INSTANT HERO
Idah’s winner felt like a defining moment, but could Celtic yet pay penalty for not creating enough chances?
IF you’re going to score a decisive goal in a match, there are fewer more opportune moments to do so than in the 92nd minute.
Ireland ace Adam Idah’s second penalty conversion of the evening at Easter Road was dispatched with a calmness which belied the pressure of the situation.
This wasn’t just match point in any other league game. It felt potentially like a defining moment in the season.
Had David Marshall guessed the right way, the fallout for Brendan Rodgers’ side at dropping another two points would have been considerable.
They all knew what this meant. The celebrations at the end were joyful, but relief was the overwhelming emotion.
Rodgers spoke afterwards about the ‘mentality of champions’ and, come May, we might very well reflect on the extraordinary finale to Wednesday night’s game as pivotal in the title race.
Three points ahead of Rangers, albeit having now played one game more, Celtic have the capacity to switch on the afterburners and hold off the challenge of a resurgent rival. Rodgers has been over this course and distance before.
Even amid the euphoria of recording his first win in five attempts at Easter Road, however, the manager was disinclined to present the display as anything near the required standard.
It’s been a familiar theme since the league reconvened after the winter break. Ahead against Ross County at home inside a minute, what should have been a comfortable win turned into a nervous scrap for three points.
At Pittodrie last Saturday, another bright start did not translate into goals. Celtic required Nicolas Kuhn’s deflected strike to cancel out Bojan Miovski’s sublime finish and salvage a draw.
Idah’s tenth-minute penalty conversion on Wednesday was a chance for Celtic to get the job done early, but again their display dropped off and Hibs were allowed to work their way back into the game.
When Marshall raced from his line to deny Idah early in the second half, the fans housed in the visiting end had good reason to fear how the game would unfold.
Dylan Levitt’s brilliant equalising strike from the edge of the box on the hour mark felt inevitable. No more than half a chance, it was precisely the kind of opening Celtic were struggling to fashion let alone convert.
While you had to doff your cap to the spirit Celtic showed to keep going and win the game so late on, it’s inconceivable that they will continue to prevail in such circumstances if they don’t start producing more purposeful performances than they have done lately.
Rodgers spoke before the game about how the data pertaining to his side since the turn of the year wasn’t markedly different to that of their purple patch across the festive period. All that was missing, he contended, was the killer instinct.
Unless you create chances, though, the execution of them really is immaterial.
Celtic had 66-per-cent possession on Wednesday yet only three shots on target and they didn’t score from open play. At Pittodrie, they had 71-per-cent possession, but only four shots on goal, one of which was Kuhn’s.
It wasn’t hugely different against County. Seventy per cent of the ball and seven attempts on target, one of which was Alistair Johnston’s opening-minute goal.
After getting the rewards for playing faster and more directly around Christmas, they have regressed. Too many sideways balls. Not enough risk. Not enough enterprise. Opponents are able to sit behind the ball knowing they are unlikely to be carved open.
Rodgers’ forward line at Pittodrie was Liel Abada, Kyogo Furuhashi and Luis Palma. He switched it entirely on Wednesday by selecting Kuhn, Idah and Daizen Maeda. What didn’t change was the pattern of ‘keep ball’ and the few genuine openings that arrived.
Celtic are missing Cameron Carter-Vickers’ willingness to step forward and create an overload in midfield.
Perhaps that’s one of the reasons why the form of both Matt O’Riley and Paulo Bernardo has dipped lately.
Rodgers will hope Reo Hatate’s calf injury doesn’t subject him to another lengthy spell on the sidelines. The Japanese brings something different to the table.
Even though Alexandro Bernabei had one of his better games against Hibs, that won’t prevent Greg Taylor walking back into the team for the Scottish Cup tie against St Mirren on Sunday if he’s fit again. The Scot is simply far more dependable.
The same applies to Johnston, who was replaced by Anthony Ralston at Easter Road after sustaining a head injury that does not appear to be as serious as first feared.
With Maeda back in the country, Rodgers has no shortage of wide options, but he needs much more from that area.
The manager felt the Japanese would hit the ground running after his run-outs in the Asian Cup, yet he was ineffective against Hibs.
Kuhn looked sharp when he come on against the Dons. He didn’t have nearly the same impact on his first start. Not that the introductions of Abada and Palma were significant upgrades.
Furuhashi’s form is concerning. While he did win the second penalty by drawing contact from Joe Newell after coming on as a substitute, he appeared to be in a trance when he allowed the Hibs midfielder to take the ball off his toe minutes earlier.
It’s now two goals in his last 12 league appearances for the forward. With 12 for the season, he’s miles off the target of 34 he hit last season. Rodgers may view him as ‘an elite striker’, but Celtic’s star man isn’t playing like one now.
While Celtic fans can take some comfort from the fact their team is still sitting on top of the Premiership, only the most deluded among them would contend that all is well.
Beating Rangers is not the real issue. They’ve done that twice already this season.
It’s the points dropped in six of the other 25 matches — added to acts of escapology like Wednesday’s — that’s concerning. You can only skate on thin ice for so long.
The main positive for Rodgers among so many areas of concern is the impact Idah has made.
A lightning rod for supporters’ frustrations when an underwhelming transfer window closed, the on-loan Norwich player backed up an impressive debut as a sub with an assured display on his first start.
If the rest of his team-mates can be as efficient in the final third as he is from 12 yards in the remaining 13 matches, Celtic may yet keep Rangers at arm’s length.
‘It’s an amazing feeling,’ said the 22-year-old. ‘To get the goal and the three points was fantastic and to do it in front of the away fans was unbelievable so I’m delighted with it.
‘To see their reaction after getting a last-minute goal was fantastic for me and the lads.
‘That shows the spirit in the changing room. Hopefully we can push on now and get three points on the board each and every week.
‘It’s one of the best starts I’ve had. I’ve already settled in quite well here. All the boys in the changing room, the staff, the people in the city have all welcomed me in well and I’m loving life in Glasgow right now.’