2017-02-25: Celtic 2-0 Hamilton, SP

Trivia

• Cold day but good turnout, Dembele scores another cracker of a goal, but subbed before getting chance to complete another hat-trick.
• Armstrong missed a clear goal but didnt make a difference to score.
• Celtic pitch obviously showing wear and tear, looking like will have to be ripped up.
• Billy McNeill revealed by his wife in major articles in the papers to be suffering from dimentia. Heart-breaking, and we wish him all the strength in the world.
• England: Claudio Ranieri sacked, last season he was manager of Leicester as they won the EPL against the odds at 5000-1.
• Celtic held a CGS remembrance for Ex-Celt Joe Cullen in the morning.
• Nir Bitton has cemented himself as one of the nicest men in football this afternoon after it emerged he payed £1000 for a little girl (Jasmin) with a brain tumour to go to Disneyland. Much respect to him, although he does look a little weird with his new blonde hairdo.
• Celtic announce that club will make a Proposal of Application Notice to Glasgow City Council in relation to possible further development of the Celtic Park area, including the potential creation of a new hotel, retail store, ticketing facility and museum. All early days, but could be interesting.
• Ex-Celt Tony Mowbray announced as new Blackburn Rovers manager from former Celtic manager prospect (and Celtic supporter) Owen Coyle.
• Rumours: Arsenal now supposedly interested in Dembele. Appears that he is interesting all top clubs around, but all paper talk. