GRIFFITHS IS THE VITAL SPARK
Striker springs from bench to rejuvenate lacklustre champions
AT times, you wonder if Celtic are intent on making this title race rather more interesting than it really ought to be.
When Brendan Rodgers awakens this morning, the stark facts flashing through his mind will be that his side clocked up yet another win to extend the gap at the top of the Premiership to 11 points. But much of the minor detail will irk him.
For 55 minutes here, his side were ponderous and unconvincing. A far cry from the rejuvenated outfit which was expected to return from Dubai.
Facing a Partick Thistle side that were energised, organised and blessed with a goalkeeper in inspired form, the champions laboured for long periods.
Mikael Lustig’s clumsy foul on Miles Storey, which allowed Conor Sammon to put Thistle in front from the spot summed it up.
For 21 minutes thereafter, the home fans were allowed to dream of a result not witnessed since Tony Blair was in opposition and Dolly the Sheep was but a twinkle in a scientist’s eye.
Had it not been for the rashness of Mustapha Dumbuya in crashing into Scott Sinclair inside his own box, Celtic might well have struggled to find a way back.
As it was, Sinclair’s conversion from 12 yards and an exquisite finish by substitute Leigh Griffiths settled the affair. But this was a long way from the plain sailing most had anticipated.
Rodgers has mostly cut a calm figure as the transfer window has flown by. This might well accelerate whatever plans he has.
Yet again, Moussa Dembele was nowhere to be seen. The Frenchman failed to make it off the bench and you wonder if there is a danger that next Wednesday might come and go with him being a forgotten man. It’s an intriguing situation.
Partick took so much out of the contest apart from a point which would not have been ill-deserved. Sammon and Storey were excellent while debutant Baily Cargill slotted in seamlessly at the back.. They ran out of legs in the final quarter but never lacked heart.
Unchanged from the weekend victory over Brechin City, Dembele’s hopes of a timely outing in the shop window would have to wait. That meant a starting place for Odsonne Edouard, with Kristoffer Ajer again trusted to steer the side towards another clean sheet.
Thistle’s shortening injury list allowed Dumbuya and Abdul Osman to start their first league game of the year. Cargill, the loan signing from Bournemouth, went straight into the team.
Celtic certainly started with the same level of intensity which had allowed them to progress in the Scottish Cup with such ease.
Picking up Kieran Tierney’s cross in the opening minute, Edouard ought to have done better than poke his shot wide from six yards. The same applied to Dedryck Boyata, who controlled Sinclair’s corner after a deft flick-on by Lustig. Again Cerny was untroubled.
Thistle seemed intent on making life hard for themselves. Attempting to make up an extra man in midfield, Niall Keown’s indecision was his undoing. Olivier Ntcham picked his pocket and fed Edouard. The young Frenchman worked Cerny from ten yards but it was to prove a routine save.
Ntcham looked like Celtic’s best bet of finding the opener. Never shy at trying his luck from distance, he worried Cerny with a powerful low strike from 25 yards that could only have been inches wide of the upright.
Ajer remains a calculated risk at times. Trying to dribble his way down the flank, he ran out of ideas and was dispossessed by Ryan Edwards. The ball was shuttled to Blair Spittal and then to Storey. He drifted inside off the touchline before warming Craig Gordon’s gloves with a meaty strike.
Another Sinclair corner led to Ntcham picking up a loose ball. He rolled in Edouard who, with his back to goal, tried to convert with a back-heel. Cerny wasn’t to be fooled.
The moment of high drama arrived 11 minutes from the break. Lustig was under no pressure but a heavy touch gifted Storey possession. There was only ever going to be one winner of the foot race. Sensing he was never getting there, the Swede impeded his opponent with the slightest of touches.
Credit to referee John Beaton, who did not need to see the player hit the turf to point to the spot.
Sammon waited until Gordon committed and fired the ball low into the corner.
Sinclair tested Cerny with a flashing strike just before the break but again the Czech was its equal. The half-time whistle was sweet relief for Thistle.
Lustig, booked for conceding the penalty, failed to reappear after the break, with Griffiths drafted into a revamped 3-5-2.
Thistle, though, didn’t rest on their laurels. Spittal worked Gordon with a clever strike in the opening seconds of the half.
Edouard returned fire by forcing Cerny into another low stop then Griffiths fired into the frame of the keeper while one-on-one.
The manner in which his side conceded the equaliser will have infuriated Alan Archibald. Playing his first game of the season, Dumbuya simply got a routine tackle on Sinclair inside his own box all wrong. There was no decision to make.
The winger dusted himself down and won the battle of nerves with the keeper by sending him the wrong way.
What a game Cerny was having. He denied both James Forrest and Callum McGregor in quick succession to keep his side believing. His low stretch to deny Tierney finding the net with a right-footer was simply stunning.
At the other end, Sammon and Edwards were hair’s breadths away from putting their side back in front.
However, Celtic wore Partick down with their movement and guile. Eventually even Cerny could resist no more.
Forrest was the instigator, his acceleration sending Partick scampering back towards their own goal. Scott Brown’s touch to Griffiths was delightful. The striker stabbed the ball beyond the helpless Cerny from five yards to turn the game on its head.
Despite the slender advantage, the outcome thereafter had an air of inevitability about it.