All in good taste as Celts serve up pre-season feast
Old Firm celebrity chefs have been the order of the last few days with Gordon Ramsay running his eyes over the Rangers pre-season menu. Ange’s Bhoys able to whet the appetite
And it was Delia Smith’s turn to get a taste of Celtic’s recipe for success ahead of this campaign from the directors’ box at Parkhead yesterday.
Just what the Norwich majority shareholder made of Ange Postecoglou’s plan is anyone’s guess.
But a 2- 0 friendly win over the Canaries had the Hoops fans licking their lips at the prospect of opening their campaign against Aberdeen next Sunday.
To steal a Delia catchphrase, this was a dress rehearsal for the Dons which screamed out, ‘Let’s be ‘aving you.’
Goals in either half from Daizen Maeda and David Turnbull did the damage to make it three wins and three draws from a pre-season schedule which also included run- outs against Wiener Viktoria, Blackburn, Ostrava, Rapid Vienna and Legia Warsaw.
It was also 20 goals scored as another impressive caveat to their build- up bounce games.
This was a stylish and clinical display against a team which had been unbeaten in their own preparation games, including an impressive 3-0 rout of French giants Marseille.
It had the tag of a friendly but Kenny McLean dumped Reo Hatate onto the turf within a few seconds which required a word in the ear for the Scotland midfielder from referee Willie Collum.
There was an intensity to Celtic’s early play as they control led proceedings. Getting Jota on the ball out on the right was proving a potent ploy as the winger threatened with several probing runs.
Such was the dominance from the hosts in the first 10 minutes, keeper Joe Hart was used in a sweeper role and allowed to stray towards the halfway line in search of a bit of the action.
The system was straightforward, Cal lum McGregor sat deepest of a midfield three which allowed Matt O’Riley and Hatate to press forward to join Kyogo and Daizen Maeda in a series of surges.
Jota drifted in from the right as the main architect of all that was positive from the champions in the opening stages. It was as close to a good old 4- 3- 3 formation as you’ll see.
There was another familiar face in the Norwich side with former Hoops misfit Teemu Pukki leading the line and his header from a Milot Rashica’s cross dropped inches over Hart’s crossbar after a rare 18th-minute attack.
Jota was again the catalyst for Celtic’s first real opportunity moments later as he delivered for O’Riley to glance a header just wide but it was another slick and inventive passage of play from Postecoglou’s men.
Slowly but surely the Championship side found their stride and only a strong hand from Hart prevented Rashica’s low shot from finding a bottom corner in 25 minutes.
Grant Hanley gifted Celtic their next chance by passing out from the back straight to Jota and only a last- ditch challenge by Sam McCallum spared the Scotland defender the embarrassment of providing an assist as Celtic looked odds on to open the scoring.
It merely delayed the inevitable and another probing move in the 36th minute saw Josip Juranovic slam in a front-post cross which was flicked home by Maeda as keeper Tim Krul furiously claimed for an offside flag.
Juranovic did appear to be offside but the finish from the Japanese striker was all about ingenuity and awareness as he beat Krul.
McGregor should have added a second just before the break but he dwelled on the ball and found his shot from 16 yards blocked when he eventually pulled the trigger.
The traffic continued to flow towards Krul’s goal from the restart as Celtic enjoyed control of the contest and there was a confidence in possession across every department.
A Rashica shot from the edge of the box flew inches wide after another Norwich attacking foray but any threat from the English side was sporadic and all a bit too powderpuff.
Kyogo lofted a shot over as Celtic searched for a cushion to their lead and then came the raft of replacements in the 60th minute as Postecoglou made seven changes.
Their most recent new Bhoy Aaron Mooy wasn’t part of that batch though Moritz Jenz did make his debut in central defence.
Another Rashica shot rebounded off Hart’s face and out for the safety of a corner as Celtic lost their rhythm. But the home side doubled their advantage in the 66th minute with a trademark Turnbull strike which found the bottom corner.
There should have been a third for Liel Abada but the Israeli wildly blasted a shot over the top when a more composed finish was required.
Then it was left to Mooy to take his Parkhead bow as he was given the final 10 minutes, with the Aussie welcomed onto the pitch by the warmest of ovations from the Parkhead faithful.
There were no frills from the Australian who kept it simple as he slotted into the role vacated by Hatate.
There were also late run-outs for J ame s McCa r t h y a nd Chr istoper Jul l ien to complet e the ide a l preparation for next week’s Premiership opener
And the final headcount of 21 players used only served to underline a strength and depth at Postecoglou’s disposal heading into the new campaign.
CELTIC: Har t , Juranovic, Carter-Vickers, Welsh, Taylor, O’Riley, Hatate, McGregor, Maeda, Kyogo, Jota. Subs: Bain, Siegrist, Jullien, Jenz, Giakoumakis, Abada, Mooy, Turnbull, Ideguchi, Bernabei, Forrest, Ralston, McCarthy.