CELTIC began this campaign fighting on four fronts. After failing on three of them by January, they could ill-afford to let the final one slip by, and they kept alive their hopes of at least salvaging something from this sorry season by securing a serene passage past Falkirk in the Scottish Cup.
It was goalless at the interval despite complete dominance from the home side, with Celtic’s wastefulness in front of goal being the main contributory factor rather than any particularly strong resistance from a Falkirk side who just looked happy enough to get out of town without a hiding.
They just about managed that in the end, but Celtic finally got their shooting boots on in the second half as James Forrest marked an impressive first start since September’s Europa League qualifier in Riga with the opener, before Ryan Christie finally scored with a shot from range and Moi Elyounoussi grabbed another to ensure the scoreline vaguely matched the pattern of play.
The other notable aspect of the team news was the return of Leigh Griffiths for the first time since January, which was when he last found the net, incidentally. If prospective new manager Eddie Howe was watching on, it would be fair to say that some put forward their cases to hang around past the summer a little more forcibly than others.
Forrest, for instance, impressed rather more than the striker. He was at the centre of some nice passing play from Celtic in forward areas early on, which eventually culminated in David Turnbull bringing out the first save from Robbie Mutch as he tipped the ball wide low to his right.
From the corner, Turnbull and Forrest combined again to work the ball to Griffiths on the penalty spot, but the striker sclaffed wide when it looked easier to score.
The frontman looked rustier than the underside of the Titanic, and he wasn’t turning that much quicker either. His next involvement was to take a fresh-air swipe at the ball from another great position in the centre of the Falkirk box, and the ball was eventually scrambled clear.
To be fair to Griffiths, he was right at the thick of the action and kept coming back for more. He was screaming for a penalty when the ball ricocheted his way inside the box, feeling he was bundled to the ground by Lewis Neilson after a very decent first touch set up a shooting opportunity. Referee John Beaton was unmoved though.
Griffiths couldn’t get a clean contact on another good chance from yet another Forrest cutback before the interval, and by this stage he could and probably really should have had a hat-trick.
Norwegian assistant manager Brede Hangeland had made some headlines over here recently by claiming that Kristoffer Ajer sometimes looked like a senior player going up against juniors, but it was hard to argue against the point at times here as his gazelle-like stride took him past Falkirk defenders like they weren’t there at all. One such burst saw him reach the edge of the visitors’ box with minimal effort before curling a shot inches past the top right-hand corner.
To be fair, two of the Falkirk line-up actually were only 17 years of age, with Dundee United loanees Neilson and Kai Fotheringham impressing amidst the away resistance.
The second half started as the first ended, with Celtic pouring pressure down on the Falkirk box, but for all their territorial dominance, they weren’t really troubling Mutch.
That was until Forrest, perhaps annoyed by the chances he was creating being spurned, decided to cut inside and take a pop himself. He got a bit of luck, with the ball glancing off the head of Falkirk defender Neilson before flying into the net, but you could hardly say Celtic didn’t deserve it considering their supremacy.
After knocking for so long, the door was now caving in, and moments later it was two. Christie’s radar may have been off this season for the most part, and the Falkirk social media team made light of this fact after an errant first-half effort with a tweet that read: “Ryan Christie shoots from range and... well you know the rest.”
It may have raised a laugh and got them a fair bit of engagement, but it also left them a little red-faced as the Scotland man finally pulled one out of the bag, striking a low left-foot shot from outside the area that found Mutch’s bottom left-hand corner to end the contest.
Griffiths made way for Albian Ajeti after a frustrating hour, before Forrest then passed up a gilt-edged opportunity of his own as the ball bounced off Mutch from a Turnbull shot, the winger dragging the rebound wide of an open goal.
Forrest made way for Elyounoussi, and it wasn’t long before he was in on the act, cushioning a cross from Jonjoe Kenny and dinking the ball over Mutch and into the net as he came out to dive at his feet to round off a straight-forward evening for Celtic.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel