2016-12-09: Partick Thistle 1-4 Celtic, SP

Match Pictures | Matches: 2016 – 2017 | 2016-17 Pictures

Trivia

• Friday night game for Celtic.
• Stuart Armstrong is very much the man of the moment, is he the new Petrov? Some are claiming it. Rodgers has been incredible in revitalising careers so far.
• Griffiths scores a cracking goal following some deft footwork. Wonderful.
• Celtic still losing goals via set-pieces.
• Back to the league, Celtic out of Europe a few days back with last group game played, 1-1 with Man City (which was a dead rubber but still good).
• Very busy Dec schedule for Celtic, too many games in this cold month and strange as surely many are time & cash strapped at this time?
• Patrick Roberts has revealed he was praised by Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola after netting against his parent club in the Champions League draw.
• Celtic appoint Sharon Brown to the board (non-Exec Dir), first female onto the board. Congratulations.
• In the support a lot of aggro between fans over UEFA investigation over flares and spots of bother at Celtic Man City games. Tenth time being charged by UEFA in 5 years.
• Liverpool now also reported to be stepping in with Dembele bid!
• Irish star, James McCarthy has been tipped to leave Everton next month, alerting a number of clubs including Celtic to his potential availability.
• Celtic hope Mikael Lustig will sign a new deal, with Brendan Rodgers keen to hold onto the defender.
• Transfer window opening soon: Commons expected to move to Hibs; Ambrose, Ciftci, Boyata & Allan expected to do similar.

Review

(Haitch of KDS)
Was an okay performance, we weren't great but ran out comfortable winners in the end.

Happy for Griffiths, took his chance and contributed to 3 out of the 4 goals. The goal he scored himself was typical of him, pressured Barton into making a mistake and finished beautifully. Good pressing from Gamboa in the lead up to that goal too.

Armstrong continuing to impress. Been MOTM in the last few games, turning into a huge part of this team. Was desperate for him to get his hat-trick and actually thought for a second he scored the 4th. On the subject of the 4th, it was a lovely team goal. Was like the Izzy of a few seasons ago bombing forward and providing an assist like that, good finish from McGregor too who is proving to be good for us at this level.

We weren't troubled from defensively from open play but the defending from set pieces in the second half was poor. Hopefully we nip that in the bud. Definite hint of offside for their goal though. Going against the grain re the incident with Azeez/Gordon, definite contact and should have been a free kick and a sending off for Gordon. Worries me seeing him come off the line now, got away with a few this season.

(George M of KDS)
I thought Griffiths seized the moment, the chance to start from the off, with real zest. His work in making the opener was a joy to watch, and that of course brings me to Armstrong. What a difference a little self-belief has made–it's reminiscent of Petta's resurgence in the early days of Martin O'Neill. You can't credit that you're watching the same player.

I was a little disquieted with Sviatchenko's performance without Simunovic alongside him. He's a player you want to love, but there's an ungainliness about him at times that creates problems. No real complaints with their goal, though. We just didn't defend the free kick at all. That one was onside for me, not so their 'second.' Nor did I see a penalty or even a foul in the Gordon incident. Just a sad dive after the forward saw his touch let him down.

Gamboa and Izaguirre both major contributors to goals, too, good on them. All in all, a pleasant watch knowing the result beforehand but nothing else.

