Brendan knows best as challengers falter

It has been an unseasonably cool Spring in Canberra this year with more rainfall than usual. However as I drove into work this morning the Sun was shining and it felt warm. Maybe it was the weather finally announcing Spring is belatedly here as we nudge over 20C, or maybe it was because I had a warm feeling about watching a Celtic team with numerous changes from the weekend play some sparkling first half football against a well drilled Ross County team who have proven to be difficult opponents in the past. This was topped off by a professional finish to the game when we scored three late goals to put the gloss on what was an entertaining morning’s football. Hats off to Ross County who kept working hard and created a few chances of their own. They certainly provided a stern challenge for much of the match.

With eight changes from Sunday there was a possibility that the Celtic team that took the field could have been considered fragile. This was not the case and after a Paddy Roberts’ early goal we played some champagne pass and move football. I was watching guys who looked afraid to take the ball last season play with verve and confidence and the first half in particular was really enjoyable. The tempo was quick and movement fluid with the ball constantly rotating between players.

It is a tribute to Brendan Rodgers that he has instilled belief and confidence in everyone associated with the club that the team played so well and played the Celtic way. It could have been a gamble but clearly Brendan knows best and the players have bought into his style of coaching and playing the way he wants them to play. They did not let him down.

Second half we dipped a bit, that was to be expected, but the subs brought no respite to the County defence and the late, late goals were a result of Ross County just running out of legs as they were chasing shadows most of the evening.

I have to confess that before the season started I was advocating a huge clear out of players and it reflects well on Brendan and his staff that many of these guys were stellar performers tonight. Humble pie and a fork for me.

Brendan, just as he is about to morph into Kenny Dalglish

 

There was also a bit of a bonus as our main challengers namely Aberdeen , Hearts and St Johnstone all dropped points in games they would all have fancied their chances to win. Sometimes these wee things make the result even sweeter.

The challenge now is to back up on Saturday against an Aberdeen team and crowd that will be fired up. We can expect them to get tore into Celtic and to try to disrupt our game plan. If we stick with our plan and dictate the play we will be fine.

The one guy I felt for tonight was wee Leigh. He lives to score goals and as hard as he tried tonight it was just one of those games. He carried us last season with his goals and it must be frustrating for him having been injured and having to wait to get back into the starting line up. It says everything about his maturity as a player and as a person that he appears to have knuckled down and been working hard in training and we know that when he does reclaim a starting spot he won’t let us down.

I see there was some giantkilling in England with City and Chelski losing to smaller teams. Ah, the magic of the Cup.