2014-12-27: Celtic 0-0 Ross County, SP

Match Pictures | Matches: 2014 – 2015 | 2014-15 Pictures

Trivia

• Last game of the calendar year.
• Celtic end calendar year on 39pts, 5 pints ahead (Aberdeen with game in hand).
• Celtic dropping points but Dundee Utd lose and Aberdeen to play next day.
• Celtic dropping points today means we’ll have the tightest top five at New Year since 1993/94. And that was in the days of 2pts for a win.
• Top of the league & in 4 competitions at Christmas. Not bad eh?
• Tom Rogic back at Celtic (for how long).
• At Sevco: McCoist finally leaves Sevco manager role, and put on gardening leave. Sevco AGM a shambles and held is presented from a tent in th Ibrox pitch (seriously!).
  Sevco lose four nil to Hibs in the Championship!
• Major accident in Glasgow with many left dead after garbage truck jumps curb in Glasgow city centre and hits crowd of people. Among the people who died were ex members of Bramalea CSC, Jackie Sweenie and his wife together with their 18 year old gr daughter. RIP, and our condolences to all affected families. Minute silence held at matches.
• Transfer Window to open in January.

Review

(CB67 of KDS forum)
Team come to park the bus and play for a draw and Celtic don't have an ounce of creativity or inventiveness in the whole team to have a clue how to break them down -To say that was the worst they have been in a while would be letting them off lightly that was pish – If Lennon had a team out that put that so called performance in he would be getting pelters.

Really don't see it with Deila – As per least week will refrain from judging completely until the end of the season but so far not buying into whatever he is trying to do because I just don't see anything particularly new – I have a feeling even when he wins the league he may as someone stated earlier be mutually consented wrapped up in family reasons.

As for Brown at the end – He was a fud and should have been red carded – Cardboard cut out of a hardman.

(Bawman of KDS forum)
All a little confusing at best.

Firstly, the numbers. 15 corners, 14 shots, no goals. It all means hee haw in the grand scheme of things without the win.

Secondly, the tempo. I can tell how this team is going to play after 5 mins. If I see a player taking more than three touches and then standing admiring their pass I know we're in trouble. VvD is the absolute worst culprit and ball hog. Take it and move it on quickly son. It's what it takes to get in behind an eleven man defence. If we have no "skill" player (i.e. someone that can create from nothing), make your passes quicker to catch your opponent off balance.

Thirdly, the changes. We started with a quite simple 4-4-2. Okaaaaay. Second half, same players except now we're back into a 4-2-3-1 with Griffiths now playing right of the three and McGregor on the left of it. No pace, no creativity, cutting inside all day long into a minefield ala WGS Soccer Academy 2.0

Fourth, the subs. Why oh why oh why McGregor? Don't get me wrong, today was one of his better performances in a while but his inclusion just threw our balance all over the place. When Stokes went down, why not just put Griffiths in his slot and bring on Scepovic alongside Guidetti? Minimal upset and an opportunity to get Griffiths onto his left ON THE LEFT SIDE!!

Is our squad woefully short on what's required? Yes, without a doubt. We have ZERO width that we can rely on. Four players none of whom are either fit enough or for others, good enough. That must get addressed. Even with that, Deila HAS to do a better job at squeezing performances out of what he has. Two games on the bounce he needed to be the difference maker (with players either underperforming or flat out failing), and did not get it done. There's no room for that at Celtic.

I dont know what's going on with Guidetti, whether he has been tapped up or out of steam, it's hard to tell. Either way he needs dropped and he needs dropped now. Get Johansen back through the middle behind the striker (Scepovic) and work out what the hell to do with those woeful wide positions. Stop relying so heavily on Matthews and Izzy, their delivery is sub par at best.

We'll win this League, there's no doubt in my mind however Delia might find himself in some illustrious company of being a manager that wins the League and finds himself unemployed in the Summer.

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Stats

Celtic Ross County
Possession
38%
62%
90mins
Shots
14 3
On target
4 1
Corners
15 1
Fouls
10 9

Articles

Celtic 0-0 Ross County: Dominant Hoops fail to find breakthrough
STV
http://sport.stv.tv/football/clubs/celtic/304798-celtic-0-0-ross-county-dominant-hoops-fail-to-find-breakthrough/
27 December 2014 17:30 GMT
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John Guidetti, Celtic, Ross County Frustration: John Guidetti's recent struggles in front of goal continued against County.SNS Group

Celtic finished off 2014 in unimpressive style with a goalless draw against struggling Ross County at Parkhead.

