A TURNING POINT FOR CELTIC?
- By LIAM McBRIDE
- 21 hours ago
- 5 min read
Oh, how quickly things can change.
The weekend began on Saturday night, with the welcoming of Falkirk. Tension was in the air. The split had arrived. With both rivals playing on Sunday, all Celtic could do was take care of their business and put the pressure on. The task was pretty simple: win the first of your five games, and see where you end up.
As the golden evening sun beat down on Celtic Park, there was a real impetus from the 60,000 in attendance to get behind the team from the first whistle. With no less than a win necessary, the atmosphere was easily the best it has been all season.
It was a mighty relief to see Alistair Johnston named in the matchday squad. The Canadian, who had made just four appearances all season, will prove crucial in the final four games of the run-in.
Despite the buzz, Celtic started many games as they have throughout the season, slow and disjointed. Falkirk enjoyed the better possession and forced some early saves from Vilijami Sinisalo. Captain Brad Spencer came particularly close with a spectacular volley effort, which was brilliantly parried away from the Finn.
The midfield three of Callum McGregor, Benjamin Nygren and Arne Engels were linking up on occasion, but ultimately losing the battle to Spencer, Dylan Tait and Finn Yeats in the early stages.
Maeda Shows His True Form at Just the Right Time for Celtic
While many were calling for an immediate start for Kelechi Iheanacho after last week's double (I was one of them), in the 29th minute, Martin O’Neill’s decision to start with Daizen Maeda in a central position paid off, as the tenacious pressing of the Japanese international gave the Champions a lead for the second week running.
Unlike last week, though, he still had a lot to do after the interception, with a tight angle to pass into from a long range. What may at first glance seem an easy finish was considerably trickier than that. With a wave of momentum, Maeda once again regained possession in the 43rd minute. Executing a pass and move one-two with James Forrest, he then played Kieran Tierney through into a promising position. As is often the case, the Scot blasted the attempt with full power, and it clipped the underside of the bar, leaving Nicky Hogarth no chance.
Just like last week, Celtic headed into halftime two goals to the good.
The Hoops came out in the second half as an improved outfit, getting into a lot of promising attacking positions and forcing a plethora of corners. Yet, as always with this Celtic team, it was never going to be a simple win, and a simply world-class finish from Kyrell Wilson halved the deficit, promising for a nervy finish.
Straight after, Johnston’s return was met with a warm cheer from the home support. Within minutes, he showed the physicality and power that were missing, running into an advanced position on the right-hand side and winning a throw-in.
With seven minutes to go, an excellent piece of play from Sebastien Tounetki found Maeda’s feet. The 28-year-old doubled his tally and restored the two-goal cushion. It rounded off an excellent performance from last season's Player of the Year.
Maeda’s return to form couldn’t be more timely. Someone who can score goals and make something out of nothing when the team is failing to create enough chances could prove invaluable.
It makes it four wins in a row and seven in the last eight for O’Neill’s men and following this, all eyes were on the other side of the city.
Motherwell, of course, has been the success story of this season. Despite just one point in their last five heading to Ibrox, an overall successful season with an attractive style of play has earned them plaudits from all throughout Scotland. So much so that Jens Berthel Askou has been repeatedly linked with the Celtic job for next season.
Based on the first half display at Ibrox, it’s not hard to see why. The Steelmen, who are in their own fight to ensure European football dominated Rangers after an evenly contested first ten minutes. The midfield three of Elliot Watt, Lukas Fadinger and Callum Slattery were playing through the Rangers 4-1-3-2 set up with ease. Come the end of the half, Motherwell could count themselves unlucky only to be two up.
A second-half Rangers reaction was to be expected. James Tavernier, Mohammed Diomande and Mikey Moore were introduced and within twenty-five minutes, the home side drew level. At that point, it seemed like there was only going to be one winner.
Yet, just as in 2021/22 and 2023/24, Motherwell dealt a vital blow in Rangers’ league title hopes.
In the last minute of normal time, keeper Callum Ward’s actions highlighted the positive philosophy instilled by Berthel Askou. After catching the ball, most other teams would have opted to waste time in the same scenario. Instead, he quickly released Stephen O’Donnell on a counterattack. The Scot dribbled forward and waited for the on-running Emmanuel Longelo. He passed to the Englishman, who cut inside and produced the winning strike in the last minute of ordinary time.
While Hearts would later take eighty-six minutes to beat nine-man Hibernian, it goes down as an overall positive weekend for Celtic. The Bhoys are now three points behind Hearts and will look on with interest at the meeting between Hearts and Rangers next week. Should a victory at Easter Road arrive, by that point the four-in-a-row champions will be level with Hearts and four above Rangers (with a game in hand).
Anything but a Hearts win would confirm that the league prospects were entirely in Celtic’s hands. Although, from a Celtic fan point of view, a draw would be the best result to effectively nullify Rangers' chances of winning the league if we avoid defeat in the Glasgow Derby.
Moreover, the psychological element of Rangers losing cannot be underplayed. With trips to Tynecastle, Celtic Park and Falkirk still to come, they really needed a home victory. Moreover, there is the Groundhog Day effect. Year after year, this Rangers side has crumbled under pressure and while they still have time to rectify yesterday’s results, the signs are there that they are once again wilting in the challenge.
There is still work to do and it’s one step at a time. Four cup finals await. Yet, you can’t help but feel that with the returning Johnston and Maeda finding his form again, along with a seriously under pressure Rangers side, the jigsaw puzzle is forming quite nicely for the men in green and white.
