Former Hearts midfielder and BBC Scotland pundit Michael Stewart has delivered a tough verdict of Celtic’s defensive performance against St Mirren on Sunday.
It was a disappointing afternoon for the Bhoys yesterday, after suffering our first Scottish Premiership loss in 38 games.
Goals in each half from St Mirren provided the Buddies with all three points, ending an impressive league unbeaten run that lasted almost an entire year.
Ultimately, Ange Postecoglou’s side got what they deserved from the game, putting in a poor performance across the park from back to front.
One area of the side that has received criticism following Sunday’s result is the Celtic backline after conceding two frustrating goals.
BBC Scotland pundit, Michael Stewart, was one pundit that believes the Hoops defensive performance wasn’t up to scratch.
Although the ex-Scotland internationalist admitted St Mirren’s second goal could have been called offside, he also stated that Celtic duo Stephen Welsh and Moritz Jenz struggled with the physicality of the St Mirren frontline throughout.
Speaking on Sportscene, he said: “Technically, I think it is offside. There’s a bit of pushing and shoving from both players, Stephen Welsh has got a good firm hold of Ayunga’s jersey, and he probably does shove him a little bit.
“It’s weak (from Welsh), though, and I think this goal is indicative of the performance as a whole.
“You see Curtis Main’s desire, he gets above and bullies Jenz, and it’s the same at the back post. You can see with the line that Ayunga’s offside, but it’s very tight for the linesman to be able to see that definitively.
“If it was VAR, yes, it probably would be chopped off. But I think that moment there in the six-yard box was pretty indicative of what happened most of the afternoon.
“Ayunga and Main up top caused chaos against Jenz and Welsh; they were never really able to handle the physicality of them.”
Disappointing Celtic defensive display after strong start to the season.
So far this season, like many, I have been delighted with the start to the new season, particularly from a defensive point of view.
Before Sunday, in domestic action, the Hoops had conceded just two goals across the eight games played and have been praised for their solid performances at the back.
However, yesterday afternoon was the first disappointing display at the back from Ange Postecoglou’s side that we have seen in a long time.
As Stewart mentions, at times throughout the match, Buddies duo Jonah Ayunga and Curtis Main felt like they had the better of the Celtic centre-back pairing.
Again, that is something we haven’t experienced in a long time, and it could just go to show how important a figure Cameron Carter-Vickers is in the Celtic backline.
Unfortunately, it was a bad day at the office for the Hoops, from both a defensive and attacking standpoint.
Despite the criticism being pointed the way of the back four, it was very much a poor performance across the board that cost us the points.
Now, we must go away and learn from those mistakes before coming back and, hopefully, going on another long unbeaten run domestically.
In other news, Ange Postecoglou discusses Celtic transfer plans and Mark Lawwell synergy with ‘long-term’ pledge.
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