Bank Of Scotland SPL
Wednesday 16th March 2004
Caledonian Stadium, Inverness
Kick Off 7.45pm, Live On Setanta SPL
Tomorrow's fixture against Inverness was supposed to have been played in February. A lot of Celtic supporters had made their way up North for the game when the news came through the game had been postponed, due to a water-logged pitch.
The rescheduling of the game to a Wednesday night in the middle of March, at the time, didn't seem too hot a prospect. However, things have worked our alright, as a win tomorrow night would take us to within a point away from Rangers. Our second game in hand comes this Saturday, away to Dundee United, where we could go back to the top of the league.
These circumstances, however, wouldn't have been possible had Inverness not taken a point from Rangers last week. A last minute equaliser from former Celt Brian Prunty gave Calley a point at Ibrox and gave us all more hope for the remainder of the season.
Since then, Calley have beaten both Hibs and Hearts comfortably. They have never been beaten at home since they moved back to Inverness.
The stadium looks pretty small but it will be a sell-out tomorrow. The pitch is very tight and conditions will probably be wet. It will be the kind of night where we'll gladly take a 1-0 deflected goal in the last minute of injury time.
Alan Thompson and John Hartson are doubts for the game but Martin O'Neill has said he will give them as long as it takes. Hartson would be a big loss, especially with Chris Sutton also sidelined. We need someone who can boss about the Calley defence.
As I have said before, if we play like we did at Easter Road and last Saturday against Dunfermline, we will turn any team over. I beleive Celtic are at their best when we know what we need to do. This week, we need to win two tough away games to regain top spot in the SPL.
We know what we need to do and we know we can do it. So let's go for it.
Come On The Hoops!
Prediction: ICT 0-1 Celtic