The league leaders bossed a rather one-paced and uninspiring first-half but were unable to get the breakthrough.

There was no great improvement after the break with the Hoops huffing and puffing against a resolute, if at times desperate, County rearguard.

The result means Celtic have dropped five points in their last two matches but ironically they extended their lead at the top to five points.

The New Year offers Ronny Deila's side a more than realistic chance of a domestic treble with a Europa League tie against Inter Milan to look forward to but they will need to show a bit more zip and guile, although in fairness, County's 10-man defence and their desire to stifle the match would have made life difficult for most teams.

The Staggies had lost 5-0 to the Hoops at home earlier in the season and they made sure there would be no repeat but, in an another ironic twist , they dropped to the bottom of the table after being leapfrogged by St Mirren.

The visitors suffered a blow before the game began when Graham Carey, named in the starting XI, had to drop out, reportedly with a back spasm, with Michael Gardyne coming back into the starting line-up.

Before kick-off there was a minute's silence in tribute to those who died in the Glasgow bin lorry incident earlier in the week.

Celtic then had to reshuffle in the ninth minute when Anthony Stokes limped off to be replaced by Callum McGregor.

The home side took control of the game and Staggies found themselves camped at the edge of their own box, sometimes deeper.

In the 25th minute County keeper Antonio Reguero made a good point-blank save from Nir Bitton's header, after the Parkhead midfielder had got on the end of a Stefan Johansen free-kick. It was the closest the champions came to scoring in a muted first-half.

Any time Celtic did fashion a chance a dark blue sock would appear to block although there was further disruption to the Highlanders in the 38th minute when late replacement Gardyne had to be replaced by another ex-Celt, Lewis Toshney.

A drive from 16 yards by Leigh Griffiths moments later, after a cross by left-back Emilio Izaguirre had caused some panic in the visiting defence, was deflected wide by John Guidetti, in his bid to re-direct it into the net.

Celtic should have taken the lead in the 51st minute, moments after Hoops keeper Craig Gordon had saved a header from the unmarked Toshney in a rare County break.

McGregor's curling shot from the edge of the box beat Reguero but bounced back of the bar to Guidetti who seemed surprised at the opportunity, with the ball coming off him and past the post from around 10 yards.

Frustration among the Celtic supporters grew as the second-half unfolded further and Deila waited only until the 67th minute before introducing Kris Commons and Stefan Scepovic for the earlier substitute McGregor and the ineffective Guidetti.

There was no discernible improvement.

The latter stages saw Celtic throw everything forward but in there was a moment of panic in the 84th minute when a low drive from Filip Kiss beat Gordon only to strike the post and rebound clear.

County took encouragement from that near miss but Reguero had to make a fine save from Griffiths in the final minute, before the visitors survived five fraught minutes of injury time.

BBC
By Jonathan Sutherland BBC Scotland at Celtic Park

Ross County put the shackles on Celtic as they held the champions in Glasgow.

Ronny Deila signalled his attacking intent with Leigh Griffiths, John Guidetti and Anthony Stokes starting, but the latter was an early injury victim for the home side.

The goal avalanche never arrived with County defending resolutely, though Callum McGregor did hit the bar.

And it was the visitors who could have won it late on when Filip Kiss struck the post.

The only solace for Celtic is that Hamilton and Dundee United failed to take advantage with both slipping to defeat.

Jim McIntyre's men fall to the bottom of the table despite gaining a point.

Just before the match started, Ross County were forced into a reshuffle after Graham Carey suffered a back spasm and he was replaced by Michael Gardyne.

As expected, Celtic had the majority of the early possession but they struggled to create chances.

Two free-kicks from Guidetti were the early highlights, the first saved by Antonio Reguero, and the second ruffling the side-netting.

From a Stefan Johansen free-kick Nir Bitton provided a goal-bound header but Reguero batted the ball to safety.

Ross County were virtually non-existent as an attacking force. A Martin Woods snap-shot wide of the target after some slack Celtic defending was the best they could muster.

A cut-back from Adam Matthews then gave Celtic substitute McGregor a great chance but he could not get his shot away.

Griffiths had a crack at goal that looked dangerous but Guidetti attempted to back-heel it into the corner and the ball ended up flashing wide of the post.

Celtic began the second half a little bit flat and County's Lewis Toshney tried an early header, but it was a comfortable save for Craig Gordon.

McGregor then almost broke the deadlock with a chipped effort from the edge of the box, but it came back off the bar with Guidetti failing to finish the rebound.

Celtic were generally labouring to break the visitors down and, with that in mind, Stefan Scepovic and Kris Commons were brought on from the bench to try to liven up the hosts.

