Gordon Strachan has been left bemused by what he’s just witnessed from the “strange” Celtic at Ibrox this afternoon.
John Kennedy’s Hoops lost the latest Glasgow Derby to see our four-year grip on the Scottish Cup come to an end. Instead, it’s Rangers who progressed with a routine 2-0 win in Govan.
However, once again it came down to Celtic failing to take chances after having plenty of dominant spells within the game. Odsonne Edouard missed a penalty and a near open goal whilst Mohamed Elyounoussi and Stephen Welsh were also guilty of spurning sitters.
And Strachan, speaking post-match, simply couldn’t comprehend what he’s just watched.
Speaking on Premier Sports 1 [18/04, 16:56}, Strachan said: “It was a strange game. I think if you’re the Celtic manager and said ‘listen we’re going to have 12 or 13 attempts at goal and five of them are going to be great ones’ you’d be happy with that. And who was the man of the match? Allan McGregor. They seem to be more compact, but Celtic made all these chances.
“I agree that Celtic are not as compact as Rangers in general. But for Celtic to make all of these chances today, and who’s man-of-the-match? McGregor. If I was John Kennedy I would think ‘what can I say to these lads? apart from their defensive shape let them down a couple of times’. And that can be rectified. That can definitely be rectified.”
Gordon Strachan not wrong; Celtic bereft of confidence vs Rangers – that game should’ve been ours
That game should’ve been Celtic’s, make no mistake about it. The chances missed in the second half were absolutely stupendous upon review. We had enough goalscoring chances in that second 45 alone to see off Rangers today.
But once again there appears to be a lack of confidence in front of goal. It’s fine bagging six against Livingston. All well and good securing three against Falkirk in 45 minutes. But when the pressure is on such as a game at Ibrox, that’s when we separate the men from the boys. Unfortunately, we had no men left on that pitch.
Elyounoussi and Edouard spurned opportunities that they would normally be able to bury in their sleep. Why on earth we get to this fixture and they freeze in front of goal is anyone’s guess.
From the outside, it looks like major confidence crisis at Celtic Park when it comes to the big fixtures. They just aren’t able to deal with the heat that comes from the Glasgow Derby fixture anymore.
We continue to get far too excited in front of goal against them and take ridiculous touches. The ruthlessness that’s appeared in other fixtures again wasn’t on show when it mattered most.
That’s a major concern, and it’s something that needs to be sorted during the rebuild.
In other news, take a look at the 3 things we learned from Celtic vs Rangers.
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