ICT v Celtic: Post-match thoughts

Neil Lennon’s team selection today was influenced largely by two factors: a raft of injuries depleting his options and the looming Champions League qualifier second leg against Helsingborgs. However, with a starting XI which had an average age of just 23, Celtic secured a very credible three points, scoring more goals than they ever had previously at the Tulloch Caledonian Stadium.

As happened in midweek in Sweden, Celtic raced into an early lead which settled the team. Wanyama – who gave the sort of assured and mature performance that has come to be expected from him, despite his tender years – rose to head home a nicely-weighted Adam Matthews corner after four minutes.

The second goal was assisted and scored by the two teenagers making their full debuts for the Hoops. Receiving the ball from Wanyama, Filip Twardzik cleverly found Tony Watt with the outside of his foot and the young Scot nutmegged King before bearing down on Ryan Esson’s goal and coolly finishing.

The two youngsters, who starred in last season’s NextGen Series, acquitted themselves very well in their first 90 minutes for the senior team and showed they can play at this level. Twardzik looked intelligent in his movement and passing, while Watt proved a real handful for the new-look Caley defence. Both are certain to get more minutes this campaign, having made their debuts earlier in the year.

Celtic continued to dominate after the break and the third goal came from another man who put in a very good shift, but it was no less than expected from last season’s player of the year: Charlie Mulgrew. The Scotland international, and captain for the day, was solid and composed throughout, and it was no surprise to see him rattle the bar with a free kick from distance in the first half. His goal came from another set piece, one clearly prepared on the training ground. After a discussion with Twardzik and Matthews, Mulgrew trotted into the box. The Welshman feigned to swing the ball in but instead rolled it square for Mulgrew to slot beyond Esson on the run.

Tony Watt later added a poacher’s finish after good work by Emilio Izaguirre to give the Bhoys a four goal cushion and allow Lennon to start thinking about the Helsingborgs game.

Forrest replaced Hooper on 65 minutes. Bangura came on for Matthews shortly afterwards and Joe Chalmers made his debut on 76 minutes, allowing Izaguirre a rest. The contest was over, however, and none of the reinforcements made much of an impact on the game. Bangura’s quest for a goal and to convince the Celtic faithful continues without having made any progress.

Two late Ross Draper goals took some of the shine off an otherwise emphatic Celtic win. The Glasgow side had somewhat switched off; minds were perhaps drifting indulgently to Wednesday night’s vital game, but, all things considered, Lennon probably won’t lose too much sleep over this late lapse.

Lustig should have done better to prevent the first and Chalmers lost his man for the second but the former had a decent game on the whole, while the latter can be forgiven on his debut.

The two other players who came into the Celts’ starting line up that haven’t been accounted for yet, Paddy McCourt and Kelvin Wilson, did well enough without being outstanding. It will have been a welcome 90 minutes for both, especially the Northern Irish international who hadn’t started a game since January.

Heads and hearts can now, legitimately, turn to the Helsingborgs game, when Lennon will hope to call upon Rogne, Samaras, Brown and Commons, who all missed out today – the latter two as precautions. James Forrest will also be in contention to start after being reserved for a substitute role against the Caley Jags.

Wednesday is arguably Celtic’s biggest game of the season so far. It’s been too long since the Celtic Park roar greeted an opponent in the UEFA Champions League group stages, but that dream is now within touching distance for this young group of players.

Celtic v Aberdeen: Post-match thoughts

Celtic ran out onto the pitch as reigning SPL champions to kick off the 2012/13 league season but the game itself failed to match the excitement of the pre-match fireworks.

Celtic looked far from their best, perhaps partly down to feeling the effects of a tough European game on Wednesday night and partly to still lacking match fitness early in the new season.

James Forrest and captain Scott Brown missed out with minor injuries and their absence was keenly felt; Celtic lacked the energy and drive they bring to the team and the pace and directness Forrest provides in the final third is something that no other player in the squad really offers.

In the middle of the park Joe Ledley and Beram Kayal, facing up to Aberdeen’s trio of Osbourne, Hughes and Rae, failed to dominate and take a hold of the game. Kayal, who we are so used to seeing boss the midfield, looked a shadow of himself.

Celtic’s midfield looked much stronger when Wanyama was moved forward from centre back following the introduction of Kelvin Wilson for Samaras after 55 minutes. The 21-year old Kenyan imposed himself on the game in a way that Ledley and Kayal had not, displaying the qualities that have seen him linked with Arsenal and Man United in recent days. Neil Lennon will surely now find it hard not to include him in the midfield on Wednesday in Helsinki.

Signs of rustiness were evident too in the striking department as Hooper and Stokes were not able to demonstrate the link-up play that made them such a deadly partnership in the last two seasons. Stokes was replaced by Murphy with 13 minutes remaining but in his brief cameo he showed little to suggest he might have a more regular role to play this season.

A player accustomed to cameo appearances, Paddy McCourt, was thrown on after 70 minutes, replacing Kayal, as Celtic searched for the opener. The Northern Irish international, however, did nothing to earn the chants of ‘don’t sell McCourt’ that chorused round the stadium regardless.

