Full Houses and the Return of the Roar

This past 18 months or so, since I first heard of an outbreak of a transmittable disease in Wuhan, China - has been one of hard toil, emotional upheaval and a deep sense of missing the fine things in life. We have all taken for granted, the parts of everyday existence that made our lives as normal as they were.

Covid changed everything, and the future looked bleak for the foreseeable future. The optimist in me thought 6 months before lockdowns would cease, but the realist in me knew deep down that we would be in a sorry state for a long long time. We lost out on work, travel, socialising and also the ability to see family and friends. It was a terrible state of affairs. I began to know people who had contracted the disease. A work contact lost his sister in law. My best friend since school and his entire family came down with it, but thankfully no-one was hospitalised.

One thing that also struck me was the manner in which we were confirmed as 9 in a row champions of Scotland. This was a monumental occasion that should have been celebrated in pubs and houses all over the country, but the circumstances of the event and the acrimony of a certain club, along with the restrictions in place, meant that it was not possible to do so safely.

Word of a possible vaccine and the return of elite sports, albeit in empty stadiums, brought about a sense of hope and optimism. In footballing terms that optimism was short lived as we crashed out of the Champions League with a whimper and looked like a squad full of unfit and overweight players not trying to play as we knew they could. It was clear something was seriously wrong, and the season went from bad to worse. Winning the Scottish Cup from the previous season, and completing the quadruple treble, was the only bit of light in a dark and dismal campaign.

All the while, Covid was taking it's toll and more people were losing their battles with this terrible disease. Thankfully vaccines did come along, but unfortunately it was too late for many, and some of those unfortunates were regulars at Celtic Park, some occasional visitors, and some armchair fans who supported the club from near and far. Unfortunately for them a return to Parkhead wouldn't be witnessed and my commiserations, and everyone here on the site, go to their families and friends.

I will never take the normalities of life for granted ever again. The return last night of nearly a full house was so exciting that it almost felt like my first trip to Paradise so many years ago. It was absolutely fitting therefore, that the entire support, players and staff took the time to applaud those who weren't there to see it, both here in Scotland, the Czech republic and further afield. It was a nice tribute and I must admit to a little lump in the throat.



The atmosphere was electric as the game approached and the expectation was that we would progress after a solid performance away from home and a comfortable two goal cushion from the first leg. The first tie brought some criticism from the MSM, and I'm sure that one of Ange's biggest desires for the second leg, would be to see a clean sheet and a solid defensive performance. I couldn't make the game against Dundee at the weekend, but I did watch it online and I must admit that I was desperate to see if we could maintain the scintillating form we had shown in that game.

I would not be disappointed.

Within the first minute of play Rogic played a sublime pass right into the wonderful run of Kyogo and the little striker was only stopped in his tracks by a tackle from the keeper as he tried to go round him for the opener. The Japanese frontman would go on to make these runs all night, and with slightly better service could have racked up a few.

Celtic were attacking with good pace and were controlling the midfield area wonderfully well when our Asian frontman did find the net. Forrest had made a good run down the right flank and played a reverse pass onto another fine Furuhashi run, only to be adjudged offside by the main stand linesman. It looked VERY close to me in the stands and it is one that VAR would definitely have had a look at if it was in play at the time.

The first would come along shortly after and it came about by some fine play from Greg Taylor who had drifted in from the left to play a disguised pass to Turnbull. The young midfielder opened the scoring with a deft touch off the outside of his right boot to guide it past the Joblonec goalkeeper and into the net.



Jablonec, to their credit did play some decent attacking football when the opportunity arose. They were making good use of long diagonals and had a chance that Starfelt did well to block for a corner. Tre resultant kick also fell to a Jablonec player on centrally but his shot from just outside the box was safely watched by Joe Hart in between the sticks.

McGregor was magnificent in midfield, directing play and driving forward, linking defense and attack with aplomb, and he was ably helped by Turnbull, Christie and Rogic, who looked much more like the kind of player we remember from a couple of years ago. At times it was joy to watch without really making too many clear cut chances, and it drifted into half time with the score at one to nil.

The second half started with a similar theme, and Celtic were immediately on the attack once more. The second goal took a little longer to come and it was from the outside of the right of David Turnbull's right peg. The ball was played into him in a central position from Callum McGregor and the young player of the year, smashed a curler past Hanus in goal to double the lead. It was no less than was deserved, and effectively put the tie beyond reach of the Czech visitors.



Furuhashi took a knock when bearing down on the keeper but took a sore one and stayed down for a minute or so. Bizarrely the referee never allowed the physio to enter the field of play, but luckily he was able to get to his feet shortly after and resume his game. Not long after he was replaced with Odsonne Edouard.

The biggest cheers of the night would oddly come from action at the other end of the park. A very uncharacteristic error from Captain Callum, saw Dolezal run on to a wayward pass and his thunderous strike was met by Joe Hart who stood tall and beat it away. The resultant corner pinged about off a couple of Jablonec players heads inside the box before falling to the feet of Kratochvil four yards out but again Hart stood up tall and blocked the shot when other goalkeepers on the books would not likely have made the same save. The crowd went wild, and spared a few blushes, particularly from McGregor at the first shot. It would have been a shame had his excellent play all night been tarnished by that pass being capitalised on.

As Jablonec pushed to try and get something from this game, it was to be their undoing. They were high up the park when Rogic played a truly magnificent defence splitting pass into the path of big Eddy who bore down on goal, cutting in slightly he tried to lift the ball over Hanus but the keeper made a good save, only for the ball to drop into the lung busting run of Forrest who poked the ball home before the defence could react.



On came a flurry of substitutions, with game time for Soro, Ajeti, Montgomery and Bitton. The loss in midfield of Rogic, Christie and McGregor seemed to take a toll on the style of play, and the game fizzled out towards the end.

It has to be said though, that this was a terrific match. Not a single player had a bad game, but the opposition isn't as strong as some we will face in the coming season. The signs all point in the right direction, but we do still need first team ready players, and a deeper squad if we are to progress in Europe and regain our title from the rioting neighbours. The prize this season is massive, and the rebuild is extensive, but it is not outwith the realms of possibility that Ange could do what I didn't think possible. The signs are good and I sense a little fear amongst the supporters and the players across the city, whose own foray into Europe this week may have long and bitter consequences.

My abiding moment of the game came at the end though. After the final whistle I stood up and took in my surroundings and savoured the place I know as Paradise. It is a part of me, and I love it so dearly. I will never take that place in me for granted again. Win or lose we are always there, but spare a thought for those who didn't get that feeling once more.

YNWA

Hail Hail