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Stats

Partick Thistle
Celtic

Possession
Home 39%
Away 61%

Shots
Home 4
Away 15

Shots on Target
Home 1
Away 6

Corners
Home 1
Away 5

Fouls
Home 13
Away 13

Articles

The Scotsman

arks out of ten for each and every player as Celtic defeated Partick Thistle 4-1 at Firhill.
Click here for the latest results, fixtures and stats>>>
PARTICK THISTLE
GK – Tomas Cerny – 6
Two fine saves either side of the half as well as a crucial intervention outside the box to halt Leigh Griffiths. However, was too slow to get down for Stuart Armstrong’s second goal. He didn’t appear to know where the ball was.
RB – Ziggy Gordon – 4
Exposed down the right in the first-half. Tried to support the attack from deep but left a lot of space in behind. Cynically hauled down Gary Mackay-Steven for a booking before Griffiths lulled him in tight and beat the full-back to deliver the assist for the first goal.
CB – Adam Barton – 5
His ball playing ability is more suited to a back three and the strategy allows him to play zonal. He struggled with the crafty movement of Griffiths. Tried to control the ball as he nipped ahead of Griffiths for the third goal but ended up having his pocket picked. While admirable, the ball should have been put into the stand.
CB – Liam Lindsay – 6
Headed in Thistle’s goal and had a relatively assured performance despite the concession of four goals. Getting better in the air. Another learning curve in his development.
LB – Callum Booth – 6
A solid display from the left-back. Patrick Roberts had little effect throughout which is testament to Booth. He is more positive than Gordon and showed a willingness to try and get forward.
MR – David Amoo – 4
Ineffectual once again. There is no question that this is a player with power and pace but is limited in possession and very predictable to play against. Chris Cadden showed that Emilio Izaguirre can be exposed but Amoo rarely tried to get past him. His crossing was either blocked out for a corner or nowhere near a team mate.
MC – Abdul Osman – 5
The captain didn’t have the impact he usually does. An early warning from Craig Thomson seemed to limit him from making it difficult for the Celtic midfield. His impact was nominal as the game passed him by.
MC – Sean Welsh – 6
Had a strong first-half where he helped patrol the space in front of the defence, making timely interventions. He tried to push the midfield forward. Second half was a toil as Celtic dominated with Stuart Armstrong influential. Failed to track Callum McGregor for Celtic’s fourth.
ML – Christie Elliott – 5
Offered little going forward but was in the team to help with the threat of Patrick Roberts. Did his defensive duties well in support of Booth, but was partly at fault for the third goal when he allowed Cristian Gamboa to nick the ball off his feet and power forward. When trailing he is perhaps most the useful player on the pitch.
AM – Chris Erskine – 5
He’s struggled to recapture his early season form after returning from injury. The 29-year-old failed to link midfield and attack. Went close with a chip but other than that it was another display that required more. Much more.
FC – Kris Doolan – 5
Minimal contact with the ball. Big gap between him and the midfield, and looked lost without Ade Azeez alongside him.
SUBSTITUTES
Ade Azeez – 6
Threatened more in 15 minutes than his fellow forwards put together. His pace allowed him to get in behind before getting booked for diving.
Steven Lawless – 5
Was on the pitch for more than half an hour. Anonymous.
Ryan Edwards – 6
Busy cameo from the Australian. A surprising omission. JS
READ MORE – Most interesting expiring contracts in the Scottish Premiership
CELTIC
GK – Craig Gordon – 6
Didn’t have much to do aside from another rush of blood to the head where he charged off his line to meet Azeez running through. While the striker may have exaggerated contact, Gordon did stick his boot out to obstruct the attacker before withdrawing before he got himself sent off.
DR – Cristian Gamboa – 7
Had a quiet first half but came alive in the early period of the second, playing a part in each of the second and third goals. He did especially well at the latter, nicking the ball off Elliott. Was docked points for failing to stay goal-side with Lindsay at Thistle’s goal.
DC – Mikael Lustig – 6
Didn’t look entirely comfortable at centre-half, especially in the opening period with long-balls a notable issue. Improved after the break. His distribution was inconsistent throughout.
DC – Erik Sviatchenko – 6
Celtic had to play from the back a lot and the centre-back was guilty of a number of slack touches and passes, which slowed the visitors down. He was solid defensively until the 80th minute when Azeez got in behind him and could easily have scored.
DL – Emilio Izaguirre – 8
After his struggles at Motherwell last Saturday, Izaguirre bounced back with a fine performance patrolling Celtic’s left-flank. Sound defensively and laid the fourth goal on a plate for Callum McGregor with a perfectly clipped cross.
MRC – Tom Rogic – 7
Was by far Celtic’s best player in the opening 25 minutes. His passing become increasingly erratic as the half went on and he was hooked close to the hour-mark. He did, however, play the ball through which enabled Griffiths to net the third.
DM – Scott Brown – 7
Didn’t quite have the energy levels to match some of his more impressive performances this season. Still battled well and used his no-yellow-card-for-me super powers to good effect.
MLC – Stuart Armstrong – 9
A player reborn. Simply, Celtic don’t win this game anywhere near as comfortably, if at all, without Armstrong. His energy lifted Celtic after a dismal opening 25 minutes. He then netted the first and second goals and played a large part in the third. Outstanding.
RW – Patrick Roberts – 6
Celtic’s poorest performer on the day. He tried to be positive and run at opponents on the ball but very little came off for him. A blazed effort over the bar following an Izaguirre cut-back summed up his evening.
FC – Leigh Griffiths – 9
It will be very difficult to drop the striker after this performance. Had a couple of iffy moments and missed a decent chance early on, but as the game progressed he got better and better. Skinned Gordon and laid the opener on a plate for Armstrong, then embarrassed Barton before producing an excellent finish for the third. His movement and link play were tremendous in the second half.
LW – Gary Mackay-Steven – 6
A poor touch followed by a backpass, which almost let in Doolan, highlighted his lack of confidence. He tried to make things happen but, similar to Roberts, not much came off for him.
SUBSTITUTES
Callum McGregor – 8
Lively in the centre of the park, linking play, and produced a great strike to finish Izaguirre’s cross after drifting into the area.
Ryan Christie – 7
Played one great through pass for Izaguirre and was another who showed real energy after coming off the bench.
Moussa Dembele – 6
Unlucky to see a close-range shot deflected over by Barton. CF

