St Mirren v Celtic promised little, but it ended up being very comfortable indeed.
You knew this could be a squeaker. Celtic were desperate not to lose, while St Mirren had been riding the crest of a wave of good form.
Jim Goodwin barricaded his defence, playing an uncompromising 4-5-1. In the latter stages of the game, though, Celtic’s pressure told, with 3 quick goals sealing the 3 points. Somehow, the Bhoys’ attacking play became sharp and incisive, after about 70 minutes of very little.
Here’s what we learned from what a cold night in Paisley, after a thumping 4-0 win for Celtic.
Slack Celtic passing, poor St Mirren fail to take advantage
The story of the first half? Frustration.
St Mirren set up with a low block, flooding the midfield with players and utilising a 4-5-1. When their main attacking threat in Jamie McGrath came off, Jim Goodwin was forced into prioritising frustrating the Bhoys. Celtic controlled more of the game and, of course, got the goal.
However, Rogic’s goal aside, Celtic rarely looked like threatening in the first half. Instead, there was slack passing all across the pitch, with Rogic and Turnbull particularly disappointing in this regard [WhoScored?]. When we got the ball into the St Mirren half, the Bhoys looked slack and meandering.
Passes weren’t played with any real zip or purpose, and the positioning of the Saints’ defenders meant that there was very little space to exploit.
It made for an intensely dull first 45.
Celtic midfielder Tom Rogic has decent game, but what does it mean?
Before the game, I’ll admit I was cynical about Tom Rogic getting a start.
As divisive as Elyounoussi and Christie can be at times, they’re both at least pacy. Against a slow St Mirren defence, I would’ve expected either to have some joy in a number 10 role. Instead, Neil Lennon chose Tom Rogic. He wasn’t barnstorming, but he was effective throughout.
Obviously, he got Celtic into the lead, but he also looked like one of few threats for the Bhoys until the goal avalanche came. Yes, his passing was dire, especially in the first-half, but his shooting and dribbling yielded opportunities. He really should’ve added to his tally around the 60th minute, with a rasping effort.
Going forward, though, what does it actually mean for Celtic? Rogic was already close to moving on before the 20-21 season [Herald], and he’s been in and out of the first-team.
When the Bhoys have more youthful options available, is Rogic still the best option? It sounds incredibly harsh to question his long-term future just after a half-decent performance, but these are valid questions.
Not so sterling Albian
Poor Albian Ajeti.
Throughout this game, he got into good positions but just couldn’t get the ball. Looking at his heat map from this match [WhoScored?], there’s plenty to suggest that he was making an effort. Ultimately, he only managed 28 touches in almost 70 minutes. That’s less than Scott Bain, our goalkeeper.
While Edouard and Ajeti will have their critics sharpening their pitchforks, neither can really be criticised too harshly. For most of this tie, there was no width in Celtic’s play, with Taylor and Kenny cutting inside and running into blind alleys. The passing to the two forwards was, frankly, awful throughout.
The diamond with a front two only really works if the two central midfielders are able to widen approach play. By doing this, they create open spaces for passes to come through channels to the front two. Ultimately, we didn’t see that tonight.
Neil Lennon’s tactics drift from match to match. There’s no real identity here, and that becomes clear when our strikers aren’t getting any supply. In a drab game, Lennon waited until the 70th minute to make real changes. And when he did, Celtic scored 3 more goals.
It sort of looks like Lennon is making it up as he goes along. It’s the least convincing 4-0 win I’ve ever seen, yet I’m delighted. When he changed the system, with Ryan Christie coming on to great effect, we looked completely different.
Whether by accident or design, we won that match by four goals.
What a bizarre game of football, in the end.
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