ROGIC IS FINALLY UP AND RUNNING
Forgotten man makes a big impression in his first start for two years
GIVEN the hoopla and hyperbole that accompanied his i nitial move f rom Central Coast Mariners, Tom Rogic was never truly going to become the forgotten man of Celtic. For nigh on two-an-a-half years, however, a succession of debilitating injuries had given rise to the notion that, as far as the Australian and Scottish football were concerned, it simply was not meant to be.
Such has been the length of his suffering, the 22-year-old has had good reason to wonder if he had committed some kind of heinous crime in a previous life.
This was, lest we forget, a player who drew lavish praise from revered Socceroos like possibly none before him. As fine a natural talent as his nation had produced, we were told. A superstar in the making — so long as his progress was unhindered.
Yet, up until the 28th minute of his side’s game at Firhill, Rogic appeared destined to be a man cursed. One drowning in thoughts of ‘what might have been’. How sharply that particular narrative changed direction.
His casual finish from six yards — his first in a Celtic jersey — not only set his side on their way to a perfunctory win. It illuminated a performance that was as good as any in a side which dominated the game from start to finish.
As he left the field to be replaced with Gary Mackay-Steven shortly before the hour mark, Rogic departed with his head held high and — finally — a future at Celtic stretching out in front of him.
His task of retaining a regular place in Ronny Deila’s side should not be underestimated, though. The Norwegian’s team remain unrecognisable from the unconvincing, stuttering outfit that cast points to the wind amid multiple European exits a year back.
They were richly deserving of this win that takes them back to the summit of the Premiership table. Kris Commons removed all doubt from the equation with a fine second goal after the interval but, truthfully, Thistle got off lightly here.
Their manager Alan Archibald replaced the suspended Frederic Frans with Jack Hendry, while Liam Lindsay and David Wilson were also drafted into the side which dr e w last week at Hamilton.
Deila made the same number of changes. Leigh Griffiths passed a fitness test to replace t he suspended Nadir Cifti up front, Commons was selected ahead of Mackay-Steven and Rogic — deputising for skipper Scott Brown — made his first start since September 2013.
Griffiths displayed no signs of the calf strain that had threatened to sideline him as he rose to connect with Emilio Izaguirre’s cross in the second minute, although he could not keep his header down.
It was a bright start by the champions. Commons looked to find a way through the compact home defence with a neat swivel and strike that failed to evade Tomas Cerny’s reach.
With a central defence with a combined age of 39 — Lindsay is 19 while Hendry is the senior partner at the ripe old age of 20 — it was imperative that Thistle did not lose their nerve early on.
Too often, though, clearances in the general direction of Ryan Stevenson were simply invitations for the next visiting attack.
The departure of St uar t Armstrong on the 20-minute mark, with what appeared to be a muscle complaint, only briefly disrupted the flow of traffic towards Cerny’s goal.
Nir Bitton’s deadweight pass down the left released Izaguirre. The Honduran’s centre found Griffiths but a combination of Cerny and Hendry maintained parity. You sensed, however, that the goal was coming.
Virgil van Dijk’s customary charge into enemy territory ended with a 30- yard strike that rebounded off the upright.
Rogic, naturally relishing this belated opportunity to prove his worth, flashed a half- chance a yard over, but the Australian would not have long to wait for a moment he must have dreamed of a thousand times.
Callum McGregor, the man who r e pl ac e d Armstrong, instigated the move with a dart down the left. His cross picked out Griffiths and, for once, the striker’s instinct told him not to go for goal.
Instead, he cushioned the ball into Rogic’s path. His cool, almost nonchalant, volleyed finish belied the frustrations that had punctuated his time in Scotland up until that moment.
The marginal scoreline at that point painted an i naccurate picture of Celtic’s superiority. Griffiths almost did it justice after latching on to Dedryck Boyata’s long ball but he fired over the top from 16 yards.
By now well and truly off the l eash, van Dijk embarrassed Lindsay on the touchline with some outrageous skill but the subsequent shot — i nto the side-netting — was a letdown.
Thistle’s hopes of rolling out their own passing game just did not get off the ground. Celtic’s relentless highpress put paid to that.
The hosts’ f i rst- half highpoints amounted to Callum Booth having a strike blocked by Bitton and a desperate looking penalty claim when the same player f i red a cross at Mikael Lustig, while t he Celti c skipper for the day was f acing away from the ball.
The Jags threw on Mathias Pogba five minutes after the restart in a bid to turn the tide but it was a thankless task. Commons claimed Celtic’s second on 63 minutes by spinning Booth, chipping the advancing Cerny and hammering home from a matter of inches. Griffiths’ attempt to add a third was thwarted by the flying figure of Cerny. In a rare flurry forward, Booth almost set up Pogba for a tap-in at the far post only for van Dijk’s timely intervention to break up the move at the cost of a corner.
By that time, Rogic had left the field to a standing ovation. His disappointment at having his afternoon cut short will be tempered with the realisation that he has finally arrived as a Celtic player.