GRIFFITHS SILENCES ALL TALK OF A SQUABBLE WITH BOSS RODGERS
CANCEL the Philadelphia lawyer and put the pre-nup back in the locked drawer. Talk of a squabble between Brendan Rodgers and Leigh Griffiths can be dismissed as a work of fantasy.
Three games without a kick in earnest, the striker’s elongated exile from the Celtic side had become the talk of the steamy in the east end of Glasgow. Despite his words on social media yesterday, another seat on the bench last night prompted further questions.
With 22 minutes remaining, the emphatic answer duly arrived when he shook hands with Odsonne Edouard on the touchline and made his entrance. Rested and raring to go, he looks primed for a central role in Celtic’s hectic Christmas schedule, which begins at Tynecastle on Sunday. There will be no messy divorce.
The half-chance the Scotland international must have spent the past fortnight longing for never arrived, but there was much about his game on the limited time he was on the field which still impressed. Griffiths (right) certainly looks none the worse for his short stint of inactivity.
The energy his cameo role provided was just what Rodgers needed at that juncture. Two goals to the good at the break, Celtic made hard work of putting Hamilton to bed, although it would be stretching matters to suggest Martin Canning’s men looked like denying the champions a 69th domestic game without defeat. Olivier Ntcham capped a man-of-the-match display with a ferocious strike to open the scoring before Danny Redmond followed suit to level. Just as Accies were dreaming of preserving parity until the break, though, they froze. James Forrest and Scott Sinclair struck within 60 seconds to settle the outcome. Celtic were profligate in the second half and allowed Rakish Bingham to strike the upright before seeing the game out. They have seemingly mastered the art of winning while being somewhat below par. The sight of his players wilting in the last 20 minutes at Easter Road last Sunday moved Rodgers to ring the changes.
Kieran Tierney, Jozo Simunovic and Mikael Lustig, three players who had also endured the strain of international commitments last month, were benched, with Nir Bitton, Kristoffer Ajer and Stuart Armstrong drafted in.
Canning’s approach was even more radical. Just six players who started the weekend defeat to St Johnstone survived the cull.
The unfamiliar left-back role Celtic’s Callum McGregor was asked to fill didn’t prevent him from threatening.
Bitton was the beneficiary of his early surge, the Israeli forcing Gary Woods into a solid stop.
The flat atmosphere seemed to have no effect on Celtic’s appetite. Armstrong grazed the roof of the net with a strike before Ntcham worried Woods with a floating shot from Armstrong’s corner. Setting out to contain Celtic in a 5-4-1, Hamilton’s resolve lasted just 12 minutes. McGregor was the instigator, his terrific pass sending Sinclair in behind on the left. His cross from the bye-line asked much of Ntcham but the answer was emphatic. Catching the ball full on the volley, the French midfielder left Woods without an earthly with a wondrous strike. Hamilton were far too passive. One gallop down the right by Ajer was the case in point. Canning rightly asked his players why the right-back was allowed to travel so far at will before Dougie Imrie finally impeded him.
Only a smart stop by Woods denied Ntcham a second from the edge of the box and kept the visitors in the contest. So much so that Hamilton restored parity before the half hour came up.
Bitton was too casual in clearing his lines. Darian MacKinnon chased him down and dispossessed him.
Squaring the ball to Redmond, he implored him to shoot. He could have saved his breath. Spotting Craig Gordon marginally off his line, the man from Liverpool could not have picked his spot any better. To the delight of the visiting pocket of fans, the ball flew into the top right-hand corner.
Selected ahead of Griffiths, Edouard struggled to make an impact. He rose well to meet Armstrong’s in-swinging free-kick before the break only to guide his header over the top.
Just as Accies were beginning to contemplate smuggling a share of the spoils up the tunnel, reality hit.
It only took one majestic pass by Armstrong to cut them open. Forrest flew off his man’s shoulder, sidestepped the advancing Woods and placed the ball beyond the desperate dive of Grant Gillespie.
Within 60 seconds, the scorer had turned provided. As Forrest picked out Sinclair, the Englishman seemed to have nowhere to go. Momentarily transfixed, he rocked his hips from side to side to flummox his markers. His right-foot finish into the far corner was exquisite.
The result beyond all reasonable doubt, the only question for Celtic in the second half was how ruthless they wanted to be.
Edouard’s killer instinct was certainly wanting when Scott Brown sent him clear on goal. Woods commendably keeping the score at three.
Rodgers granted the Celtic fans their wish on 68 minutes with Griffiths replacing Edouard.
Hamilton still had their moments. Greg Docherty left Dedryck Boyata for dead before squaring to Bingham. The striker skewed his shot horribly beyond the far post.
Docherty himself passed up a fine chance to halve the deficit. Outmuscling Brown as he reached the edge of the box, his shot ran weakly across goal.
Simunovic seemed determined to make a game of it. A woeful backpass gifted Bingham an unwarranted opening. The Englishman did the hard part by clipping his shot beyond Gordon only to hit the far post.
Jonny Hayes replaced Forrest and breathed some life into Celtic towards the end. One mazy run and shot ended with Woods beating the ball clear but reminded the watching public of his ability.
With five games in 13 days before the winter break, there will be other opportunities.