Walking up to Celtic Park last night I thought I was about to see a routine win for the Bhoys and I was hoping that Aberdeen could do us a favour against the tribute act. Well Aberdeen did us a favour alright but Hamilton never read the script and made it uncomfortable for us to watch. A flat Celtic performance for 90 minutes but then our leader Scott Brown pops up with the winner in time added on to send us into wild celebrations and ensure we skipped down the London Road back into the city.

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Now all eyes and all talk will be on Sunday and the journalists who tried so hard to get Neil Lennon to talk about the Cup final at a press conference earlier in the week will get their answers when the gaffer refused to answer anything other than about the Hamilton game

The Green Brigade were back in their usual corner, making noise and generating a good atmosphere in a stadium. There were lots of empty seats while the clamour continues for cup final.

The Bhoys ultra group were as always present high up in the corner between the Jock Stein and North Stand. They had created the atmosphere while the GB were banned and once again were also there in attendance. It would be great to see them getting a space together at the front of the upper tier where they would be more visible and add even more to the atmosphere they already create in the stadium on match days.

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Ryan Christie was once again on target as Celtic laboured through the first half but went in at half time 1 up. I’m sure Lenny told them to get their finger out at half time and put the game to bed and they started the second half sharply but soon the game went flat again and Frazer Forster in the Celtic goal was kept as busy if not busier than the visiting goalkeeper.

While sipping my halftime Bovril, I checked to see how the game was going up North. Aberdeen had pulled one back before the interval and just as we settled in for the second half word filtered through and a cheer went up around the stadium that it was level in Pittodrie.

As Hamilton battled for the equaliser with 7 minutes to go my mate, Henry turned around to me after checking the score from Aberdeen on his phone and said “these 7 minutes could decide the season”. By the end of normal time my frustration had turned to one of disbelief and silence when the visitors equalised. The fans in the stadium rallied the players with one final war cry and they answered the call.

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Not even an award winning Hollywood scriptwriter could have wrote a more fairy-tale ending when our captain Scott Brown stepped up to the challenge and scored the winner. Soon after the final whistle was blown. We won a battle last night but the war continues as we move onto the Hampden battle field.

Andrew started More than 90 Minutes in 2001. He has written for numerous publications and online about Celtic. One of his essays featured in Celtic Minded 2 and he is a former newspaper columnist with the Daily Ireland and the man behind celticfanzine.com. He is host of Celtic AM pre-match events at Malone’s in Glasgow on match days and follows Celtic Home & Away. He is a season ticket holder for Celtic FC and the Republic of Ireland. He is also P.R.O. of St. Margaret’s CSC, a member of the Celtic Trust and the Celtic Graves Association.

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Hamilton make the short journey to Celtic Park tonight in what could be a crucial night in the title race.

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Celtic have been in excellent form this season and to be honest it is somewhat of a surprise that the team from the other side of Glasgow are still breathing down the neck of Celtic. They have a tricky journey up north to Aberdeen.

Hamilton are currently sitting 9th in a tightly contested bottom of the table, one point ahead of bottom club St Johnstone. They have a record of W2, D6, L7. In November they drew three games and lost to Rangers.

Celtic have had some good news ahead of the cup final on Saturday with the likely return to the fold of N’tcham, Bolingoli and Edouard. The game tonight comes to early for the latter two. As Neil Lennon explained in the pre match press conference.

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“N’tcham has a good chance of starting. As regards Odsonne and Mohamed, no.” Lennon said. “So we will see how they are. Bolingoli won’t be make it for tomorrow. Bayo is back in training but it’s probably too soon and it’s as you were with Jonny, so we are confident he will be fit as well (for Sunday).

“We have another five days before the cup final but our main focus is on tomorrow and we will deal with what comes after the Hamilton game. But it’s good to see them back.”

With the likes of Forrest, Christie and McGregor still in the team and the recent return of Mikey Johnston then Celtic should prove too strong on the night, hopefully Aberdeen can do us a turn at Pittodrie to land a psychological blow to Sevco ahead of the cup final.

 

Mick Kane hails from Glasgow. He has been hooked on Celtic since he went to his first game when he was 7. Celtic beat Hamilton 8-3 at Celtic Park on the 3rd of January 1987. His favourite player at the time, Brian McClair scored four goals.

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He started going regular as a 16 year old when Celtic played at Hampden for the season, being a Southsider it meant a short train journey to get to Hampden. From then he has had a season ticket travelled around Europe for games as Celtic became the dominant force in Scottish football again. A nice change from growing up during Rangers run to 9 in a row.

The big talking point all this week will be the Cup final but nobody should lose sight that we have an important 3 points to play for on Wednesday when Hamilton Accies are the visitors to Celtic Park under the Paradise Lights.

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Neil Lennon will most likely make a few changes to the team that started against Ross County but I can’t see him shuffling the pack around too much. We will all be praying that all the players come through injury free and that we continue our unbeaten run to 11 games and maybe Aberdeen can do us a favour at Pittodrie.

Lets all hope that French Eddie, Mo Elyounoussi and Boli Bolingoli will all be fit for selection come Sunday at Hampden. Unbelievably Celtic will be aiming to win their 10^th domestic trophy in a row and any Celtic fan lucky enough to have a ticket for the Hampden showdown will be cheering on the bhoys loudly while around the World Celtic fans will be glued to their televisions and packing into Celtic pubs to join like minded fans for a few beers and hopefully a victory.

Celtic fans will be watching in different times zones. The tweets will go out from Bangkok to Boston from Sydney to Russia telling us where to watch the game in far off lands. Closer to home ballad singers will be booked and BT will be beamed into pubs and clubs.

BT are starting their coverage at 9 am in the morning I am told. That’s how big the Glasgow Derby is! They might be a new team wearing familiar colours of those who were liquidated but it’s the same fans and the same rivalry and everything else that goes with it.

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BT will be live on air before my flight from Dublin has even taken off. If I’m honest I’ll be nervous and I might need a few drinks before the game to settle the nerves, the fingernails will be chewed down but hopefully I will be skipping down the road towards the Brazenhead to celebrate another piece of silverware in the Celtic Trophy Room.

Andrew started More than 90 Minutes in 2001. He has written for numerous publications and online about Celtic. One of his essays featured in Celtic Minded 2 and he is a former newspaper columnist with the Daily Ireland and the man behind celticfanzine.com. He is host of Celtic AM pre-match events at Malone’s in Glasgow on match days and follows Celtic Home & Away. He is a season ticket holder for Celtic FC and the Republic of Ireland. He is also P.R.O. of St. Margaret’s CSC, a member of the Celtic Trust and the Celtic Graves Association.

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The Celtic players on the fringe of the starting 11 will get one more chance to stake a claim for a cup final starting place against Hamilton on Wednesday night at Celtic Park after a comprehensive 1-4 win on the road against Ross County today.

The quality in the Squad means that Neil Lennon has a nice headache ahead of next weeks final against our city rivals who will be chomping at the bit to win their first piece of major silverware, as will the referee.

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Lenny will be quick to remind all the Celtic players that the game on Wednesday is as an important a game if not more important as the team strive for 91AR.

The main stay of the team starting 11 for the big games is nailed on but a player like the returning from injury Mikey Johnstone must be in the managers thoughts ahead of the cup final.

Mikey scored immediately after coming off the bench in the second half to wrap up the victory against Ross County to cap off a great week for him and the team after he did the same on Thursday night against Rennes. If he doesn’t start what an exciting talent Celtic will have to come off the bench at Hampden. He is looking so sharp.

The Celtic bench will be a strong one at the national stadium no matter who is on it.

One player who is guaranteed a starting place is the inform and potential Scottish player of the year Ryan Christie who opened the score in the highlands after having his spot kick saved, he didn’t miss with the rebound before adding a second after Ross County equalised in front of the Celtic support but it was clear to see to everyone watching except the match officials that the goal scorer had pushed Tom Rogic to the ground before flicking the header in behind Frazer Forster.

Tom Rogic also got on the scoresheet and is another player who could be pushing for a start in the cup final or will he make a vital contribution from the bench at some stage? These are exciting times to be a Celtic fan. Roll on Wednesday bring on the Accies and then we can look forward to another Cup Final at Hampden.

