Celtic managed to overcome Ross County yesterday with a routine enough 3-0 success, and there were a few welcome sights for supporters.
Karamoko Dembele’s short cameo appearance combined with Odsonne Edouard’s quick-fire second-half brace were ease on the eyes. But Callum McGregor’s penalty was perhaps the most relieving moment of the game.
Celtic had gone 37 minutes without scoring, it came at a crucial part of the game. In addition to that, Celtic have had their misfortunes from the spot in recent times. Ryan Christie has already missed two this season against County and Rangers.
With Ryan out and Eddy on the bench, it was McGregor who stepped up to cooly slot Celtic in front. And speaking after the game, McGregor stated he’s happy to take the role on permanently. Speaking in the Scottish Sun, McGregor said the following:
“My name was up on the board before the game . . . so someone has to step up. It’s the first penalty I’ve taken in a match for Celtic, so one from one is pretty good! It was a vital point in the game, it was a bit sticky, so it was important to get the goal.
“Will I be on them from now on? I think it will be a three-way fight now! When I was really young I took a few penalties, and then I was off them for a bit then back on them.
“It is not something I have overly been involved in before, but I am happy to take them if the responsibility falls on me. I have big enough shoulders to do it and it helps my goal tally too. If it takes a deflection, or it is a penalty or a tap-in, they all count.”
The more efficient penalty takers, the better for all of us
One penalty out of one doesn’t make a consistent penalty taker, but there’s no reason not to let Callum hit the next one. With Christie now missing a couple, we could really do with finding our next replacement.
In truth, whenever Edouard is on the pitch, it has to be French Eddy who takes them. He’s the coolest player on the park and certainly wouldn’t let any nerves get to him. He’s already scored a crucial penalty for us in the Scottish Cup final against Hearts, and seemed like the perfect choice to strike it against Rangers.
This is a problem we’ve had fairly frequently in the past. Last season, Brendan Rodgers was also struggling to find his main spot-kick taker. With Moussa Dembele gone, that opened up a chance for Olivier Ntcham. However, a penalty miss at St Mirren saw him stripped of them too.
Celtic should have a number of good spot-kick takers currently at their disposal. When you look at the quality brimming through our frontline, this shouldn’t be an issue.
That’s why McGregor’s desire to hit more of them is good to see. We need to have players we can rely on when 12 yards out – McGregor falls under that bracket.
It’ll now be interesting to see whether Lennon throws Christie back on penalties or not when he returns this Wednesday at St Johnstone. McGregor, however, has done himself so harm.
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