A MEASURE of revenge for Neil Lennon here for the part Angelo Alessio played as Antonio Conte’s assistant manager on the night Juventus dumped the Parkhead side out of the Champions League at the last 16 phase in 2013. Even if the three points, which maintained the champions’ 100% record at the summit of the Ladbrokes Premiership, came with a little bit more drama than the Northern Irishman might have been hoping for.
As well as Celtic played yesterday, not only did they have to fightback after conceding Eamonn Brophy’s first half goal, they also had cope with £7m signing Christopher Jullien leaving the fray late on with a hamstring injury which was still being assessed last night.
Lennon then found himself yellow-carded for the first time as a manager after protesting a little too vehemently about what seemed a harsh penalty award for a tackle by Scott Brown on Osman Sow, Fraser Forster saving Alan Power’s spot kick. What else did we learn from a day in the East End of Glasgow when Celtic didn’t let their European exertions stand in the way of their domestic progress?
FORREST ON FIRE
One of the themes of this one was James Forrest versus Kilmarnock ‘keeper Laurentiu Branescu. Acknowledging Kilmarnock’s prowess at sitting deep and denying space in behind, Lennon tweaked his tactics, deploying Forrest on the left and Ryan Christie on the right as inverted wingers.
The idea was to give those two space to wander off their respective flanks and fire in shots, and Forrest in particular didn’t need much encouragement. Of the five shots he rattled in during the first half alone, three were parried by the goalkeeper, one struck the foot of a post and the other led to an unsuccessful penalty appeal against Power.
The winger didn’t get the goal his performance deserved, but it was his left foot cross which was headed in by Odsonne Edouard for the Frenchman’s first. He then saw a header brilliantly tipped onto the post by the inspired Romanian, but knocked in from almost the goalline by a gleeful Christie for number three, before clipping the bar with a deflected shot late on.
KILLIE BLUEPRINT STILL WORKS
While Steve Clarke got plenty of success against Celtic, Kilmarnock have still won only once here since 1955. There were echoes of Clarke’s exploits with the Rugby Park side when Eamonn Brophy silenced this ground by opening the scoring.
The goal was a thing of beauty on the counter-attack, Liam Millar then Mohamed El Markini stabbing a fine pass behind Jullien and Brophy having the strength, running power and poise to fire in a shot which took a minor deflection on its way into the top corner. Staking a claim here for a recall to Clarke’s Scotland squad, Brophy also tested Fraser Forster from range after another great Kilmarnock breakout before Power’s spot kick was parried away late on.
A BIG MOMENT FOR MORITZ
The excellent form of Hatem Abd Elhamed meant this was the first sighting of Moritz Bauer, the on-loan Stoke City defender, since the Old Firm match. It may not have been a signing which had the Parkhead faithful turning cartwheels but he can be content with the job he did here, and earned the ovation he got from the fans when he departed the scene with ten minutes remaining. Not only did he deliver countless dangerous balls into the penalty area, he defended well one-on-one against the pacy Millar and played a nice left foot pass to Edouard for the goal which edged Celtic in front. While he got a sore one, the injury he came off with yesterday isn’t thought to be serious. Lennon will also have his fingers crossed for Jullien, but with players like Tom Rogic returning to the fold and Greg Taylor in reserve, Celtic have the squad to cope as Partick Thistle come calling in the Betfred Cup.
FRASER FORSTER IS FORMIDABLE
While two-goal Edouard will steal the headlines – that is now eight for the season - Lennon didn’t bring Forster to the club by accident. The England international came up trumps with many a big save – often from 12 yards – in his previous stint and he was at it again yesterday. Lennon was unhappy with the award for the penalty decision against Brown for a tackle where his captain seemed to get plenty of the ball, but Forster eased any late nerves by diving full length to his left to save.
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