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Celtic Fan View: Two positives, one negative from the Scottish Cup tie
Celtic overcame a spirited Partick Thistle side 3-2 at Parkhead to seal their place in the quarter-finals of the Scottish Cup. It wasn’t the most convincing of performances again by Brendan Rodgers’ men which will have him slightly worried with the Europa League tie with Zenit St.Petersburg on the horizon.
We pick out two positives and one negative from Saturday’s match…
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Positive- James Forrest
Just give this man all of this term’s Player of the Year awards now. No player in the division has been anywhere near the level Forrest has displayed all season and they won’t get anywhere near him either. This has been the Scotland international’s best season of his career and it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say Celtic are becoming heavily reliant on the 26-year-old.
The winger scored a superb match-winning hat-trick against the Jags which only strengthens that argument. All three goals were expertly taken especially the second where he dribbled past three players before curling the ball precisely past the keeper from the edge of the box. The confidence he’s playing with is very pleasing to see. If the Hoops are to have any chance to get past Zenit, they’ll need Forrest to be in this kind of form.
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Positive- Rogic returns
Positive- Rogic returns
For the first time in two months, Tom Rogic was named in the Bhoys’ matchday squad. To say this got the Hoops faithful excited would be an understatement. In the Aussie’s absence, Celtic have lacked the creativity and decisive goal scoring threat from midfield which he brings to the side.
The no.10 was about to be subbed on in the latter stages only for a late Thistle goal to change Rodgers’ mind. Instead, the Northern Irishman brought on the more defensively aware Eboue Kouassi to see the game out. You could feel the disappointment seep through the stands. Nonetheless to have Rogic back at such a crucial stage in the campaign is a big boost for the champions.
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Negative- Defensive Fragility
As has been pointed out before on this platform, Celtic have fallen way short defensively this term. They don’t resemble the same side that looked so solid across all domestic competitions last year and teams are finding it much easier to penetrate the Hoops goal. There’s a nervousness about this defence which is filtering its way into the stands.
Kieran Tierney apart, the rest of the backline looked jittery and suspect against the Jags. That much was summed up by the sloppy goals they conceded which were down to poor individual mistakes and being far too open. It took a brilliant piece of defending by Tierney in the final minutes to prevent the Jags from equalising and forcing a replay.
Rodgers described his backline as being “too loose” and that they gave Thistle “oxygen” when they ought to have put the game to bed. With the tie against Zenit around the corner, Celtic can’t afford to give their Russian opponents any oxygen. This fragility is certainly something to be concerned about.
