Celtic Fan View: A lack of killer instinct and a tale of two goalkeepers in the Highlands

Celtic’s trip to the Highlands turned out to be both encouraging and frustrating as they were pegged back twice by Inverness Caley Thistle. The result was made even more sour by the fact that the Bhoys completely controlled proceedings and should have been out of sight by the time the Caley Jags equalised for a second time in the 90th minute.
A lack of killer instinct was the main plot of this story and the sub-plot was a tale of two keepers. On another day, the Hoops would surely have won by three or four goals but for the excellent Owain Fon Williams. Brendan Rodgers was right to say that; “we should win that game fairly comfortably, I think you’ve got to credit the goalkeeper.” This wasn’t a day to bemoan the quality of the players or the intensity they played at, rather what could have been if they had their shooting boots on. Despite the considerable effort put into the last two games against Rangers and Barcelona, this was one of the best collective performances of the season which the boss was pleased with, “some of our movement, the tempo and the speed in which we attacked was brilliant,” he said.
A quick glance at the stats confirms the sheer dominance from start to finish. 65% possession, 23 shots to Inverness’ 10 and 11 corners to Caley’s four. The Hoops absolutely laid siege on the opposition goal in irresistible fashion in the second half but every time they got close, Williams was on hand to thwart them. Scott Sinclair, Moussa Dembele, Kieran Tierney, Callum McGregor and Patrick Roberts were all somehow denied, others missed the target from close range and the woodwork was even rattled on three occasions. It’s good to know that if Celtic are to get even better then the fans will be in for a treat for most of the campaign.

As well as the team display, some individuals stood out which will please Rodgers. Tierney once again proved why he’s one of, or the most, exciting young player in Scottish football, charging up and down the left flank with tremendous purpose and penetration while also providing an assist. Tom Rogic continues to get better with each game too, taking more and more responsibility as finesse and composure become his defining traits. McGregor had an extremely productive second half and Sinclair was as menacing as ever and with his goal became the first player since Jimmy McGrory in 1934/35 to score in five successive league games.
Sinclair has been Rodgers’ best signing by far but if the Northern Irishman scratches his head for long enough, he might realise a problem could be arising with his goalkeeper. Williams was deservedly named the man of the match and he handed out a lesson to his opposite number, Dorus de Vries. The Dutchman experienced another shaky game and if that persists over the next few fixtures, Rodgers may have to drop the man he signed to wear the number one jersey.
The veteran could certainly have done more to push Billy King’s long range attempt wide of the post rather than into the top corner which follows a similar error at the Camp Nou where he parried a saveable Neymar free-kick into the roof of the net. At home to Rangers, he was hardly convincing on the few occasions the Gers attacked while there were also a few jittery moments on his debut against Aberdeen.  
De Vries has wrestled the starting spot from Craig Gordon because of his ability to play out from the back but we’ve hardly seen anything special to warrant that specific skillset making him the undisputed starter in goal. Although Gordon has also made mistakes this term, he looks a safer bet than de Vries and perhaps this is one area that Rodgers made a conclusive judgement too quickly.
Going forward, however, the league leaders look relentless on the domestic front and may not have to call on their goalie too much throughout the campaign. When they do, whoever’s between the sticks has to be more secure than what they are now.