Tomas Cvancara went another game without a goal for Celtic after being given the nod to start upfront against Aberdeen.
Cvancara started as Celtic beat Aberdeen in a game that moved them up to second in the table.
He was withdrawn on the hour mark and has now gone six games without a goal since his strike against Falkirk, and having watched him, I can see two things that are contributing to this.
- READ MORE: Five things we learned as Arthur and Sinisalo do the job for Celtic on messy Aberdeen surface
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Tomas Cvancara’s first touch needs improvement
There were far too many times on Wednesday night, and in other matches, where the 25-year-old’s first touch has let him down.
His tall, physical frame should allow him to work perfectly with his back to goal and lay off the ball for attackers running from deep before he creates space elsewhere.
Instead, the ball balloons off his foot, into the feet of an opposition player, killing all momentum in the attack.
By composing himself, taking a touch that can let him roll a defender or open up more space to turn and shoot will open up so many more opportunities to get on the scoresheet.
Tomas Cvancara isn’t in attacking areas enough
You might think that as a striker, Cvancara would want to be in the six-yard box as much as possible when Celtic have got the ball out wide.
It’s one of the reasons why Benjamin Nygren scores so many goals, but it appears he lacks that poacher’s instinct.
This TalkingPoints user has compared Tomas Cvancara to Pierre van Hooijdonk…
Do YOU agree?
Sofascore’s heatmap showed that the forward spent a large portion of the game sitting just outside on the 18-yard box. Add in an xG of 0.06 and a single shot on goal for the entire duration he spent on the pitch, it’s not surprising to see that he struggled to score.
Celtic have enough players running from deep into the box that can make an impact. Cvancara should leave that to them and focus on getting himself into positions that make him a target for crosses, or somewhere where he can pounce on rebounded efforts parried away by goalkeepers.
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