When I took my seat in the main stand on Wednesday night at Celtic Park I thought we would win the game but I did not expect such a complete performance from the Celtic players.
When Matt O’Riley left for Brighton and the riches of English Premier League, we knew we were losing a quality player but he was not missed as Celtic under Brendan Rodgers started the domestic season very well.
Bernardo was signed after a loan spell and Arne Engels arrived in a big money move to battle it out to replace O’Riley. Last night we might have witnessed Engels best performance in a Celtic jersey. He opened the scoring from the penalty spot and added a great second goal in the second half.
Kyogo was the next high profile, high performer to leave Celtic after O’Riley. He left us for a relegation battle with Rennes in France and no doubt a bigger pay cheque. There is no doubt Celtic’s attacking options are not as strong now with Celtic failing to bring in a striker of the same calibre to replace him during the recent transfer window.
Adam Idah who has been in Kyogo’s shadow this season has stepped out of that shadow and scored 4 goals in 3 starts including 2 in the Champions League v Aston Villa since becoming Celtic’s first choice No. 9. Brendan Rodgers was very complimentary in his post match interview about the Irish mans contribution and his goal to make it 2-0 and make half time a comfortable and enjoyable one with Bovril and a pie for company.
On Wednesday night Kyogo was not missed and it was his fellow country man Daizen Maeda who was the talk of the stadium at full time. Two great goals and a man of the match performance for a player who always puts in a full shift when he pulls on the jersey. He never seems to stop to take a breath and his work rate is second to none.
Maeda will be suspended for the big Champions League game next week against German giants, Bayern Munich at a packed Celtic Park under the disco lights and his energy will be missed but we have a decent replacement for him in Jota.
Before Wednesday night’s game when the Celtic starting 11 was announced fans I spoke to were excited about his return to the Celtic Park pitch. He did not disappoint on the night and entertained on the wing with plenty of skill and style on display. He did not get on the score sheet but what a ball he put in for Maeda’s first.
Then he started the move from the corner flag as Celtic defended some rare Dundee pressure that lead to Maeda’s second goal which will be a contender for the goal of the season.
It was a great night for Celtic wingers and Kuhn came off the bench to remind everyone of his quality when he scored a spectacular goal to make it 6-0 to Celtic on the night. We also got to see Jeffrey Schlupp make his debut and Johnny Kenny came off the bench for a second time since his successful loan spell at Shamrock Rovers.
The Irish supporter club buses headed for the ferry port at full time and we got some sleep in before the early flight home at 7:30am to Dublin. While waiting the plane to board, Celtic fans were still buzzing about Celtic’s complete performance and watching the highlights of the game on their phones.
Celtic are back in action in the Scottish Cup against Raith Rovers at Celtic Park on Saturday night with a 5:30pm kick off. The game will be shown live on Premier Sports and streamed on Celtic TV.
Andrew Milne is Editor of More than 90 Minutes & Host of the Celtic Soul Podcast
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