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At this stage of the season, all that matters is the three points. And that’s exactly what Celtic got in the 2-1 win over Hibs last night.
A dramatic last-minute penalty by Adam Idah grabbed the spoils, leaving Brendan Rodgers feeling, well, probably relieved more than anything else.
The Celtic fans who travelled to Edinburgh and watched the game live on television will be under no illusions that, despite picking up the vital three points, what they are watching is simply not good enough.
For much of the match, Celtic were slow, insipid and lacking ideas. The constant passing between the defenders to the midfield and back to the defenders was extremely frustrating and Rodgers admits that’s where he felt the team were lacking a cutting edge.
Rodgers said [], “To be fair, I don’t think we were creative enough. That’s my honest feeling on it.
“I think we had good periods of the ball in the first half but lacked that cutting edge I felt in the first half to really get behind them and that little bit of finesse that you need.
“And then the final pass even though we looked dangerous, and we didn’t have too many problems to deal with.
“I think second half we probably created our own problems instead of playing behind their pressure.
“And when we did that, we were great. We got in and we just needed to make a better final pass but the mentality of the team is to keep going and that’s why they are champions.
“And they kept going and obviously we get the win there at the end which is very important.”
Yes, Celtic got the win, but it was hardly a performance that screamed that this is a team destined to win the title.
There is no question that Celtic were in control of much of the match. With over 66% of the possession, the team looked fairly comfortable barring a spell in the second half after Hibs equalised.
With five corners and eight shots on goal with only three of those on target, Celtic did not do enough to create chances to put the game beyond Hibs. Put it this way, Rodgers’ side only created one clear-cut chance and it was when Idah saw his close-range shot crash off the bar. []
Performances need to be better because if Celtic continue to play as they are you can guarantee there will be more dropped points in the remaining 13 Scottish Premiership games.
In other news, ‘He goes clattering in’… Michael Stewart was really impressed with 25-year-old Celtic player’s bravery vs Hibs