As disappointing as Celtic were, however, goalkeeper Fraser Forster had a very quiet afternoon with Aberdeen managing just two efforts on target, despite the pre-match talk about new attacking signings Johnny Hayes and Niall McGinn who ultimately had to spend more time tracking back than troubling Celtic’s full backs. Centre back Thomas Rogne was one of the few players in a hooped jersey to impress, helping to nullify the threat of Scott Vernon who was moved wide part-way through the first half by manager Craig Brown.

Celtic’s most threatening player throughout was Kris Commons who drew a couple of good, low saves from Jamie Langfield. It was fitting then that it was Commons – incidentally the only Scot in Celtic’s starting XI today – who won the match, although it came in rather fortuitous circumstances and Langfield will not want to see many replays of his blunder that allowed a cross-come-shot to sneak past him at the near post. Commons’ return to form and fitness is a real boost for Celtic coming into this campaign after a disappointing 2011/12 season.

Aberdeen will rue the loss of what could have been a hard-earned point but Celtic will feel they were the better side and be glad to get their 125^th anniversary season off to a winning start in the league.

Improvement will be necessary come Wednesday for Celtic but, given that today was sandwiched in between those two very important European games, Lennon will be pleased just to pick up the three points and move on. 

Hooper for England?

In what will likely be the main UK sports story of the day, in England at least, tomorrow Roy Hodgson will announce his squad for Euro 2012. Naturally, much debate has been had over who should be on that plane to Ukraine but no one can say for certain yet who will be going.

An outside shout for a place amongst the forwards could be Celtic’s Gary Hooper. The 24 year old has scored a highly impressive 51 goals in 86 games whilst helping the team to a Scottish Cup and SPL title in his two seasons in Glasgow.

With Wayne Rooney probably the only striker who is a nailed on choice there are places up for grabs in the forward line. Danny Welbeck, Daniel Sturridge, Andy Carroll and Peter Crouch will be among those hopeful of a call, while Grant Holt has been suggest by some as a possibility too.

However, Gary Hooper offers something different. Diminutive yet strong the Harlow born striker is a predator in the box. He was simply born to score goals and does so with ease and joy. One of Hooper’s greatest qualities is his efficiency in front of goal; whilst always being amongst the top scorers he is not one who needs a lot of chances to find the net.

To exemplify this let’s compare his stats with those of Nikica Jelavic. The Croat striker took more shots in half a season at Rangers than Hooper did in the full campaign and yet the Englishman outscored him by ten SPL goals. Jelavic, of course, joined Everton in January and is proving to be a fantastic signing.

Hooper finished this season with 24 league goals (29 in all competitions), five of which came on the final day when he ran riot against Hearts before Celtic lifted the SPL trophy. If there is one English striker who is flying and high on confidence right now then it is Gary Hooper.

The biggest factor counting against Hooper in his bid to be considered for international selection, just like it was for Alan Thompson before him, is that he is playing in Scotland – a country that England managers have continually looked down upon. Of course the SPL as a whole cannot be compared to England’s Premier League but it is folly to suppose that there are no quality players playing there.

Hooper has outscored every other English striker (apart from Rooney) this season and is the only one currently celebrating being a champion. That must count for something. The importance of a winning mentality and of being able to play well under pressure must not be underestimated, especially when making the step up to international football.

The demands of playing for Celtic cannot be stressed enough. You are quite literally expected to go out and win every game and Hooper, as the principal goal scorer, has handled this burden well, continually coming up with the goods and at crucial times.

In the interests only of making a comparison and with all due respect to Grant Holt and Norwich, who have done fantastically this season, their only ambition would have been to survive and anything beyond that is a bonus. For Hooper’s Celtic a second place finish would have been a failure that would have cost the manager his job. It’s a different kind of pressure. A pressure to win, always.

What are England’s ambitions this summer? Will they be heading to Poland and Ukraine hoping to return with the trophy or will they accept a decent showing and going home with nothing?

Of course that is not to say that taking Gary Hooper over players playing for teams of a lesser standing within their own divisions will necessarily bring England greater success but the mental demands of playing for Celtic would stand Hooper in good stead for the pressures of carrying England’s hopes.

Despite all this many will still laugh off the suggestion of Hooper playing for England as long as he’s playing in the SPL. However, he has scored goals for Celtic in European competition (three in seven appearances) and also has a habit of scoring in one of the highest pressure games in the world, never mind for Celtic, with five goals in ten games against Rangers. These are big games that many players with far bigger reputations than Gary Hooper have struggled in but Hoops has scored some of his best goals in Glasgow derby games.

A lot of his goals are close range instinctive finishes but he can also score from further out, from the spot and with his head. He knows how to use his body, possesses a decent turn of pace and has great control in the box.

If Hodgson picks his squad on form, not reputation, then Hooper will be on the plane. He has the ability and if the new manager has the guts to give him a chance then England may reap the rewards.

Imagine it’s the latter stages of the tournaments, in extra time, and the game is heading for the “dreaded” penalties and the ball falls in the area to an England striker… Are there many people you would feel more confident in than Gary Hooper to stick it away?