Hosts make history as Celtic fall
LIVINGSTON recorded the first victory over Celtic in their history at the Tony Macaroni Arena yesterday – and dealt their opponents a savage blow in their bid to win a ninth consecutive Ladbrokes Premiership title in the process.
The ordering off of Ryan Christie midway through the first half after a crude challenge on Scott Robinson was a huge setback for Neil Lennon’s side and Gary Holt’s team took full advantage. Second-half goals from Robinson and Lyndon Dykes secured a fine win.
So did Christie deserve to walk? Were the Almondvale club worthy winners? What on earth happened to the Parkhead outfit? And what does it all mean going forward? Here’s what we learned from an incidentpacked afternoon.
Referee Willie Collum wasted no time in reaching for his red card after Christie had scythed down Robinson directly in front of him. It was the correct decision.
The Scotland player was fortunate his rival, who required medical attention before resuming the match, wasn’t seriously injured. He could quite easily have suffered a broken leg. He was lucky his limb was planted on the turf when contact was made.
Being at a numerical disadvantage proved costly for the away side. They would have fared far better with a full complement of players. It was the first time in no fewer than 20 games that Celtic have failed to score and their first domestic defeat of the season.
There are still 30 league games to be played and 90 points up for grabs in the 2019/20 campaign. But could this defeat prove costly come May? There is, on the evidence of the opening nine games, not going to be too much between the two Glasgow clubs. Every dropped point is important. This loss, then, could prove decisive. the second tier can be considered, then so should Dykes (below).