Celtic produced adequate performances to comfortably beat St Mirren and Hapoel Tel-Aviv but they really stepped up a gear on Saturday when they totally dismantled the Dons in a 3-0 win that had the Parkhead faithful bouncing in the stands from the first minute to the last. The attendances at Celtic Park have been disappointing for much of this season but have no doubt that if Mowbray's teams continue to produce football of this quality then the faithful (sic) will return in their droves.
- two goal hero
The stuffy defensive tactics deployed by the visitors may have been part of manager Mark McGhee's gameplan or they may have been forced upon them by the sheer unremitting pressure of Celtic's forward forays but as soon as Scott McDonald opened the scoring in the 39th minute there was only ever going to be one winner in this game.
The outstanding Georgios Samaras got himself on the scoresheet twice earning himself the sponsor's Man of the Match award but in truth there were so many outstanding performers in the Hoops that it would have been very difficult to single out any specific player. Manager Tony Mowbray had set them the task of reaching a level of consistency, his team selections showing a great degree of that in themselves, and the Bhoys delivered in spades. Artur Boruc, returning to the team after his knee injury, was the only change to the side that started against Hapoel Tel Aviv on Wednesday.
"It was good," said the boss. "We tried to control the game from the off and we did that, but Aberdeen made it very hard for us and started with five at the back. It was difficult to get through them, but we managed it and we got there in the end. I think the team flowed as we have for much of the season when we were at home. It should be much easier for us to play at home in front of our supporters on the quality of surface we have here. It's obviously more difficult for us when we are away from home to show the fluency we have today."
"I am happy." continued the manager. "And it's important that we keep picking up points at this stage in the season and over Christmas and into the New Year, when the real nitty gritty starts. It was probably a good game for Artur to make his comeback. That said, Aberdeen have some very talented players, but we managed to get on top of them, which is important, because they have a lot of legs and a lot of enthusiasm."
"Thankfully for us, we managed to use the quality we have to keep the ball off them for long spells." said Mowbray. "At Celtic Park we have to be positive and on the front foot in every game and I think that we generally are. Even through the periods where the results weren't going our way, that's why I was consistently standing here and telling you after we had dropped points that the standard of performance was high. People don't want to hear that when the result is a draw or a loss, but you have to keep believing that, if you are doing the right thing, things will go your way."
The team don't have another game at Celtic Park until Boxing Day so the next challenge for the Bhoys is to carry this form into their away fixtures. They will be visiting some very difficult venues in the next few weeks, including Motherwell, Vienna and Tynecastle, but on Saturday's form this side should fear no-one. The boss thinks that the recent games have set the side up nicely for the trials ahead. "Every team is only accumulating points at the moment," said Mogga, "And it's important for the fans to see that we are up there and in a competing position. You have to give yourself a platform for when the real crucial games come, when you really have to be at your best and make sure that every point that is there to be prepared for is earned."