Yes, it’s just another friendly, but Celtic took some much-needed lessons away from a meeting with West Ham United.
For David Moyes’ side, who finished sixth in the Premier League last season, it was an opportunity to put some miles in the legs of his charges. For Ange Postecoglou, it was a chance to see if his young defence could handle the rigours of keeping a Premier League attack quiet.
In the end, we got slaughtered. Even returning ex-Celt Armstrong Okoflex got on the score-sheet. In some respects, we came away with the same concerns we had before the match, specifically in regards to the back.
What did we take away as Celtic lost to West Ham in pre-season?
Celtic defence needs to learn quickly, as West Ham prove
Michail Antonio is a sensation of a guy. When he’s fit, he’s been unplayable for West Ham, but he’s often unplayable in the other sense. When he can get a run of games, he’s an asset to David Moyes’ team.
However, Celtic did make it quite easy for him. Dane Murray, excellent on Tuesday night, was punished for a slack pass to Greg Taylor, who was being pressured off the ball.
For the second, Anthony Ralston was way high up the pitch when West Ham broke. Stephen Welsh and Murray just couldn’t organise quickly enough, and that lack of experience showed.
The third was a penalty, and the fourth followed a similar pattern. But let’s not get carried away – that’s exactly what these games are for.
If you’re going to receive harsh lessons, it’s better to learn from them from decent opposition like West Ham. Ahead of a big, big game against FC Midtjylland, it was important to garner some experience against some veteran Premier League names.
Yes, fine: the defence were utterly poor today. But they’re young, and it’s a steep learning curve playing for Celtic.
Ryan Christie can’t do it all by himself
The difference in quality between Celtic in attack and Celtic in defence was pretty staggering.
On the ball, particularly in the first half, Celtic looked bright and dangerous. Odsonne Edouard had some neat touches and held up play well, while Christie and Abada looked lively.
A lot of the good stuff was from Ryan Christie. A surprise pick on Tuesday night against Midtjylland, Christie is clearly training well and it’s bleeding into his first-team performances. Confident and assured on the ball, he was plucking it from thin air and taking it down cooly.
His goal wasn’t the most aesthetically pleasing you’ll ever see, but it matters little. It’s the performance that’s the main thing, and it was another good one.
What it says about his future is anyone’s guess. This was just a friendly, after all. But it’s good to see someone who was criticised so heavily last season impressing supporters again.
After Celtic v West Ham, we’re still no clearer on goalkeeping situation
It isn’t to say that this game was going to provide massive clues about the future of the goalkeeping position at Celtic. However, Barkas’ decent outings in pre-season gave supporters some confidence that he could turn things around.
And, again, Barkas actually started this one pretty well. He made two very decent saves as West Ham applied the pressure in the early stages. But after the first goal, his confidence seemed to evaporate.
He was beaten far too easily at his near post by Michail Antonio, looked sluggish at the penalty, and just generally seemed to go through the motions after having his neat breached.
Scott Bain came on at half-time, and it wasn’t a significant improvement. Yes, these are only friendlies, but after Tuesday night’s goal, there are real question marks over Barkas again.
It feels unfair, because it really is just pre-season. But as the league opener against Hearts creeps closer, it’s an area of concern.
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