GIORGOS CREATES A BUZZ
Greek hitman helps see off Wasps with predatory goal on bruising night for Bhoys
SHORN of the services of his two Japanese strikers, Ange Postecoglou will have to lean on Giorgos Giakoumakis in the coming fortnight.
Asked to step up on his first start since October, the Greek got Celtic going in this Scottish Cup tie with a finish that showed some of the instincts that made him the Eredivisie’s top marksman last term.
A £2.5million signing from VV Venlo, Giakoumakis has been slowed by injuries since moving to Glasgow but is clearly the kind of forward who thrives as a penalty-box poacher.
And with Kyogo Furuhashi injured and Daizen Maeda set to head home for his country’s imminent World Cup qualifiers, the emphasis will be on supplying a plenty of service into the targetman in the games against Hearts, Dundee United and, perhaps most crucially, Rangers on February 2.
Giakoumakis won’t be the only one required to step up. Once again Celtic were beset by injury problems but for a change the problems could not be attributed to muscle fatigue.
Liel Abada and Yosuke Ideguchi hobbled out of this match after coming off second best in the tackle but the impact injury suffered by captain Callum McGregor threatens to be most damaging of all.
As expected, Postecoglou had made changes for the tie but the inclusion of senior statesmen like McGregor and Joe Hart underlined the importance of this match to the club’s season.
There was also spots for Tom Rogic and Maeda, who are about to rack up the air miles with Australia and Japan.
A wake-up was provided early as Tony Ralston was caught on the ball by Mohamed Niang, the tackle feeding Connor Sammon, who, spotting Hart off his line, attempted a bold shot from distance that missed by yards.
For want of a better word, Niang was proving a waspish presence in the opening stages. Stephen Welsh, Rogic and Ralston again felt the force of the on-loan Partick Thistle man’s commitment to chase and harry for every loose ball.
The suspicion was that the Senegalese could not possibly sustain this intensity, a wider issue for Barry Ferguson’s part-time team.
The task became extra difficult with the concession of the opening goal.
Liam Scales was the provider, dispatching a cross from the left that is clearly the kind of fare on which Giakoumakis might thrive.
The Greek finished top scorer in the Netherlands last season and the ease of his side-foot finish offered proof that, if serviced correctly, he could yet be a success in Glasgow.
The arrival of Maeda might complicate things but, for this match, the Japanese was accommodated in a wide-left role, with Abada on the other flank.
Before the Israeli doubled the away side’s advantage, Celtic withstood two hits.
The first, a powerful Sammon shot, was blocked by Hart’s knee.
Celtic didn’t get away with the second one as skipper McGregor came off worst after a thudding challenge with Adam King in the middle of the park. The impact seemed to catch the Scotland man on the side of his face and, after some careful medical attention, he was replaced by James McCarthy.
Abada’s goal settled things before the break and the finish was wonderfully executed with his left foot from 22 yards. Keeper David Hutton looked beaten from contact and the ball sailed firmly into the top corner.
Alloa, without a win since beating Bonnyrigg Rose in the previous round, were now in damagelimitation mode.
Postecoglou was forced into some unscheduled rotation as Abada and then Ideguchi succumbed to injury, the latter caught in a tackle that drew a booking for Niang.
Abada made way for Jota and the Portuguese showed superb vision to arrow a cross into the path of thee darting Maeda, but the former Yokohama Marinos man’s header was turned onto the post by Hutton.
Giakoumakis was presented with a perfect opportunity to double his tally, the left foot of Scales again providing the pin-point delivery for the Greek.
This time the forward jumped a little too early and the header lacked purchase as Hutton gathered gratefully.
Maeda was just as wasteful when slipped in by Rogic, excitedly thrashing his shot wide.
If there’s been one criticism of Postecoglou’s team during a 19-game unbeaten domestic run it’s been a tendency not to turn dominance and chance creation into more goals.
And so Alloa made fashioned a goal that made for an improbably tense conclusion to the game.
Substitute Jon Robertson did the set-up work, digging out a cross from the byline with Sammon climbing to plant his back-post header past Hart.
Alloa stopper Andy Graham kept his side in touch with two blocks on Giakoumakis, the second at the end of a slick move involving Nir Bitton and Maeda.
Alloa had one chance to level but Alan Trouten couldn’t keep his shot down.
With the lead so slender, any plans Postecoglou had to ease Christopher Jullien back into action were necessarily scrapped.
After more than a year out, the mere sight of the Frenchman warming up with the substitutes was of some consolation on another bruising night for Celtic’s walking wounded.