Season 2020’21: Game 12: Celtic (H)

[Andy_P]

It's nearly eighteen months since David Turnbull was last on the winning side in a game at Fir Park. 

Let's keep it that way!

[steelboy]

13 games without a win against Celtic for Robinson. Hopefully that changes on Sunday.

[GazzyB]

Hopefully we can drill the final nail into Lennon's coffin. 2-1 to us, Watt and Polworth.

[Goggles & Flippers]

35 minutes ago, GazzyB said:

Hopefully we can drill the final nail into Lennon's coffin. 2-1 to us, Watt and Polworth.

Since you predicted it, 20 quid on it 

[weeyin]

While we haven't beaten them at Fir Park for a while, we typically play better against this side of the sectarian sisters.

Unfortunately, their performance at the weekend (albeit against a team we easily cuffed) has given them a bit of a boost.

Need to keep it really tight at the back to have any chance. Duffy is the weak link in their defence if you run at him or knock it in behind. If we throw high balls into the box it plays to his strengths.

I'd be happy with a point.

[Andy_P]

Time and time again I'll have looked at these games and considered the potential variables that might help turns things ever so slightly in our favour. What form are we in? What form are they in?  Are they travelling 4000 miles back from somewhere after a European Thursday nighter? Are they men down through injury or suspension? And so on.

I can't remember who it was who said it, whether it was McCall, McGhee, Butcher or all of the above but ultimately much as it tended to irritate they weren't far wrong in suggesting before these games that we need to play very very well, they need to play poorly and on top of that we need a fair dollop of luck; and we'll see what that gets us. And remains pretty much the size of it now, perhaps even more so now.

[Goggles & Flippers]

I get that to a degree Andy, but look at Killie's record. Some of down to the pitch yes but they haven't rode their luck with either of the OF misfiring in all those occasions they've got a draw or a win.

[weeyin]

When big Higdon was terrorising their defence, we won because we played to our strengths and played well. No luck or poor performance from them required.

[Andy_P]

23 minutes ago, weeyin said:

When big Higdon was terrorising their defence, we won because we played to our strengths and played well. No luck or poor performance from them required.

When big Higdon was destroying them we got a penalty for Charlie Mulgrew tripping over his feet and banging into Ojamaa when he was chasing a ball liable to go out of play and OG from a Celtic defender hitting the post which then rebounded off the back of their keeper and into the net.  No luck indeed.  

[Andy_P]

38 minutes ago, Goggles & Flippers said:

I get that to a degree Andy, but look at Killie's record. Some of down to the pitch yes but they haven't rode their luck with either of the OF misfiring in all those occasions they've got a draw or a win.

It's by no means a justification of what is an appalling record against Rangers and one which is very much going the same way against Celtic.  But I do tend to think whoever it was that coined the phrase isn't a million miles off.  We do need to play well.  We do need them not to be as on it as they might be and we do more often than not need stuff to go for us on the day.

[Yorkyred]

3-1 Celtic

[MelvinBragg]

2 hours ago, Andy_P said:

I can't remember who it was who said it, whether it was McCall, McGhee, Butcher or all of the above but ultimately much as it tended to irritate they weren't far wrong in suggesting before these games that we need to play very very well, they need to play poorly and on top of that we need a fair dollop of luck; and we'll see what that gets us. 

I think it was Stuart McCall. Whoever said it, they weren't wrong...

[Goggles & Flippers]

1 hour ago, Andy_P said:

It's by no means a justification of what is an appalling record against Rangers and one which is very much going the same way against Celtic.  But I do tend to think whoever it was that coined the phrase isn't a million miles off.  We do need to play well.  We do need them not to be as on it as they might be and we do more often than not need stuff to go for us on the day.

Oh you mean like Callum McGregor or Scott Sinclair conning a ref?

[CoF]

 

 

1 hour ago, weeyin said:

When big Higdon was terrorising their defence, we won because we played to our strengths and played well. No luck or poor performance from them required.

The winning formula is play to our strength + played well..... but also + Higdon + Ojamaa + Mcfadden + Hutchinson + Law + Randolph etc......

Pretty much all of that starting 11 would walk into our first team. 

