that it was a good Hearts support, I saw that he tweeted afterwards that Aberdeen's home turn - in an overall attendance of 13,000 - was "very poor". A recurring theme from Murray, which in fairness he admitted himself, but do folks agree or disagree with him that a home attendance of nearly 12,000 in the same circumstances - minus the Forth Road Bridge issue - is "very poor"?
But I digress... Anyway, chapeau to the Hearts fans. As for their team...
The Jambos were torn apart when the teams last met at Tynecastle and Robbie Neilson clearly set his team out to stop the Dons doing that again - by any means necessary. Peter Pawlett - in for the injured Niall McGinn - was fouled twice by Jordan McGhee in the first ten minutes, and that set the tone for the rest of the match. To provide some balance, this wasn't the case across the pitch - the impressive Jonny Hayes tormented Callum Paterson down the left flank, but to his credit Paterson tried to defend him cleanly throughout the match. However that was the exception rather than the rule.
Miguel Pallardo was tormentor-in.chief. Having earlier challenged Graeme Shinnie so late that he fouled him with his knees, he was later booked for a bad foul on Pawlett. Undeterred, Pallardo tripped up Hayes a minute later. Referee Craig Thomson blinked, providing Neilson with the opportunity to hook him - with barely half an hour gone - to stop him from getting himself sent off.
The Dons were dominant in the first half. Neil Alexander made a few great saves, stopping a reaction left foot shot from Hayes, then denying a header from Andy Considine after he was left completely unmarked from a Hayes free kick. (had he directed his header either side of the keeper it would have been a goal. But he didn't. So it wasn't.) Alexander also saved from Kenny McLean to keep the game scoreless at half time.
Even when Hearts had their own opportunities they resulted from their own foul play. Early in the second half Pawlett was tugged back while in possession in his own half, allowing Hearts to win the ball and get it to Sam Nicholson, who drifted infield to smash a dipping long-range effort off the bar. A minute later, Nicholson himself was doing the tugging back and found himself the next Jambo to be booked. While Aberdeen tried to let their feet do the talking, Osman Sow preferred to let his elbow talk to Shinnie's head. Fan foul play leads to players having to leave the field in order to be assessed under concussion protocol, ye ken yer watching a roch game - less Premier League, mair Buchan League...(stop with that Doric crap Martin, this isn't Sunset Song! - Ed)
The bookings came thick and fast as the game degenerated into a scrap. Blazej Augustyn saw yellow for a bodycheck on the breaking Shinnie, while McGhee finally went in the referee's notepad after shifting his bad intentions to Shay Logan. Both bookings were either side of a yellow card to Willo Flood for a bad foul on Arnaud Djoum - the latter seemed so disinterested throughout the game that I am amazed he ended up with the ball long enough to be fouled by someone in the first place.
Sadly, for all that one may criticise Hearts for their tactics, the blunt reality is that they were effective, continually breaking up the play. Without McGinn, the Dons were ineffectual from the set piece opportunities that followed. I wrote in my last Talking Points piece about how the Ulsterman had been directly involved in all of Aberdeen's goals in the previous few games, and he was badly missed here; the home side had the majority of the pressure but became a bit predictable as the match wore on.
In the end, the decisive action came from McGhee, whose inexplicable handball in the box from McLean's cross allowed Rooney to convert the ensuing penalty with a strike that beat Alexander's outstretched glove to the bottom right corner of the goal. (As an aside, I have no idea how McGhee managed to stay on the park after deliberately punching the ball in the penalty area, other than that Thomson had set his mind on Hearts finishing the game with 11 men.)
Aberdeen were better over the 90 minutes and although they were lucky to be literally handed the breakthrough at the end they deserved their win. Hearts, however, will need to take a long, hard look at themselves. For a team lying third in the league table, and with genuine aspirations to rise higher, this was depressing, and all the more frustrating given that they have players who can play better football than this; Paterson and Nicholson particularly impressed in spite of the negative attitude displayed by some their teammates. MI
Doolan keeps on doing it
Kris Doolan's winner for Partick Thistle was a belated birthday gift for the forward, who turned 29 last week. The goal was much like the other seventy-nine he has scored for the Jags over nearly seven seasons at Firhill - from inside the penalty box, where he displayed quicker speed of thought than the defenders around him.
The fact that Doolan continues to score goals at this level continues to surprise; Partick's longest serving player, he wasn't exactly prolific in the second tier, and in each of the last three seasons his manager has brought in another striker in January to usurp him (first Steven Craig, and then Lyle Taylor on two occasions). Whilst he scored nine times in the league last season, four of those came on a single evening against Hamilton.
And yet the former Auchinleck Talbot striker continues to prove his worth. He might be wee at 5ft 7in, and he doesn't have blistering pace or astounding technique, but much like St. Johnstone's Steven Maclean he seems to think so much quicker than most of his opponents. And unlike Maclean, he covers a lot of ground. To be honest, Dundee United could do with some grafters like him.