Andrew started More than 90 Minutes in 2001. He has written for numerous publications and online about Celtic. One of his essays featured in Celtic Minded 2 and he is a former newspaper columnist with the Daily Ireland and the man behind celticfanzine.com. He is host of Celtic AM pre-match events at Malone’s in Glasgow on match days and follows Celtic Home & Away. He is a season ticket holder for Celtic FC and the Republic of Ireland. He is also P.R.O. of St. Margaret’s CSC, a member of the Celtic Trust and the Celtic Graves Association

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No pyro, no party? Celtic must open discussions with the Green Brigade to end feud

Once again, the fragile and testing relationship between Celtic and the Green Brigade has hit the headlines.

The club decided to close the section for the Rennes match on Thursday – and it later emerged that the ultras group are having all their tickets withheld until further notice, including the cup final.

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Fans seem split over the group’s use of pyrotechnics at big matches which has seen the club hit with UEFA charges and fines each time.

Celtic have repeatedly called on the Green Brigade to stop using fireworks and bangers at games, for very obvious reasons – public safety and the fines. You’ve got to understand the club’s stance here.

But you can also see the amazing sight and atmosphere that pyro creates at Celtic Park, away games – and all over the world.

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In many countries there are designated ‘safe pyro’ sections, but in Scotland – and at UEFA games – it’s banned.

There is no doubt that the Green Brigade would be in support of this even though it would require a change of laws, rules and regulations. But that’s not beyond the realms of possibility.

This is the club – and supporters’ group – who are leading the way and championing safe standing sections in the UK. But we have to remember how that all came about.

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In the early years of the Green Brigade, they were repeatedly told by the club to stop “overcrowding”, “body surfing” and “lateral movement”. They tried to disband the group over this. Eventually the ultras were allowed back, but did they stop? No. They continued until there were solid discussions on a safe standing section at Celtic Park.

So you can possibly understand the logic from the GB on how to deal with the club, based on past experience. The resilience of the group led to progression and now we have a section that is the envy of every top-flight club in Scotland and England.

So are Celtic going about it in the right way? Is banning the most vocal and colourful section of the support – that is renowned worldwide – the best thing to do?

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I think its now time for the club to sit down with the Green Brigade, police, safety experts and people who regulate ‘safe pyro’ in other countries and have an adult discussion on how it could be implemented at Parkhead.

Last year, Police Scotland assistant chief constable Bernard Higgins said he would be “open to discussions” on the use of ‘safe pyro’.  Let’s have these sensible discussions about it now. It works in the USA, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Israel etc. Why can’t it work in Scotland? Why are we not even just starting the conversation to get the ball rolling?

If plans are put forward and progressing, the Green Brigade may have to compromise for a little while and stop the use of pyro until the section is deemed safe for it. But let’s get those discussions and plans in place NOW.

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Celtic could be seen as leading the way once again on fan involvement/experience in the UK and keeping up with the rest of the world, where this is the norm. Convincing UEFA would be another issue but let’s be the club that can show them that it works in a crazy environment like Celtic Park.

The Green Brigade, while often controversial, are generally a force for good.

This is the group that now orchestrates the colour and atmosphere at every single game – whether it’s Hamilton in the league, or Bayern Munich in the Champions League.

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It’s the group that raises awareness to many fantastic causes and highlights issues in society at home and abroad.

It’s the group that raised £176,000 to help oppressed people in Palestine, in response to UEFA’s ridiculous fine for the waving of the Palestinian flag.

It’s the group that raised £16,000 for immigrant support charities in Rome and Glasgow, in response to another ridiculous UEFA fine for anti-fascist banners.

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And it’s the group that continues to host the biggest foodbank drive in the whole of Scotland every year, supporting many families of all backgrounds who are in need of help and are suffering against the system.

These are grown-up issues, grown-up causes and grown-up solutions. It’s time for Celtic to stop treating this group like a bunch of naughty school kids and have grown-up discussions with them on how to progress and make Celtic Park an even better, more colourful – but safe – environment.

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Anthony Joseph is an awarding-winning journalist for KICCA Media in London. He is formerly of the MailOnline and Aberdeen Evening Express. He is a regular guest on The Totally Scottish Football Show and is a lifelong Celtic fan. 

Twitter – @AnthonyRJoseph