A great day for Daizen but a slog nevertheless for Celtic

We are still chasing silverware, but that doesn’t mean we can’t question the players and manager. I predicted yesterday that the match against Livingston would be a bit of a slog, and I was proved to be right. Although we did win, and deservedly so, and we will play in tonight’s semi-final draw, that doesn’t mean we can just brush off yet another below-par performance from the players. 

The only players who received pass marks were hat-trick hero Daizen Maeda and Nicolas Kuhn. The rest looked rather shaky again, especially the defense, which always seems to buckle under pressure. Our team doesn’t look like a title-winning squad.

side. We appear to be an average side without players like CCV, Reo Hatate, Callum McGregor, and even Luis Palma. You definitely don’t feel confident around the others.

Matt O’Riley might have sat this one out, as Brendan informed us that he had been sick all week. The lingering CCV crisis meant that Kyogo would have to make do with a bench spot until Stephen Welsh was pushed in at the last minute.

Livingston is a subpar group. For a cause, they are facing relegation in the face, yet we managed to make them appear like a halfway competent team. That’s a pretty concerning indication.

Of course, we are still in the running for two trophies even though we are just in the semifinals.