On me Ed son
French connection puts Celts five clear at top
NEIL LENNON keeps getting the key decisions bang on at the moment.
That’s a good sign for the Celtic support because, as their manager sits down to munch his Christmas dinner, he will have more than turkey on his plate. There are a few more tricky calls to make before part one of this campaign ends.
Maybe it was already whirring around his mind when he did laps around the Parkhead pitch as assistant John Kennedy sat upstairs doing the post-match media duties.
Going into the final six days of a gruelling period in the fixture list which concludes a heavy first half of the term, Celtic have just two games to go before they hit the Dubai sunshine.
There have been 36 matches already. The international boys have had over 40. There have been nine in December and some of the limbs are weary. Just two fixtures remain but they are still potentially huge in the context of the season.
Given that it’s Rangers who are pushing Celtic the hardest in the title race it’s natural that most fans are looking towards Sunday’s mammoth Parkhead showdown.
But Lennon knows you get the same three points for beating St Mirren on Thursday and any slips in Paisley could halt momentum.
It’s where his big decisions lie. Of course he would like to rest some of his key men, freshen them up for the derby.
Does he give Leigh Griffiths a start against Saints and wrap Odsonne Edouard in bubble wrap? Does he start Tom Rogic or Mikey Johnston and give Ryan Christie or James Forrest another day off as he was able to do in Cluj?
Can Olivier Ntcham play a slightly-deeper role to give Callum McGregor a rest? Does he field Nir Bitton and rest either Christopher Jullien or Kristoffer Ajer?
Does kid Jeremie Frimpong get a break with Moritz Bauer going into right-back? Will Greg Taylor take over left-back to save Boli Bolingoli?
These are the choices which will sit beside the presents under Lennon’s tree through Christmas Day. In truth the smart money says he won’t make many at all. Celtic are rolling. As Kennedy said during his briefing, when you are winning games and have that momentum, it brings extra energy. It puts another mile into the legs.
With this in mind and the importance of the St Mirren the boss has to choose carefully.
The evidence since his successful return to the hotseat suggests Lennon will get it right and find the formula which best serves the requirement for results over the upcoming 180 minutes.
Against the Dons he again came up with something at a pivotal point to get the job done.
After an hour it was all in the melting pot. Celtic had made the ideal opening. Jullien’s early flick from Christie’s corner hit the bar but he got it right the next time he lost Ash Taylor at a set-piece in six minutes, albeit with a miscue which bounced into the turf and spun into the top corner.
The champions had a grip of the game but no second goal and the Reds hung in there to secure an equaliser 11 minutes before the break.
Niall McGinn’s deep centre was meat and drink for Sam Cosgrove who rose superbly to plant a header into the bottom corner. It meant the hosts had to go again and with 30 minutes to go Aberdeen were standing firm.
It’s where Lennon made his pivotal move with the sub to put Johnston on to the left flank. As Ntcham went off from playing behind Edouard, Forrest switched to his natural side and Christie got into his favoured No.10 position.
Almost immediately Forrest squared up Andrew Considine and drove on his outside.
And within four minutes Lennon got the dividend for his tactical acumen when Christie was ideally placed in that central chief-creator role and close enough to Edouard to exchange one-touch passes with him and get him away on goal.
The French striker’s link-play was dazzling all day yet he had seemed a tad sluggish with a couple of first-half openings as he didn’t get shots off on time.
However, when it really counts, he rarely lets Celtic down and his
beautiful finish to cap the move won the game. It was a stunning team goal and ensured the crucial and subtle decision from the Parkhead boss did the trick.
It wasn’t the last decision to be talked about before the day was over. Euan Anderson’s choice to send Cosgrove off disgusted Derek McInnes.
Aberdeen’s attacker launched into a full-blooded tackle at the corner flag on Kristoffer Ajer and the whistler felt it was worthy of a sending off.
It sparked angry exchanges between both sets of players and meaty postmatch debate.
Ultimately, although you never know and although the Dons had fought back once before in the game, it’s probably not a decision which changed the course of the result.
On the other hand, Lennon’s did. And now the Celtic boss has got just a couple more big ones to make before the shutdown.
If he gets them right, it’ll put his team into a mighty position going into part two of the campaign.