Celtic dig-out vital win in Dingwall ahead of challenging run of fixtures

The Celtic Star

·7 October 2024

Celtic dig-out vital win in Dingwall ahead of challenging run of fixtures

Although we were hard to watch at stages yesterday, especially in the first half, the three points we took home from Dingwall were huge in the context of this season…

Celtic have got off to a flier during the opening period of this campaign, winning plaudits amongst fans and pundits alike for their performances, which have at times been scintillating.

After the huge disappointment against Dortmund it was vital that we got back to winning ways, and although it was far from the exciting football we have become accustomed to recently, the three points we won are worth exactly the same as the ones we gained when we blew away St Johnstone the previous week.

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I had my fears coming in to this one. I’m pretty sure the players travelled home from Germany last week feeling humbled and disappointed like the rest of us did (although thankfully they won’t have had to endure a two day hangover on top of it all like some of us).

As a fan heading there with high expectations it was a chastening experience to watch this team get toren apart, but I imagine it hurt these players even more as I’m pretty sure they also felt they could go to Dortmund and put up a proper challenge against last seasons Champions League finalists.

That’s why I was worried about yesterday. I feared that the brutality of Tuesday night would be a hard memory to shake off so soon for these players, and I think they definitely showed signs of a group still reeling from that galling defeat during their runout in the Highlands.

The high pace press and attacks were nowhere to be seen. It all looked a bit pedestrian. As the clock ticked past the hour mark it was hard to see where a goal was going to come from.

The introduction of some fresh legs added a fresh impetus to our game and we finally got our rewards with a rather fortunate first goal. As Ross County tired I felt the three points were there for the taking and Kuhn’s winner showed how far he’s improved under Brendan Rodgers.

The composure he showed in that situation was brilliant and kudos must also go to the manager who kept him on the pitch while a host of earlier subs were being made, clearly trusting the German was capable of creating that moment of magic that was required.

It’s an old cliche but it’s true that leagues are won on days like this. Fixtures where the vast majority of your players are underperforming but are still able to show some grit and determination to grind out a win when dropping points seemed the more likely outcome.

I also think it was huge that we didn’t have back to back negative results, especially with the international break coming up, leaving us on a low while the other league contenders (pretenders?) got a boost from seeing us drop points for the first time this season.

Apart from a friendly in Sligo where I doubt many first team players will be involved, we have two weeks now before we have to face our main title challengers Aberdeen.

After that we have Atalanta away which now looks a scary prospect, before heading to Fir Park to play an in-form Motherwell who always give us problems at their own ground. Yesterday’s result will give our players room to relax over that period without the doom mongers swirling after two bad results on the trot.

It will also give them a chance to completely wipe Dortmund from their minds as well as hand an opportunity to the likes of Cameron Carter-Vickers, Alastair Johnston and Greg Taylor to get back to full fitness.

When we return we are going to be thrown in to an intense period of tough games that will have a big influence in how our season pans out. Getting the win yesterday was a huge boost and will hopefully provide the momentum needed in order to meet that challenge head on.

Getting back to the level we were operating at before Dortmund is essential if we are to continue our quest towards a domestic treble and hopefully making it out of the new Champions League ‘league stage’ format.

Let’s hope to see this Celtic team return to competitive action in a fortnight’s time with a renewed vigour and once again showing the confidence that was so evident throughout those opening few weeks of the season.

Conall McGinty

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