Ange Postecoglou last night delivered a big reality check as he stated that no games are guaranteed 3 points after a dramatic success against Dundee.
Many Celtic supporters went into yesterday’s game full of expectancy. With Postecoglou’s side looking to take advantage of Rangers dropping points earlier on, there was plenty of confidence surrounding Celtic Park. Helped, of course, by the fact that Dundee were arriving bottom of the league.
But the Hoops were shocked into having to dig deep for a result. A Giorgos Giakoumakis hattrick bagged the points, with his winner coming just 4 minutes from time. Dundee had previously fired themselves ahead early in the match before drawing level at 2-2 on the hour mark.
And as Celtic nudged 3 points ahead in the title race after yesterday’s victory, Ange was quick to come out and remind everyone that being superior doesn’t guarantee you the result.
As quoted by the Daily Record, Ange said: “It’s going to be a tight race. I don’t expect us to just go sailing smoothly along. There are going to be challenges for this team. That’s the nature of the first year of a rebuild. At the moment, we are overcoming the challenges and we are in a good spot in the league.
“There are no easy games. This was not an easy game. People see you are playing the bottom side at home. And we should have won it comfortably. Absolutely. But football doesn’t work that way.
“Everything you get you’ve got to earn. Football finds a way of making you earn it and we had to earn it today. Whatever we get out of this year we will have to earn.”
Ange Postecoglou recognising the trials and tribulations of a title race
The manager is absolutely spot on here. Celtic vs Dundee reads like the kind of match that should be resulting in a convincing 5-0 win for the Hoops. That’s what we all hoped we were going to get when the teams were announced yesterday. Especially after Rangers dropped points at Tannadice.
But not every match is going to see you have the game dead and buried at half-time. There are going to be plenty of difficult encounters from teams that you just wouldn’t expect it from. That’s the nature of a title race. It throws up all kinds of unexpected challenges.
Yesterday was one of them. The kind of challenge designed to catch you unaware. The kind that could so easily have been a draw if we weren’t careful. Instead, however, Celtic managed to dig deep and grind out what could be one of our most important wins of the season.
It also follows another recent late win against Dundee United at Celtic Park too. On that occasion, it was Liel Abada who netted for the 10-man Hoops to bag a crucial 3 points and show the character that’s evidently in this squad of players.
Yesterday was a case of simply not knowing when you’re beaten. The energy put into getting the 3rd goal after being pegged back on the hour mark was fantastis. It never truly looked as though Dundee were going to last the full 90, not with how incessant that pressure was.
And it’s another big question of this Celtic team that’s now been answered by Ange and his players. No wonder the excitement levels just keep growing.
In other news, “Very, very classy”; Dundee boss left blown away by how he was treated at Celtic Park
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