Partick Thistle 1 – 4 Celtic: Griffiths makes most of rare start

Leigh Griffiths wheels away having put Celtic 3-0 up. Picture: PA

Stephen Halliday

Partick Thistle 1 – 4 Celtic: Griffiths makes most of rare start

Leigh Griffiths wheels away having put Celtic 3-0 up. Picture: PA

Stephen Halliday

Celtic maintained their current aura as Scottish football’s invincibles as they romped 11 points clear at the top of the Premiership with a Leigh Griffiths-inspired victory at Partick Thistle.
Click here for the latest results, fixtures and stats>>>

Stuart Armstrong celebrates having opened the scoring against Partick Thistle. Picture: PA
Making his first start for over a month as top scorer Moussa Dembele was given time off among the substitutes, Griffiths provided two assists for Stuart Armstrong and also bagged his own tenth goal of the season to remind Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers of his continuing worth.
The Scottish champions, who added a late fourth goal through substitute Callum McGregor after Liam Lindsay had pulled one back for Alan Archibald’s side, remain unbeaten against domestic opposition this season and comfortably on course for a sixth consecutive league title.
It was also their 23rd successive victory over the Jags, a run now stretching back 21 years. Thistle’s wretched record against Celtic offered little cause for optimism among the home support who, as is the way of it for visits from their bigger city neighbours, were relocated from their normal seats in the Jackie Husband Stand.
That inconvenience would be regarded as worthwhile for Jags followers if their favourites could one day upset the odds in this fixture. This wasn’t going to be the night that happened, but before the familiar script unfolded, there was some early encouragement for them in a scrappy opening period.

Leigh Griffiths finds the top corner with a curling effort. Picture: SNS
As Celtic took time to settle into any kind of rhythm, they were troubled by the power and willingness of David Amoo down the right for Thistle. The attacking midfielder posed the first threat of the evening when he latched onto Chris Erskine’s pass to burst into the box where his dangerous cross was blocked by Emilio Izaguirre at the expense of a corner.
At the other end, Griffiths’ desire to make the most of what has become the rare experience of leading the line for Celtic this season was plain to see.
If anything, last season’s leading goalscorer was initially just a little too eager to impress. His first sight of goal came from a free-kick conceded by Sean Welsh for a clumsy foul on Patrick Roberts. From around 25 yards out, Griffiths sent his effort well wide.
When Celtic produced the game’s first passage of high-quality passing and movement, with Tom Rogic and Roberts carving open the Thistle defence, the ball was cut back for Griffiths whose shot was comfortably saved by Tomas Cerny.
The Thistle goalkeeper then had to be alert on two occasions to deprive Griffiths of possession just outside the penalty area as he raced on to through balls. The second intervention was especially well-timed by Cerny, which it had to be as any foul on the striker would surely have earned a straight red card.
Those close calls for the hosts came either side of a decent effort of their own from Erskine, who flashed a left-foot shot narrowly wide of Craig Gordon’s left-hand post from a difficult angle around 12 yards out.
But, by that stage, there was a clear sense that Celtic were beginning to establish a dominance of territory and possession which they duly converted into the breakthrough goal from Armstrong six minutes before half-time.
Griffiths could take satisfaction from his part in it as he showed good movement and awareness to fasten on to Scott Brown’s pass and find a menacing position on the left of the Thistle penalty area. He drilled the ball low across the face of the six-yard box where Armstrong reacted quicker than a posse of Jags defenders to beat Cerny from close range.
Any prospect of Thistle recovering the situation evaporated as Celtic added two more goals in rapid-fire succession at the start of the second half.
They doubled their lead when Thistle switched off at a free-kick, taken quickly by Griffiths and played into the path of the unmarked Armstrong. From around 20 yards, he had all the time he needed to guide a precise left-foot shot beyond Cerny’s unconvincing dive to his right.
Just 16 seconds after play was restarted, Celtic made it 3-0 as they won possession again and Rogic found Griffiths inside the penalty area. He turned sharply away from the hesitant Adam Barton and lofted a neat left-foot finish beyond Cerny.
That emphatically and effectively settled matters, although some slipshod defending from Celtic allowed Thistle to pull a goal back in the 61st minute when Lindsay rose unchallenged to power home a header from Welsh’s free-kick.
Thistle thought they had scored again when Welsh headed home a Callum Booth free-kick but were undone by an offside decision.
Celtic continued to exert their authority in attack, Cerny making a brilliant save to deny Griffiths another goal before McGregor wrapped up the scoring nine minutes from time when he thumped home a cross from Izaguirre.