[CoF]

1 hour ago, Andy_P said:

When big Higdon was destroying them we got a penalty for Charlie Mulgrew tripping over his feet and banging into Ojamaa when he was chasing a ball liable to go out of play and OG from a Celtic defender hitting the post which then rebounded off the back of their keeper and into the net.  No luck indeed.  

Nothing lucky about the penalty and we won 3-1 so didn't need that rebounded goal, which Lustig only messed up because Higdon was a pest in the box. We also beat them 2-1 the month before. 

No luck at all, we just had a brilliant team that year. 

[Yassin]

5 hours ago, GazzyB said:

Hopefully we can drill the final nail into Lennon's coffin. 

We have got a Chapman tbf

[Andy_P]

28 minutes ago, CoF said:

Nothing lucky about the penalty and we won 3-1 so didn't need that rebounded goal, which Lustig only messed up because Higdon was a pest in the box. We also beat them 2-1 the month before. 

No luck at all, we just had a brilliant team that year. 

Whether it impacted on the eventual scoreline or not you surely can't be suggesting there isn't an element of good  fortune involved in that third goal?

I haven't,or would even for a second, dispute that we had a brilliant team that year or the fact we played exceptionally well in those games.

But none of the references to that season or those game dissuade me from thinking - (and I apologise to those probably bored seeing me repeat it) that as was well evidenced in those two games in 2013 - we generally need to play very well.  It boosts our chances when the opposition don't play as well as they can (and that can be as much down to us preventing them from doing so).  And that the likes of the aforementioned OG, a quick throw-in whilst the opposition are rolling about on the floor seemingly on the verge of paralysis or that they don't hit the choose games against us to practice the art of simulation, can also be quite useful too.

I think the lack of positive results  against Celtic or Rangers in the league tends to back that up.

[grizzlyg]

2 hours ago, CoF said:

Nothing lucky about the penalty and we won 3-1 so didn't need that rebounded goal, which Lustig only messed up because Higdon was a pest in the box. We also beat them 2-1 the month before. 

No luck at all, we just had a brilliant team that year. 

Faddy also was one on one with keeper and missed, we were immense that day

[CoF]

3 hours ago, Andy_P said:

Whether it impacted on the eventual scoreline or not you surely can't be suggesting there isn't an element of good  fortune involved in that third goal?

I haven't,or would even for a second, dispute that we had a brilliant team that year or the fact we played exceptionally well in those games.

But none of the references to that season or those game dissuade me from thinking - (and I apologise to those probably bored seeing me repeat it) that as was well evidenced in those two games in 2013 - we generally need to play very well.  It boosts our chances when the opposition don't play as well as they can (and that can be as much down to us preventing them from doing so).  And that the likes of the aforementioned OG, a quick throw-in whilst the opposition are rolling about on the floor seemingly on the verge of paralysis or that they don't hit the choose games against us to practice the art of simulation, can also be quite useful too.

I think the lack of positive results  against Celtic or Rangers in the league tends to back that up.

Of course, that third goal has an element of good fortune but it's one of those "make your own luck" times. Those things happen when you're putting the opposition under pressure and you've got someone like Higdon noising up defenders.  Agree completely about what you've said about playing well, quick thinking etc, your original post just seemed a bit dismissive of how good we were in those games - however I can see that's not the case . 

From what I've seen so far , I'm not convinced that even at our best we've got enough to take anything from Celtic on Sunday but there's definitely something coming together with this squad. Hopefully this weekend is when we see what they're capable of!

 

[GazzyB]

 

[Spiderpig]

5 hours ago, GazzyB said:

 

What a team we had that season, happy days.

[texanwellfan]

Did we beat them 3 times in the one season? 

[Andy_P]

15 minutes ago, texanwellfan said:

Did we beat them 3 times in the one season? 

We certainly beat them three times in 1990'91.  2-0 on the opening day at Fir Park, 2-1 at Parkhead before the first Semi Final and then 4-2 in the Semi Final replay.

[claretband]

Higdon's pen was one of the best ever!

[Big Stall]

Its nice going into this game not having the absolute dread. We will no doubt still get beat, maybe even pumped but at least after the last few games we now know that we do have a decent team in there and if they pull out all the stops we could do something here.......