Celtic find themselves in the semi-final of the Scottish Cup following a 4-2 victory over Livingston at Parkhead yesterday.
Brendan Rodgers’ men endured a tale of two stories in their journey to the last four. They proved to be exciting in attack, albeit shaky from a defensive perspective.
Daizen Maeda earned most of the plaudits due to his hat trick, with Nicolas Kuhn also coming in for a special mention amid his encouraging display on the right flank.
Nevertheless, Rodgers wasn’t best pleased with Stephen Welsh and Liam Scales, going as far as to voice his dissatisfaction at their performances in his post-match press conference.
The Irishman stated: “The two centre-halves needed to be higher up the pitch and just more aggressive to sustain the attacks. It was too easy. We gave away so much space, so that was the downside to the performance.”
Despite Celtic enjoying some dominant spells in the game, there was an uncomfortable vulnerability that lay beneath the surface for much of the proceedings, rearing its head on the two occasions where Daniel MacKay and Tete Yengi managed to breach the Hoops’ flailing backline.
Regardless, the reigning Scottish Cup holders are now in the hat for the semi-final draw later tonight. Once Greenock Morton vs. Hearts is decided, we will find out our opponents at Hampden, which is being broadcast live on BBC Scotland.
Mark Wilson can’t comprehend Celtic’s inconsistent nature
For whatever reason, Celtic have struggled to find a consistent rhythm within their performances this term, which has left us all wondering where a turning point will come from heading into the season run-in.
Ex-Hoops defender Mark Wilson is bemused by his old side’s inconsistent nature, indicating his confusion as to why this has become the case, using the last few weeks’ results as an example.
Wilson explained [Clyde 1 Superscoreboard]: “The problem for Celtic is just now, you don’t know what you’re getting from week to week with them.
“I watched them against Dundee, fabulous. You watch them against Hearts; okay they were in the game, but they lose it. Today, they win it, but in periods, they were iffy.”
Some will argue that injuries have taken their toll on Rodgers’ men, who are without the likes of key players Cameron Carter-Vickers, Callum McGregor, Reo Hatate and Luis Palma at present.
Yet, our wider issues haven’t disappeared when some of these names have been available, so we need to deal with what we’ve got until such time as they return to contention.
St Johnstone travel to Parkhead on Saturday ahead of the international break, and hopefully, we can move top of the table for a day at least by seeing off Craig Levein’s outfit.
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