One hand on the flag
Celts one step nearer nine-in-a-row as Griffiths finds top form to slaughter Saints
Griff repays Celts with goals as he time travels to 2016 for hat-trick
LEIGH GRIFFITHS has been written off more times than the old bangers that batter their way round Cowdenbeath’s Central Park on stock-car racing nights.
Maybe even inside his own Lennoxtown training HQ there were some who feared Griffiths would never hit the heights he scaled four years ago when he scored 40 in a season before succumbing to mental and physical health issues that drove him to the edge of despair.
But Griffiths didn’t give up on himself and, just as crucially, Neil Lennon didn’t either.
The Celtic manager could have cut the striker loose when he came in to replace Brendan Rodgers. Even as recently as the January transfer window, there was a debate about whether Griffiths should be sent out on loan but Lennon knew better.
He was about to unleash a 3-5-2 formation that would accommodate Griffiths in his starting XI alongside Odsonne Edouard.
And since the resumption after the winter break, Celtic have been flawless domestically with the exception of Wednesday’s 2-2 draw at Livingston.
They were far too strong for St Mirren on Saturday and rejuvenated Griffiths was front and centre of everything that was good about them.
It wasn’t just payback time for the faith shown in him – it was playback time.
His speed of thought, movement, bringing others into the game. It was like being back in 2016 when he scored his last hat-trick for the club.
And, of course, the finishing. The 29-year-old was back doing what he does best.
The first of this five-goal rout was all about the timing of his run in a packed penalty box. Perfectly executed to leave practically a tap-in after Edouard’s clever little ball split the Saints defence.
The second was a bit of twinkletoed magic past a couple of challenges on the edge of the box, a slick one-two with Tom Rogic and a first-time shot into the bottom corner.
There was time to provide an assist for Edouard in the second half before Griffith completed his treble with a trademark touch and drilled left-foot effort, hit early, that gave Vaclav Hladky no chance.
Celtic completed their task with a late Callum McGregor penalty and the midfielder’s performance, along with winger James Forrest, who gave Saints left-back Calum Waters a torrid time, should have had national team boss Steve Clarke purring with satisfaction.
Throw Greg Taylor and Ryan Christie into the mix and that’s a handful of Celts all playing well and adopting a winning habit that will be absolute crucial to Scotland’s hopes of getting through the Euro 2020 play-offs at the end of the month.
Before that, of course, Celtic go to Ibrox on Sunday with confidence sky-high.
Even if they lose, which on current form seems unlikely, the league is won. For St Mirren, though, there is much work to be done and it has to be done better than it was at the weekend.
Anything they’d have got would have been a bonus but at no point did they look like a team that believed they could create an upset.
St Mirren hardly laid a glove on their hosts all afternoon and but for Hladky throwing himself around – particularly in the first half – this would have been a heavier defeat.
Paisley boss Jim Goodwin said: “We didn’t really get close enough to Celtic, we didn’t show enough aggression all
over the park. Celtic are miles ahead of anyone in this league.
“It’s quite scary really, they probably never got out of second gear this afternoon and still managed to put five past us so we’ve just got to take it on the chin.”
The Celtic manager was thrilled with the win, the performance and, of course, Griffiths.
Lennon said: “I’m delighted for Leigh, he looked more like his old self.
“The third goal was Leigh Griffiths, a quick turn and smashes it in the corner. We’ve not seen that from him in a while.
“The second goal was brilliantly worked and the first goal gave him a lot of confidence so he can be really happy with his day’s work.
“It will give him a huge lift. Now he knows he can still do it and we all knew he could.
“He has answered all his critics. People were saying he was finished here but that was never the case with him.
“My backroom team worked with him and the fitness coaches worked with him so he owes the club a lot and with performances like that he’s starting to repay it.
“It was an emphatic win and a clean sheet off the back of a hard game on
Wednesday. It could’ve been a tricky one but we dealt with it well.
“I’m pleased for Odsonne getting his goal as well and we could have had a few more. There was a good work ethic form us on and off the ball and I couldn’t have asked any more of the side.”
Now Lennon has a decision to make. Does he stick with 3-5-2 for Ibrox or does he go back to the 4-2-3-1 system that will almost certainly mean Edouard playing the lone striker role with Griffiths on the bench?
On Saturday, the renaissance man couldn’t have stated his case for a starting slot any more strongly.