What a difference a year makes
GIAKOUMAKIS IS SHOWING HIS TRUE WORTH AFTER COPPING FLAK FOR LIVI PENALTY MISS
IT was 24 hours before Halloween 2021 and Giorgos Giakoumakis found himself starring in his own personal horror movie. Stepping up to take a stoppage-time penalty at Parkhead, the Greece international striker’s tame spot-kick was saved by Max Stryjek to secure a 0-0 draw for plucky Livingston.
The spot-kick failure meant Celtic missed out on the chance to leapfrog Rangers and go top of the table.
The knives that were already out for the underwhelming £2.5million signing from Dutch side VVV-Venlo would be sharpened further amid an injury-plagued first five months as a Celtic player which saw him find the net just once.
Fast forward 12 months to the very day and Giakoumakis has gone from zero to hero as he prepares to face Livingston again tomorrow. This time, at the Tony Macaroni Arena.
A strong second half of last season saw the 27-year-old finish joint-top scorer in the Premiership.
On Tuesday night, he scored his first ever Champions League goal in a 1-1 draw with Shakhtar Donetsk, even if the experience was soured as Celtic crashed out of Europe with a game to spare.
As the former AEK Athens forward prepares to exact revenge on Livi, he travels along the M8 boasting a formidable strike rate of 21 goals in his 20 starts for Celtic to date.
Hailing Giakoumakis’ character in reacting to the spot-kick setback and the subsequent fallout, Ange Postecoglou believes his frontman is capable of delivering even more.
‘It’s part of being a striker at this football club — it’s not an easy existence,’ said the Celtic boss.
‘You are judged on your goals and on the responsibility you take. Giako had a disrupted pre-season and he came in late to the club.
‘That was his first real chance to make an impact by taking that penalty in the final minute.
‘It didn’t go well for him but he knuckled down, didn’t shirk his responsibility and wanted to get back out there. The goals speak for themselves since then.
‘He’s made a real impact, domestically and in Europe — and there’s more to come.
‘The better the team plays, the more opportunities the strikers will have to score goals.’
Tomorrow, Celtic will face a Livingston team offering a different kind of challenge to those posed by Real, RB Leipzig or Shakhtar in Champions League Group F.
While Postecoglou favours a high-pressing, swashbuckling attack himself, he appreciates there is room in football for all different styles and formations.
He is full of respect for Livingston’s David Martindale and even sees parallels between himself and the Lions boss in the demands they place on their players. ‘There’s no right and wrong way to play the game,’ Postecoglou insisted. ‘And I think people sell Livingston short if they think they are one-dimensional.
‘They work awfully hard, but that’s the basis of every football team. It’s the basis of our team.
‘That’s the bit I think people overlook. Those kinds of games are always a challenge, irrespective of the style of play.
‘If you are up against a team who are going to work hard physically then you are in for a tough battle. It doesn’t matter where they are on the ladder or what style they play.
‘Yeah, the styles of the sides might be a bit different. But both teams pride themselves on their hard work. From our perspective, we need to match their hard work.’
In the wake of his side’s European exit, Postecoglou targeted winning the league again to book their place in the Champions League for next season.
And anything other than three points tomorrow will be a big setback for a team that starts the weekend four points clear of second-placed Rangers.
‘Our priority is the league every year — because that’s how you qualify for the Champions League,’ Postecoglou reiterated.
‘Our job is not to be in the Champions League every five years. Our job is to be a Champions League side every year — and that means winning the league.
‘That will always be our priority as long as I’m here.
‘The league is our No 1 target because that gives us the platform to grow as a football team. That won’t change, irrespective of other competitions we are in. The league is our priority.’
Celtic have dropped points at Livingston under the management of Brendan Rodgers, Neil Lennon and Postecoglou. Recent signing Sead Haksabanovic has been well warned of what lies in wait on the artificial surface at the Tony Macaroni Arena.
‘It is my first visit but my teammates have told me about it,’ the Montenegro international winger said.
‘They said it is tough going and playing there. But every game is tough in this league and also in the Champions League, so it is like they say — there are no easy games.
‘We just have to score more goals than them.’
Haksabanovic will be hoping for a quieter afternoon than last Saturday in Edinburgh when the introduction of VAR to Scottish football contributed to a chaotic 4-3 win over Hearts at Tynecastle.
The 23-year-old came off the bench in Gorgie and believes the way his new team saw out the win was a mark of their character.
He is now hoping to make a steady contribution after finding his feet following his move from Russian side Rubin Kazan on a five-year deal in August.
‘The Hearts game was good,’ he said. ‘It demanded the best of us. If we want to be the best, we have to beat the best. We showed again that we can turn around a game and win if we have to.’