All four Celtic goals carried their own satisfaction. Yang’s opener rewarded clever movement and courage, Scales’ front-post header delighted the set-piece coaches, the slick link-up between Iheanacho and Tounekti, sparked by Hatate’s incisive pass, was one for the manager and his transfer window demands, and Luke McCowan’s lovely late strike, assisted by Michel Ange Balikwisha’s determination, capped a complete team performance.
For weeks, Celtic have searched for rhythm amid sluggish early-season stumbles. Excuses were plentiful, cohesion was lacking. But after Rugby Park sowed the seeds of recovery, Firhill felt like the first signs of bloom. With European competition and two-games-a-week intensity on the horizon, the timing could not be better.
Some will dismiss this as a routine win over Championship opposition. Others saw more. This was a team finally clicking, relationships forming, and belief returning. Now we need to build on those foundations.
Belgrade awaits on Wednesday, a far sterner test. For the first time in a long while, Celtic travel not with trepidation, but with genuine confidence that our season is, perhaps, ready to take off.
Niall J
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Don’t believe that we have looked like a CL team for some time now imo.
Yet that doesn’t mean that we can’t become a CL team in the making, for next season either.
That will possibly involve a new core of players getting formed, with enough seeds within the squad now, that will hopefully grow over the course of this season.
Before then, we have to start getting winning matches away from home in European competition, where that hasn’t been happening for way too long for ourselves.
So would class Wednesday as a massive match in order to start pressing the change button.
Followed by a challenge against hibs at home, will be a big test upon our squad, and where we actually are, for going forward.
A massive week awaits, and 2 big results will change the mood within the club, and still believe that it can and will be achieved imo.
It’s refreshing to read a comment from someone who actually thinks before they post, instead of much of the garbage we often read here! Your post is spot on Johnno! Well said! Too many people have been kidding themselves for too long now, and unfortunately, still do!