Doolan's latest one year contract expires in the summer. One wouldn't bet against Alan Archibald keeping him on again.
Oh, and in other news, Dundee United move 'up' to fourth in the standings for Worst Start To A Top Flight Season...LS
| Worst starts in the top flight since 3pts for a win was introduced | |||||||
| P | W | D | L | F | A | PTS | |
| Dundee United 2000-01 | 18 | 1 | 2 | 15 | 11 | 36 | 5 |
| Dunfermline 2005-06 | 18 | 2 | 3 | 13 | 10 | 31 | 9 |
| St. Johnstone 2001-02 | 18 | 2 | 3 | 13 | 12 | 33 | 9 |
| Dundee United 2015-16 | 18 | 2 | 3 | 13 | 13 | 34 | 9 |
| Partick Thistle 2003-04 | 18 | 2 | 3 | 13 | 17 | 35 | 9 |
Caley Thistle are their own worst enemy
Caley Thistle's result against Kilmarnock was rather better than the performance. Whilst the visitors were so abject that any outcome other than a home win would have been outrageous, it would be a stretch to say that John Hughes' side impressed...other than the lovely move that led to a second goal for Iain Vigurs. With the opener handed to them on a plate by the most glorious of blunders by Kevin McHattie - passing the ball along your own byline is never wise - Caley Thistle chose to settle into their usual "pass the ball backwards and sideways until it's given away" philosophy. Going by post-match comments from the players and the manager, they were quite chuffed with the first 45 minutes; those of us freezing our backsides off in the stands would have preferred more action.
As alluded to after the game by Hughes, ICT have struggled to dominate teams for a whole ninety minutes, and they looked very uncomifortable after Gary Locke switched to a 4-4-2 at half-time. The back four should have known better than to sit so deep - is Dale Carrick really that quick? - and the passing game broke down alarmingly. Kilmarnock got back into the game without playing well or clever - but their direct football, plus the lively substitute Greg Kiltie - caused problems.
Inverness have managed just two clean sheets all season, and are dreadful for conceding late goals and from set pieces...so it was a given that Killie would grab a late consolation from a badly defended corner. Inexplicably (they've been doing this all season), Caley Thistle kept three players in attack when defending a corner with a few minutes left. It's just crazy - it means there is far more space in the box for opponents to use to run and attack the ball. Not only that, but I can't remember ever seeing ICT score a goal on the counterattack after a clearance. It's a stupid tactic, and why Yogi persists with it is nuts. If other teams aren't capable of beating them, Inverness will do their level best to beat themselves. LS
Dundee are quietly on the slide
Have the troubles at Tannadice overshadowed some significant problems just along the road? In January, I was sat at a wedding reception with Motherwell's team doctor on an afternoon when Dundee pumped the Steelmen 4-1. From February onwards, though, the Dark Blues have won just five games out of thirty; defeat at Fir Park leaves them without a win in ten and with just two victories in four months.
As Paul Hartley pointed out post-match, a better start to games might help. In their last eleven matches, they've conceded nine goals in the first twenty minutes of the match; they've scored only twice in the first half of their last fifteen games (compared to fifteen second half goals!).
That's atrocious, but no-one seems to have cottoned on yet. Dundee have slid down to ninth in the table now, which is unacceptable for a side which invested significantly in its squad in the summer. A few more iffy results and might Hartley be under pressure? LS
County's strength in depth
Only 100 seconds of highlights for a clash between two top six sides? Naff off again, Sportscene. Accies-County had 26 shots on goal and plenty of incident. It deserved far more attention than it got.
Neither side were in good form coming into this; in hindsight, Jim McIntyre's wholesale changes (five in all) to his lineup proved a better move than Martin Canning's insistence on mostly sticking with the players who started the season so well. It tells you something about County's strength in depth that Jamie Reckord, Chris Robertson and Raffaele De Vita had previously been warming the bench; the former two certainly made the backline look more comfortable than it has in recent weeks. Most importantly, though, Michael Gardyne made a fifteen minute cameo on his return from injury, setting up a goal and being denied another by an erroneous offside flag.
Perhaps Canning will consider a few changes ahead of next week's trip to Dens Park. It certainly wouldn't be a surprise to see Jesus Garcia Tena restored to that leaky defence. But when you look at that Accies bench, there aren't exactly many alternatives when that starting XI are out of form. LS
Martin Ingram (MI) is our Aberdeen Correspondent. Legend has it that he is the tallest man in the Red Army. He writes regularly for Aberdeen fanzine The Red Final.
Lawrie Spence (LS) has ranted and spouted his ill-informed opinions on Narey's Toepoker since September 2007. He has a life outside this blog. Honestly.
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