When looking at Celtic’s upcoming Europa League tie against Cluj, thoughts will naturally turn to the last meeting between the teams, Celtic’s 4-3 Champions League loss to the Romanian side in August.
It is fair to say that since then, Celtic have improved. The defence seems to be in much better form for a start, thanks to the introduction of Christopher Jullien.
However, there is another area of the team which has improved, that should not be overlooked. That is the goalkeeping situation.
In the defeat to Cluj, Scott Bain, who has overall been a very good goalkeeper for Celtic, didn’t have the best of games. Bain could have done better with Cluj’s vital third goal, as he could only parry the shot which led to Billel Omrani’s second goal.
Team looks more secure
Since that game, Fraser Forster has taken over as Hoops goalkeeper, and the team looks far more secure in that area of the pitch.
Forster has a calmness and authority in his game, which must give confidence to the rest of his team-mates. Since Forster has returned to Celtic, he has not made any real errors, and has already saved two penalties.
Goalkeeper may need to be at his best
The Hoops may need Forster to be at his best to ensure that Celtic pick up the three points that could help the Hoops go a long way to securing a place in the last 32 of the competition.
There is no doubt that Cluj have players that can cause the Hoops problems – Billel Omrani to name but one. He was excellent in the last game between the teams.
But Celtic have changed since that game. They are unbeaten since the loss to Cluj, and a large part of that has to be down to Forster.
He is so far looking like one of the better signings the Hoops have made this summer.
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