However, it was County who almost stole all three points when a shot from Kiss beat Gordon, but agonisingly for the Slovak it cracked back off the post.

Griffiths then fired in a late shot which Reguero did well to save to keep it goalless.

BBC

Celtic 0-0 Ross County: Deila says Guidetti goals will return

Manager Ronny Deila is backing John Guidetti to return to form after the Celtic striker drew another blank in the home 0-0 draw with Ross County.

Having scored 11 goals in 10 games, the 22-year-old has now gone five matches without a goal.

"We know that he can score goals, he has done it before," said Deila.

"He hasn't become a bad player in a month. It is just small details that we are going to have to turn around. It is just small details to work on."

The draw has stretched the champions' lead at the top of the Scottish Premiership to five points over Dundee United and Aberdeen, with the latter playing Inverness in their game in hand on Sunday.

Celtic substitute Callum McGregor and Ross County's Filip Kiss both hit the woodwork but clear-cut chances, especially for the dominant home side, were few and far between.

"We had the ball for 90 minutes but we didn't manage to break them down," added Deila, who hopes the calf knock which forced forward Anthony Stokes off early in the game is just a "small thing".

"We had so much possession we had to create more and that is what is disappointing.

"We have opened a lot of teams and created a lot of chances but this time we didn't do it. That was the most disappointing part."

Despite gaining a hard-fought point, Ross County dropped to the bottom of the table after being leapfrogged by St Mirren.
Ross County goalkeeper Antonio Reguero saves an effort from Celtic's Virgil van Dijk (centre)

Ross County goalkeeper Antonio Reguero saves an effort from Celtic's Virgil van Dijk (centre)

However, "mindful" that Celtic had won 5-0 in Dingwall earlier in the season, Staggies boss Jim McIntyre said: "I am delighted. The players carried out the game plan very well.

"The last time against Celtic we tried to have a go and took a hammering so that was in the mind-set today.

"We had to be hard to beat and break down and they carried that our very well.

"I think it's important when you come to Parkhead that you grow into the game. At Dingwall we lost two goals in 12 minutes and Celtic have great quality so we were mindful of that fact.

"And the only result we could affect today was our own and we take the positives out of taking a point at Parkhead.

"I don't think many teams will come here and do that. St Mirren's results are irrelevant to us, we can only concentrate on ourselves.

"Is it (dropping a place) disappointing? Of course it is, but I'm really pleased with what we've done today.

"The thing that's been letting us down is not winning games, but we haven't been taking a hammering off teams.

"It's been the odd goal here and there and we have to turn that to the odd goal in our favour."

Live Text Commentary
Full time

Full Time Match ends, Celtic 0, Ross County 0.
90:00 +6:00 Full time

Full Time Second Half ends, Celtic 0, Ross County 0.
90:00 +5:41 Booking

Booking Antonio Reguero (Ross County) is shown the yellow card.
90:00 +3:20

Foul by Virgil van Dijk (Celtic).
90:00 +3:20

Steven Saunders (Ross County) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
90:00 +2:52 Substitution

Substitution Substitution, Ross County. Jake Jervis replaces Yoann Arquin.
90:00 +1:24

Foul by Virgil van Dijk (Celtic).
90:00 +1:24

(Ross County) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
90:00 +0:55 Substitution

Substitution Substitution, Ross County. Steven Ross replaces Terry Dunfield.
90:00 +0:13 Booking

Booking Terry Dunfield (Ross County) is shown the yellow card.
90:00 +0:07

Stefan Johansen (Celtic) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
90:00 +0:07

Foul by Terry Dunfield (Ross County).
89:47

Attempt saved. Leigh Griffiths (Celtic) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom left corner.
88:31

Corner, Celtic. Conceded by Jamie Reckord.
86:06

Attempt blocked. Leigh Griffiths (Celtic) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
85:46

Corner, Celtic. Conceded by Richard Brittain.
85:29

Corner, Celtic. Conceded by Lewis Toshney.
84:13

Corner, Ross County. Conceded by Virgil van Dijk.
84:01

Filip Kiss (Ross County) hits the left post with a right footed shot from the centre of the box.
74:00

Corner, Celtic. Conceded by Jamie Reckord.
68:15

Corner, Celtic. Conceded by Yoann Arquin.
67:12

Foul by Virgil van Dijk (Celtic).
67:12

Steven Saunders (Ross County) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
66:45 Substitution

Substitution Substitution, Celtic. Stefan Scepovic replaces John Guidetti.
66:34 Substitution