BBC

By Tom English

BBC Scotland at Firhill

From the section Football

Leigh Griffiths (left) and Stuart Armstrong and Erik Sviatchenko
Celtic went 11 points clear at the top of the Premiership

Celtic eased aside Partick Thistle at Firhill to increase their lead at the top of the Premiership to 11 points.

Stuart Armstrong tapped in from Leigh Griffiths' ball across goal.

After half-time Celtic scored twice in a minute, Armstrong's long-range shot added to by Griffiths taking advantage of Adam Barton's error.

Liam Lindsay headed a consolation, but Celtic continued to press and Callum McGregor finished Emilio Izaguirre's cut-back.
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Celtic turn on the style to win against Glasgow rivals Partick Thistle at Firhill. (UK only)

Partick had limited Celtic to a few half-chances in the opening 40 minutes, the champions never looking in danger of conceding but not exactly moving at their fluent best.

From a contest, though, Celtic opened up in the space of eight minutes either side of the break. Having defended well for much of the half, Thistle switched off just before half-time. Griffiths slid a ball in from the left and Armstrong was the only alert man in the six-yard box, driving home a close-range finish.

The second came when Griffiths rolled a free-kick into Armstrong's path, who then curled it beyond goalkeeper Tomas Cerny. Armstrong was a key man again for the visitors but Cerny was unconvincing when trying to keep out his effort.

Last season's 40-goal man has had his thunder stolen by Moussa Dembele since he got injured back in August. This was only his third start since then and his goal – and his earlier assists – would have come as blessed relief.

The one that made it 3-0 came only a minute after Armstrong's second and it was about determination, awful defending and class finishing. He mugged Barton of possession on the right-hand side of the penalty area, spun away from him impudently and then whipped his shot past Cerny. Cheeky and ruthless.

On the hour, Lindsay got his head on the end of free-kick and sent a diagonal effort across and beyond Craig Gordon. Celtic had gone to sleep at the back.

Bizarrely, the same thing happened again five minutes later – another Partick free-kick, another free header, from Sean Welsh. Welsh was just offside, but Celtic's concentration levels had deserted them again.

Celtic have scored four or more goals in half of their league games so far this season. Their fourth here was a while coming – they had chances to do it earlier – but they eventually found their way through again.

Dembele was on the field by then, playing up front with Griffiths – just what Partick didn't want to see – but it was Izaguirre, the full-back, who did the damage and not the strikers, and it was McGregor who thumped it home.

That was their 43rd league goal in 14 games and it all meant that their lead at the top of the Premiership stretched out to 11 with two games in hand over second-placed Rangers.
Post-match reaction
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Interviews: Alan Archibald and Brendan Rodgers

Partick Thistle manager Alan Archibald: "We made it tough for ourselves. You can't give good sides goals. We struggled with the basics tonight, they got in behind us with a couple of long balls and that was the disappointment. Good sides can cut you open but I thought we gave them goals.

"We got into good positions but we didn't do anything with it. You've got to have that belief and we didn't have that tonight."

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers: "I don't think Partick Thistle have conceded more than two goals in a game this season. On the back of Tuesday night [away to Manchester City] with only two days recovery, to come here and play to that level was exceptional really.

"You give Partick credit tonight, they made it really difficult, but the mentality in the team is very strong. I can see the development, the relationship between training and the game, they are taking on board the concepts of our build-up play and consolidating the game and then we've obviously got goals in the team.

"We're staying very composed and calm under pressure and that's a really good sign."