Three and Counting for Pukki
TC Match Report



Pukki grabs his third goal in Celtic colours​

It has been a hard week for Celtic and Celtic fans, while the match against Barcelona meant little in terms of further European football it was still a hard result to stomach. It has highlighted deficiencies in the team and the management squad that quite a few fans already knew. In addition to the damaging result against the Catalans Celtic have disbanded the section where the Green Brigade congregate in section 111.

This has come as a result of certain political and certain opinions being voiced. In the spirit of being unbiased it has also been caused by fans, the minority, needlessly ripping up seats and throwing a smoke bomb onto the park against Motherwell. All of these events are culminating into something that i feel is going to be quite a struggle for the club and the fans to solve.

It was evident today at Celtic Park that a combination of typical Scottish weather, Christmas being round the corner and the abysmal treatment of fans by police, stewards and Celtic caused probably the lowest attendance at a league match this season. The match against Hibs was always going to be a dour affair, you had Hibs coming simply looking to keep it tight and you had Celtic trying to rebound from one of their worst European defeats, results wise, in their illustrious 126 year history.

While the attendance has been marked as being 46,000 i can tell you we would be lucky if there was even a third of that inside Paradise. There were positives however that came from the match today, Celtic's unbeaten record in the league continues, with 15 games being played and only 6 points being dropped. That is a fantastic record when you think that in previous seasons European football always seemed to give us hangovers in which we would drop points. The biggest positive from today was seeing Teemu Pukki grab his third goal for the Hoops.

Are the fans voting with their feet?​

Fantastic play from Scott Brown, as he fed Ledley down the left hand flank, with a delicious through ball between two Hibs defenders. The Welshman then looked up and picked out Pukki who delicately guided the ball into the back of the net. It was a good finish and the Finns celebration was certainly one of relief and happiness.

While the victory was certainly needed to boost the confidence of the Bhoys there were even more pressing matters at hand during the game. The treatment of Celtic fans has been nothing short of disgraceful. Genuine fans only wanting to support their team vocally, to encourage them and to back them like we have always done and will always do. There is certainly something mischievous afoot in the higher echelons at Paradise, a war is brewing and indeed one could say has already begun between certain fans and the board. Of course my opinion is just that my opinion but i feel that this rift in the Celtic support is far more damaging than these fines we are receiving from Uefa.

Fines can be paid, seats can be rebuilt, reputations can be strengthened but the unequivocal support of your fans can be lost. The board must not assume that the fans will continue to look the other way and be faithful in the face of criminalisation. There is always a limit to how far a branch can be bent until it snaps.