Celtic will head North in the next round of the Scottish Cup after the humiliation of Killie on their own ground. It is hard to remember the last time Celtic had such an convincing performance away from home (Christ it is hard to remember the last time we did it at home) and it was nice for all of Timdom to witness what this team is capable of when firing on all cylinders.
Celtic yesterday were supreme, stoic in defence with the midfield purring like a kitten with catnip flavoured crème all the strikers had to do was get on the end of the chances, something that they did with aplomb. Scott McDonald managed to latch onto chance after chance in the first half and JVH could have helped himself to a couple of guilt edged chances had he not had the touch of a young African elephant!
When the first goal came you knew that Celtic had a chance of destroying Killie and destroy them they did! I can remember at one stage in the game thinking that Aiden McGeady wasn't having his usual standout performance until I noticed that the rest of the team had risen up closer to his level! It is amazing what impact new faces and more importantly, competition for places can have!
And speaking of new faces, what an impact Georgios Samaras had! His solo goal was a thing of beauty and he is going to be a real asset between now and the end of the season, and boss Gordon Strachan was excited at the potential the big striker showed. " I'm pleased for him," added Strachan. "It's not easy for a big man, he's only had seven games this year and I think bigger guys need more games to get into their stride. He gives us a different option so we can be pleased with the performance today."
So it is off to Aberdeen we will go in the next round, safe in the knowledge that we managed to traverse a difficult away tie in the Cup without the need of a replay and managing to keep 11 men on the park. Dignity indeed!
Yours in Celtic
Clydebuilt