Substitution Substitution, Celtic. Kris Commons replaces Callum McGregor.
66:19

Corner, Celtic. Conceded by Steven Saunders.
60:54

Attempt blocked. Leigh Griffiths (Celtic) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
59:48

Foul by Virgil van Dijk (Celtic).
59:48

(Ross County) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
59:30

Corner, Celtic. Conceded by Scott Boyd.
57:11

Attempt missed. Virgil van Dijk (Celtic) header from the centre of the box misses to the right.
56:29

Corner, Celtic. Conceded by Scott Boyd.
54:38

Attempt saved. Leigh Griffiths (Celtic) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the centre of the goal.
51:41

Corner, Celtic. Conceded by Paul Quinn.
50:57

Attempt missed. John Guidetti (Celtic) header from the centre of the box is close, but misses to the right.
50:47

Callum McGregor (Celtic) hits the bar with a left footed shot from outside the box.
50:03

Attempt saved. Lewis Toshney (Ross County) header from the right side of the box is saved in the centre of the goal.
49:07

Paul Quinn (Ross County) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
49:07

Foul by John Guidetti (Celtic).
45:00

Second Half begins Celtic 0, Ross County 0.
45:00 +1:58 Half time

Half Time First Half ends, Celtic 0, Ross County 0.
45:00 +1:00

Terry Dunfield (Ross County) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
45:00 +0:58

Foul by Nir Bitton (Celtic).
43:55

Attempt blocked. Leigh Griffiths (Celtic) left footed shot from the right side of the box is blocked.
39:52

Foul by Lewis Toshney (Ross County).
39:52

Scott Brown (Celtic) wins a free kick on the left wing.
39:21

Martin Woods (Ross County) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
39:21

Foul by Efe Ambrose (Celtic).
38:47

Corner, Celtic. Conceded by Scott Boyd.
37:43 Substitution

Substitution Substitution, Ross County. Lewis Toshney replaces Michael Gardyne because of an injury.
35:51

Attempt missed. Nir Bitton (Celtic) left footed shot from outside the box is high and wide to the left.
30:46

Corner, Celtic. Conceded by Terry Dunfield.
30:00

Adam Matthews (Celtic) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
29:57

Foul by Michael Gardyne (Ross County).
28:05

Attempt missed. Filip Kiss (Ross County) left footed shot from the left side of the box is close, but misses to the left.
27:01 Booking

Booking Emilio Izaguirre (Celtic) is shown the yellow card.
27:00

Michael Gardyne (Ross County) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
26:51

Foul by Emilio Izaguirre (Celtic).
26:26

Corner, Celtic. Conceded by Terry Dunfield.
26:13

Attempt blocked. Leigh Griffiths (Celtic) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
25:26

Attempt saved. Nir Bitton (Celtic) header from the centre of the box is saved in the top centre of the goal.
25:02 Booking

Booking Filip Kiss (Ross County) is shown the yellow card.
24:57

Hand ball by Filip Kiss (Ross County).
24:34

Foul by Leigh Griffiths (Celtic).
24:34

Michael Gardyne (Ross County) wins a free kick on the right wing.
21:51

Corner, Celtic. Conceded by Filip Kiss.
21:33

Corner, Celtic. Conceded by Terry Dunfield.
19:10

Attempt missed. John Guidetti (Celtic) right footed shot from long range on the left is close, but misses to the left from a direct free kick.
18:40

Scott Brown (Celtic) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
18:40

Foul by Richard Brittain (Ross County).
17:23

Stefan Johansen (Celtic) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
17:23

Foul by Martin Woods (Ross County).
14:27

Attempt missed. Scott Brown (Celtic) right footed shot from the centre of the box is high and wide to the left.
13:12

Corner, Celtic. Conceded by Paul Quinn.
11:43

Attempt saved. John Guidetti (Celtic) right footed shot from a difficult angle and long range on the left is saved in the bottom left corner.
11:08 Booking

Booking Steven Saunders (Ross County) is shown the yellow card.
11:03

Foul by Steven Saunders (Ross County).
11:03

Emilio Izaguirre (Celtic) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
8:41 Substitution

Substitution Substitution, Celtic. Callum McGregor replaces Anthony Stokes because of an injury.
8:22

Martin Woods (Ross County) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
8:22

Foul by Nir Bitton (Celtic).
7:00

Nir Bitton (Celtic) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
6:58

Foul by Terry Dunfield (Ross County).
6:28

Foul by Steven Saunders (Ross County).
6:28

Anthony Stokes (Celtic) wins a free kick on the left wing.
0:00

First Half begins.
0:00

Lineups are announced and players are warming up.

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