Celtic star Scott Bain closing in on Fraser Forster’s clean sheet record

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Celtic goalkeeper Scott Bain is edging ever closer to that famous Fraser Forster clean-sheet record.

The former Hoops goalkeeper broke the record for most minutes without conceding a league goal five years ago. That currently stands at 1,256 minutes before Jonny Hayes ended it whilst at Aberdeen.

And now, Bain is well over half-way to homing in on it. Forster went 13 games before Hayes struck in a 2-1 loss at Pittodrie. So far, Bain has managed eight consecutive sheets and managed 763 minutes in the league without shipping one (not including added time).

As it stands, the former Dundee number one will have to record shutouts against Motherwell, Hearts, Aberdeen, Dundee, and Rangers. That would be another 450 minutes to take him up to 1,213 minutes without conceding.

Of course, Bain would even then have to survive around 43 minutes of a trip to St Mirren too. The fact is, however, that the record is now in sight.

Yes, it could easily be the case the goalkeeper concedes one at Tynecastle. Perhaps Aberdeen or Rangers will nick a goal at Parkhead. A rejuvenated Dundee could also pose one or two problems at their own place too.

Still plenty of work to do

There’s still plenty of work to be done, but with Bain now on eight consecutive clean sheets, it’s not ridiculous to think he could target it.

Of course, this doesn’t count European matches. Forster’s record set back in 2014 only regarded league minutes. If we were including all domestic matches including cup competitions, Bain would’ve already gone an incredible 1,187 consecutive minutes without conceding.

Therefore, he’s clearly capable of giving this a good go. It’s going to be difficult, and he will be worked in the coming weeks against some difficult opposition. But it’s a target he deserves to aim towards.

Yesterday did see Conor McAleny fire beyond Bain at Rugby Park. Fortunately, Bobby Madden ruled it out for a clear handball. That moment, however, showed how quickly any thoughts of a clean-sheet record can be wiped out.

But it shows the incredible form Bain is in. Recording a clean sheet at Kilmarnock isn’t easy, and he showed signs of a confident number one against Steve Clarke’s side.

Can he catch up with Forster? It’s not ridiculous to suggest he might.