Scott Bain’s Celtic form deserve huge credit after another shutout

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Celtic goalkeeper Scott Bain once again came up big for the club when we needed him most against Kilmarnock.

The Hoops won the game 1-0. Jozo Simunovic was the goalscorer, and given the emotions of the day and the fact it was the number five who scored the winner, it’s understandable that other aspects from the game get overlooked.

None more so than the performance and form of Bain.

In the first half against Killie yesterday, Celtic were up against it. Steve Clarke’s men grew in confidence, and started forcing some rare errors from the Celtic back-line. Liam Millar had the beating of Mikael Lustig, whilst Chris Burke forced a stunning first-half one-on-one stop from the former Dundee man.

Bain once again came up trumps in the second 45 too. A loose pass from Lustig saw Bain have to look sharp when dealing with a looping Burke effort. As well as that, he was alert to strikes from Eamonn Brophy and Millar in particular.

The clean sheet was his fifth in-a-row, but that only scratches the surface. Since he unofficially became Celtic number one in late January, Bain has managed 16 clean sheets in 19 domestic fixtures. Only Hearts, Motherwell, and Rangers have breached him. And in fairness, Hearts’ was a penalty whilst Motherwell’s came from an incredible lack of sportsmanship.

Is he being worked enough?

One of the arguments that have been heard on social media is that Bain doesn’t have much to do. But the truth is that he’s yet to ever let Celtic down, and has dealt with everything that’s come his way. Some stunning stops in Valencia, for example, saw him keep his team in the game. Even when the defence are making mistakes, Bain is proving to be a great barrier since he came back into the team.

He’s also managed to go through both cup competitions this season playing every game and conceding just once. A clean sheet against Hearts at Hampden next month would leave a sensational record.

It’s worth remembering that if it wasn’t for him yesterday, many of us would be concerned about the title at the moment. He laid the foundations for the 1-0 success against Killie with some top saves.

Fans who want a new goalkeeper in are quite right to voice their opinion. This is a key period in Celtic’s history, with 10-in-a-row now coming into sight.

But Bain hasn’t done anything to lose his place in goal. Come pre-season, the jersey should be his to lose, and hopefully, he has three medals from this season to back it up with.