Just how does he do it? When Shunsuke Nakamura dusted himself down and was poised ready to strike the ball I thought to myself "He cant save us again". Such is the resolve required to turn a deadball award on the edge of the box with a success rate that would make the worlds best penalty takers blush I was convinced that Naka would not manage to do do do it again. How wrong I was.
It always irks me when people complain about the diminutive players strength and resolve for playing football in the SPL, and there are times when such criticism is justified. However surely even the most blind person can see that it takes immense strength of character and resolve to even attempt a free kick late in the game, never mind bend it round the wall and potentially save our season. To my any comment about Naka's resolve are as misplaced as most of Celtics passes today!
It was of vital performance that Celtic gain three points today, with Rangers facing the harder of the two midweek ties (on paper anyway) we had to ensure maximum points but there were times today that we looked incapable of even the simplest of tasks never mind scoring the goals that would take us to victory. Yes St Mirren were well organised but with the quality we have at our disposal we should not be struggling against such opposition, and we certainly shouldn't have to rely on the brilliance of one Artur Boruc to ensure it!
Ps am I alone in thinking that there was nothing 'dubious' or 'sinister' (© Rob McLean) in the award of the free kick that led to Celtic's goal? It was a foul, pure and simple and was the right decision to make.
Yours in Celtic
Clydebuilt