Could Wednesday evening mark a potentially defining night in the title race for Celtic?
Heading into stoppage time of the champions’ meeting with Livingston at Parkhead, Martin O’Neill‘s men were staring down the barrel of what would have been considered a disastrous draw, with Marcelo Saracchi’s early stunner cancelled out by Robbie Muirhead’s second-half spot-kick.
Elsewhere, rivals Rangers – up against a ten-man Motherwell side – were grinding their way to a narrow 1-0 victory, maintaining their place as the main challengers to Premiership leaders, Hearts.
This is a season of surprises and chaos, however, with the mood shifting so dramatically at the death.
Up stepped on-loan Hoops star Stephen Welsh to peg back Danny Rohl’s men, while back in Glasgow, debutant Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain curled home for his first goal for the club, ensuring this positive momentum is maintained under O’Neill’s watch.
The big positives for Celtic after Livingston victory
The only place to start, of course, is with that man Oxlade-Chamberlain, the 32-year-old marking a fine way to announce himself to the Parkhead faithful, following his post-deadline free transfer switch.
The 35-cap England international hasn’t played a competitive game since May, after leaving Turkish giants Besiktas over the summer, although, as they say, cream always rises to the top, with the midfielder’s undeniable quality having been evident as he curled home in added time.
That moment of magic had been supplied by yet another goal involvement from summer arrival, Sebastian Tounekti, with the Tunisian winger – who started the night on the right – having picked out his new teammate on the edge of the box.
Tounekti could well have netted himself in the first half, only to see his effort denied by Jerome Prior, with the young winger previously the difference-maker against Dundee, following his goal and assist from the bench.
The 23-year-old may not have got on the scoresheet, but he looked back to his best again on either flank, notably supplying four key passes and completing three successful dribbles across that 90-minute outing.
|
Tounekti vs Livingston |
|
|---|---|
|
Stat |
Record |
|
Minutes |
90 |
|
Touches |
83 |
|
Pass accuracy |
89% |
|
Key passes |
4 |
|
Ball lost |
21 |
|
Progressive carries |
35 |
|
Successful dribbles |
3/6 |
|
Assists |
1 |
|
Successful crosses |
2/10 |
|
Total duels won |
6/16 |
The aforementioned Saracchi, too, slotted in nicely in place of Kieran Tierney at left-back, rifling home his first goal from range to power the Hoops into a deserved lead in the first half.
In truth, had chances been taken, the hosts should well have been out of sight in that opening 45, with there certainly reason to be positive.
That being said, it wasn’t all plain sailing for O’Neill’s man, as the narrow scoreline emphasises.
Celtic must sell star who’s “nowhere close to his best”
Whether it is a case of quantity over quality is up for debate, but there are now ample options at O’Neill’s disposal for the remainder of the campaign, a fact epitomised by the string of names who weren’t even in the matchday squad, in the form of Kelechi Iheanacho, Paulo Bernardo, Michel-Ange Balikwisha and Joel Mvuka.
Those absences point to the number of high-profile players facing an uncertain future in Glasgow heading into this summer, with that also true of those who were actually involved on the night.
Indeed, Wednesday’s moment of madness in the second half could well be the final straw for many with regard to Reo Hatate, with the Japanese midfielder hauling down Muirhead with a wild swing inside the area.
That error, intentional or not, corroborated the feeling that there is a level of disinterest emanating from the 28-year-old right now, with journalist Robert Grieve previously suggesting that his “body language” looks “all wrong”.
That was also the view of Guardian columnist Dominik Diamond on Wednesday evening, who stated that Hatate has been “nowhere close to his best recently“. In truth, ‘recently’ could be replaced by ‘all season long’.
Once a centre-piece under Ange Postecoglou, there is a feeling that – amid interest from Brazil – a departure this summer would be the best course of action, with Hatate no longer the relentless, all-action talent that he once was.
For a player of his prior brilliance, just one goal and two assists in the Premiership this season makes for poor reading, with his attacking influence beginning to wane under the O’Neill regime.
Against Livi, for instance, he failed to register a single successful dribble, cross or tackle, after replacing the injured Arne Engels on the half-hour mark, with his foul on Muirhead not the only reason for concern on the night.
Oxlade-Chamberlain, undoubtedly, will have to be eased in amid his lack of game time over the last six months or so, although Wednesday could have marked a changing of the guard at Parkhead.
Hatate, a fine servant he has been, looks to be tumbling toward an inevitable exit at the end of the season, with Celtic needing to place their faith elsewhere in this title charge.
As bad as Hatate: O’Neill must drop Celtic star who made 6 passes vs Livi
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was the hero for Celtic on Wednesday night, with Reo Hatate having almost been the villain.
