KRIS PUTS BOOT IN TO BOLSTER BHOYS
Def lection enough to leave Celts in the clear
THE left boot worn by Kris Commons yesterday is already worth a fair bit more than the one he parted with on the fake farewell last Saturday.
Commons, who tossed his footwear into the New Douglas Park crowd in what was deemed a goodbye gesture, called upon on a replacement set to master Ross County.
A shoot-on-sight policy that didn’t quite come off when he was the most likely Celtic scorer in a stodgy first half paid dividends after the interval to help the champions steal a march on Aberdeen.
His 52nd-minute hit struck the leg of Paul Quinn for a lucky loop over Antonio Reguero to decide a fairly desperate contest and open up a three-point gap at the top.
And without the Bolton Wanderers target and creative force of the side, curiously withdrawn by Ronny Deila with 15 minutes left, Celtic clung on with an extra centre-half in Efe Ambrose to survive some late raids from the host side.
If that’s what life is going to be like without Commons, then Aberdeen will be encouraged for the next four months, while Rangers will be given a boost for Sunday’s League Cup semi-final should the 31-year-old depart this week.
John Guidetti, without a goal since November 30, and Leigh Griffiths, yesterday charged by police for an alleged offence in an Edinburgh pub last year, both drew blanks while Commons always shaped up like the lock-breaker Celtic needed.
County boss Jim McIntyre was quick to learn his lesson from the 5-0 defeat doled out by Celtic in October when the champions were four goals up by the 34th minute.
At Parkhead before the turn of the year he stifled Celtic in a stalemate and, for the third meeting in as many months, there would be no shame in trying the same tactics.
Albeit minus Richie Brittain with a torn hamstring, County’s solid structure tested the patience and the probing of the visitors.
Only when Scott Brown’s backheel flick to Emilio Izaguirre opened up an imaginative avenue to goal did Celtic threaten in the opening half hour. Commons, however, couldn’t keep his back-post header down from Izaguirre’s delivery.
Deila pleads for his team to play at pace but, when confronted by a side detailed to throttle that ambition at source, Celtic often struggle to scheme at speed. The craft of Commons helped Celtic create more menace towards the end of the half.
Scott Boyd, just as he’d done at Parkhead, was excellent in blocking shots at goal and he frustrated Commons here. Filip Kiss then conceded a free-kick on the edge of the area and Commons picked himself up to force Reguero into pushing away his dipping attempt.
They were perhaps fortunate not to be chasing the game by that point. Izaguirre played the man, Craig Curran, at the back post instead of the ball that had pinged back and forth across Craig Gordon’s goal on the only occasion Celtic had to defend deep. Referee Kevin Clancy rejected those penalty claims.
Gordon coughed up a Graham Carey drive but there were no takers and McIntyre’s complaint all day long would have been that his men didn’t counter with much belief after doing the right things when sitting off Celtic.
Liam Boyce, a late first-half replacement for the injured Tony Dingwall, led the County line after the break but the enforced adjustment had little time to take positive effect. Celtic were brisk on the break with Commons at the heart of a move that culminated in Reguero denying Griffiths and Jamie Reckord’s block stopping a strike from Guidetti on the follow-up.
The on-loan Swede continues to drive his transfer price down. After netting 11 in his first 10 games, he went six appearances without a goal before Deila kept him benched throughout the back-to-back wins over Hamilton and Motherwell.
Eligible to play against Inter Milan, Guidetti was salivating earlier in the season about that prospect and the dream of grabbing a hat-trick against Rangers.
If he can string three starts together right now, that will be a surprise. Frustration boiled over as he squared up to Quinn near the end. At least that ended in a hug.
Will that be an example for Peter Lawwell and Commons to follow over the club’s contract talks with their star man?
It was no surprise that Commons was the spark for the winner. His speculative strike from 30 yards got the assistance his gamble required.
After Commons let fly, Quinn turned his back and the connection from his calf took the ball on a looping passage over his helpless keeper and into the net.
County have picked up just one point since their Parkhead heroics and, with Jake Jervis on for extra presence up top, only came close to snatching another on 80 minutes.
Boyce cut inside Adam Matthews to whip a shot across goal and Gordon twice denied Boyd, but they had become daring too late in the day.
At least that’s the last McIntyre will see of Celtic this season, while their rivals still have the champions to contend with down the stretch of the relegation scrap.