Six members of The Terrace Podcast crew pick their favourite moments from Celtic’s second half demolition of a plucky, young United side.
Gary Cocker
Even more than his clinical hat-trick, Leigh Griffiths’ lung-bursting run to claim a corner from what seemed like a hopelessly lost cause epitomised his progress under the watchful eye of Ronny Deila. He might be the bete noire of Scottish football for many, but the talented yet wayward laddie who was at Dundee and Hibs has become a more rounded footballer, both on and off the pitch, and his never-say-die attitude has really impressed me this season.
His ability to create space and his workrate have propelled him into the undoubted first choice striker for Celtic and surely back into Gordon Strachan’s plans; even die-hard Jambos would learn to love the Leith Lothario if he scored the goals that took us to Euro 2016.
Joel Sked
Stefan Johansen should win the Scottish Premiership player of the year. It would not quite be a travesty if he didn’t but questions would have to be raised. Other than Virgil Van Dijk, Johansen is head and shoulders above everyone in the league, including teammates.
He plays the game in a smooth manner, always composed, always with an air of ease. When Celtic are trying to break down massed ranks they have to be patient, while requiring players to show inventiveness and the ability to play in tight spaces. Johansen is the archetypal player for the role he has been given by Deila.
Dundee United had defended resolutely in the first half at Tannadice. Getting bodies tight and compact around the box. But then minutes into the second half all it took was a simple glorious first time pass to Scott Brown to put United on the back foot. He received the ball back and with a Tangerine wall in front of him he slipped it right for Leigh Griffiths to open the scoring. He then provided a glorious outside of the foot cross for Kris Commons only for Radoslaw Cierzniak to make one of the saves of the season.
But it was the touch to Brown that was the highlight. It didn’t open up United nor was it a direct assist but it was a touch of magic. It is becoming a common occurrence now to witness Johansen play outrageous first time passes around the box. A wonderful technician, his feet act as cushions taking the pace and sting out of passes, pushing them into a teammate’s path.
Craig Anderson
Picture the scene. Your teammate has just forced the ball across the line for what should be a goal, but the officials haven’t given it yet. The ball rebounds to you two yards from goal. What do you do?
If you’re Virgil van Dijk, then apparently the answer is “catch the ball with both hands and blast it into the net.” I like to think that the Dutchman put on his best Alan Partridge voice and shouted “AND ANOTHER” as he pointlessly banged the ball into the roof of the net.
Fortunately for Celtic, the assistant referee had already awarded the goal – imagine how ridiculous Van Dijk would have looked had the goal not been given. Surely the first thing your manager tells you is to play to the whistle and just stick the ball in the net. Perhaps it was his homage to Josh Meekings…
Craig Cairns
My favourite moment came at the final whistle, relieved that I wouldn’t have to see these sides play each other again this season.
My most confusing moment was the yellow card given to Scott Brown for his high challenge on Dundee United’s John Rankin. That and there not being much made about it afterwards – confusing to the point that I’m wondering if I’m one of few noticing this or whether I’m letting some anti-Scott Brown bias get the better of me.
It seems that the Celtic captain receives bookings for challenges most others would be dismissed for and, on what seems like a weekly basis, escapes bookings others wouldn’t. I don’t have the stats to hand but I would be confident that if Brown doesn’t have the lowest bookings-to-fouls ratio in the country, then he must be pretty close.
I understand there was an element of Willie Collum not wanting to let the game get out of control, like the previous clash between the sides at Tannadice, particularly after all the controversy surrounding Celtic and match officials over the past week. But surely previous matches cannot dictate which challenges become outlawed for the next?
Correct me if I’m wrong, but this incident doesn’t feel like a one-off lenient decision, dictated by context, to me. Plus, if he’d done that on the street he’d have skinned his arse.
Tony Anderson
Rado Cierzniak’s second half save from Kris Commons was incredible. It was. He’s got a nano second to react, he has to reach with his ‘wrong’ hand and he’s got to keep a strong wrist to parry it away. There’s no time to think of any of that. It’s pure instinct.
It’s also one half of his Jekyll and Hyde goalkeeping personality. I love Rado. I think he’s great value and would desperately want to see him stay another season because, for the neutral, he is great entertainment. He’ll either pull of something spectacular or make a complete arse of himself. Although, I will forgive those United fans who want to see them bring in someone more dependable. It must be so nerve-wracking.
Craig Fowler
I would suggest Celtic fans who like to indulge in conspiracy theories would have preferred Willie Collum not to give them a contentious penalty at the weekend, but to do so would give far too much credit to the warped mind of any football fan who believes in such fairy-tales.
For an entire week I repeated the same point on social media and the various football shows I take part in, feeling like I was banging my head against a brick wall. The SFA and its referees are not against Celtic, and to suggest otherwise is as ridiculous as the shape of John Collins’s cranium.
I’m not sure why I have been on my high horse so much about this issue. Seemingly it’s ingrained in a large portion of fans at every club. But just because it’s difficult to root out, does that mean someone shouldn’t try? Racism used to be ingrained in society, didn’t stop MLK from saying ‘yeah, think it’s about time something is done about this’. Now, I’m not saying paranoid football fans are worse than racism, but they’re really bloody annoying.
So apologies to Dundee United, you didn’t deserve to have such an obvious decision go against your side, but even if it convinced one frothing head-banger to change his mind, then I say it was worth it.
Or maybe it’s just because Willie Collum is pro-Celtic…
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