Gordon: The only contender for player of year is Griffiths
OF ALL the questions that have been asked of Celtic this season, perhaps the most pertinent is just where they might be without the contribution of Leigh Griffiths.
He bulged the net here for the 35th time this season – after being patched up by Celtic’s medical team in order to make the starting line-up – to break through a stubborn Partick Thistle outfit on the stroke of half-time, just as the vast Celtic support were starting to display signs of angst at the profligate showing from the champions.
It wasn’t that Ronny Deila’s side were playing poorly, in fact, this may have been their most fluent performance for a number of weeks, but they should have been at least a couple ahead by the time Griffiths tamed a bouncing ball in the home side’s box and flashed a snap-shot in off the post via the despairing palm of Tomas Cerny.
It was a goal that also owed a lot to the tenacity of Kieran Tierney, whose relentless pressing panicked David Amoo into conceding a throw-in, from which Gary Mackay-Steven got the ball to cross for Griffiths to finish.
The relief in the Jackie Husband stand where the visiting support were situated was palpable, and one punter summed up the feeling around the press box rather succinctly when he colourfully expressed his gratitude to a higher power for the presence of Griffiths in the hoops.
Goalkeeper Craig Gordon, who Celtic also owe a debt of gratitude as he spread himself to deny Kris Doolan when clean-through in the home side’s one real glimpse of goal in the opening half, admitted that the goals of Griffiths will perhaps be a critical factor if he and his team-mates are to retain their Premiership crown for a fifth time in succession.
“I don’t mind that Leigh Griffiths has scored so many of our goals – as long as he keeps doing it,” he said. “Leigh is phenomenal in front of goal and will probably be annoyed he didn’t get more on Saturday.
“He’s always waiting for that chance and playing on the shoulder. He’s always looking to get through the middle and hit teams where it hurts. If he gets a chance you can pretty much rely on him hitting the target and more often than not it’s the back of the net.
“I’m pretty sure there aren’t any other Player of the Year contenders. He’ll probably clear up everything but let’s make sure he does it until the end of the season first – I don’t want to give him anything too soon!”
When the excellent Callum McGregor took advantage of Callum Booth being caught out of position to confidently skip around Dan Seaborne and net an expertly-finished – and thoroughly deserved – goal of his own, Celtic looked home and hosed.
That was until Erik Sviatchenko rather needlessly handed them a lifeline with five minutes remaining, tugging Stevie Lawless back in the area to end a 68-game wait for a penalty for Alan Archibald’s men. Thistle’s players looked at each other incredulously, having no doubt given up on nominating a penalty-taker long ago, but Sean Welsh coolly accepted the responsibility to set up a nervier finish than the game had any right to really have on the balance of play.
Celtic saw it out for a deserved victory, and their celebrations at the end told a story as they managed to keep Aberdeen at arm’s length for another week.
“I thought we played well and even after losing the goal we steadied the ship and went on to finish the job,” Gordon added.
“When we did concede we responded well and it was a professional job.
“I felt we were pretty much in control in the second half and kept the ball pretty well and made plenty of chances. We should have made it a lot easier for ourselves than what it ended but overall it was a very good performance.
“Aberdeen are in there. They’re only one point behind. They have always been there but whether they’re admitting it or not doesn’t make any difference to the job we need to do.
“We need to concentrate on ourselves, get out there and get the points on the board. If there is more pressure on us then it didn’t show on Saturday – we went out and played really well.”
For the home side, the match ended a week in which they had taken on the top three sides in the country and emerged with nothing but the cold comfort of credit to show for their efforts. Perhaps the most surprising thing from the day from their point of view was the lack of belief that seemed prevalent given creditable showings against Hearts and Aberdeen.
“That’s what the manager said,” said defender Seaborne.
“We could have took it upon ourselves to drive on a bit more. He said we should have taken the game to them because in parts they were quite open.”
The next three fixtures for Partick Thistle are a little kinder.
“If we play like this, we’ll win every game, or at least get points out of each