It’s time to take a breath after Celtic managed to progress to the semi-finals of the Scottish Cup at McDiarmid Park this afternoon.
It was a tough slog, but the Hoops showed their grit as we were forced into a real battle against Tommy Wright’s St Johnstone.
Indeed, Ryan Christie’s goal was the only one of the game on 81 minutes as his free-kick went beyond everyone and crept in at the back post, much to the joy of the Celtic support.
And as we settle down after what was at times a panic of a quarter-final tie, here we take a look at three things we learned from the contest.
1. Nir Bitton is now the third choice centre-back
Of all of the impressive displays at the back, nobody shined more than Bitton. Perhaps it’s because it was only his second start since the winter break, but he certainly stood out more than anyone.
Bitton showed brilliant footwork at times in tight situations to keep Celtic in possession of the ball. He also wasn’t taking any prisoners as he used an aggressive approach to ease the likes of Stevie May and Callum Hendry off the ball in dangerous areas.
Nir didn’t make a single mistake this afternoon in a simply faultless display. And with it also coming after Jozo Simunovic made a costly error vs Copenhagen, there’s a big question over who is our third-choice centre-back.
For now, Bitton has surely lept over Jozo in that regard. He was extremely positive against Aberdeen at Pittodrie several weeks ago in another tidy display, and he’s now come up trumps for us when we needed him in a tough quarter-final at McDiarmid Park. The right-sided centre-back position is surely his for now.
2. Scott Brown could do with a little more time to recover
Brown, as we all know, has exceptionally high standards, but I can’t help but feel as though he’s been rushed back into action.
He was anonymous at times against Copenhagen, and today against St Johnstone he didn’t look too into the battle. It’s not often you can say that about the Celtic captain.
When you think of some of our top performers over the last two matches, Brown hasn’t come close to that bracket. And it all interestingly comes after he was a doubt to face Copenhagen in the first place. Brown limped off in Denmark two weeks ago, and he just hasn’t looked right since.
Lennon will, of course, want his commander in the middle of the pitch for massive matches such as these. However, he looks like he could do with another week or two to recuperate.
Livingston at the Tony Macaroni Arena is next up on Wednesday evening. Livi certainly have players such as Scott Pittman, Keaghan Jacobs, and Ricki Lamie who won’t shirk any meaty tackles. If Brown is carrying anything, it may be best for him to avoid that one.
3. Celtic’s ability to bounce back is the best in Scotland
Name a side who have responded to set-backs this season better than Celtic. Let’s go through our defeats in order.
Our first loss against Cluj back in August saw us go on an 11-game unbeaten run that included a massive 6-1 aggregate win against AIK in Europe as well as a brilliant 2-0 success at Ibrox.
Our second loss of the season came at Livingston in a 2-0 defeat. Celtic responded by topping their Europa League group and winning 16 of their next 17 matches. We’re not including the loss in Cluj back in December given the irrelevance of the game.
A 2-1 loss to Rangers led to us winning 10 consecutive games before we eventually lost to Copenhagen at Parkhead. Almost immediately, we’ve taken care of an extremely rough cup tie and progressed to the semi-finals of the Scottish Cup.
Whatever Lennon has instilled in this side, character has been a huge part of it. Once again, Celtic have proven that they can bounce back from losses better than anyone.
What else did you take from the game? Is there something crucial you think we learned today? Let us know in the discussion forum below.
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