PAUL JOHN DYKES:
No one has handed a single thing to Celtic since the turn of the year. The momentum, the upper hand, the advantage – Celtic have it all in abundance, and it has all been earned and unquestionably deserved.
Following a defeat to a frothing, ravenous, and altogether embarrassing Steven Gerrard back on 29 December, Neil Lennon suffered the loss with a dignified composure to the backdrop of some ludicrous reporting from the likes of serial Celtic-basher Tom English, who called the result, “A seismic day for Gerrard and his team… a statement of an altogether different kind.”
From the earth-shatteringly tremulous to the barely noticeable ripple: that has been the metamorphosis of any title ‘challenge’ over the subsequent six league games.
Celtic, on the other hand…
3-1
3-0
3-0
4-1
4-0
5-0
You could almost call that camera-kissing form, if you were a connoisseur of cringe. I’d prefer to call it, “Taking Care of Business”.
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The energy of the first-half was electric. The shock of the pace seemed to knock us and them off kilter. There were misplaced passes galore. Flicks and half-hearted attempts at playing out of danger. No spaces then lots of spaces when our quick balls found their targets and our good players found space. We had the big moments, the clear moments and also had moments of doubt.
A minute into the second-half, the outcome was without doubt. It was then a case of ‘how many?’ and not ‘what if?’ Taylor and McGregor ran the left-hand-side with intelligence, whilst Ntcham just surfs the wave of class with the touch of an artist finishing a masterpiece. Our bench was strong. The subs looked right and good. The last game of December seems a long, long time ago.
COLIN WATT:
The second-half was simply a joy to behold and we barely got out of second gear! The two goals in the first few minutes absolutely killed the game after an awkward first-half.
You could really tell the players took from the energy the fans were giving out, especially with the goal updates coming in from Rugby Park.
Ntcham once again showed his class, he’s really starting to come across very much like van Dijk did – absolutely strolling games without breaking sweat. He’s certainly too good for this league when he puts a shift in.
This was probably the best 45 minutes at home so far this season and it leaves fans excited for the next game. Celtic have a massive advantage in the title race – 12 games to go; 12 wins please.
KEVIN TAIT:
Champions 5 Hearts 0.
Celtic were in second gear throughout the first-half, when they passed up a few clear chances to put this game beyond doubt.
The second-half was a different story, as we scored for fun and played some great football.
Ntcham is running the show and he is benefiting from an extended run in the team. The Frenchman is backed up by a rejuvenated Callum McGregor and the ever-dependable Scott Brown.
We now also have a definitive left-back or left wing-back in Greg Taylor.
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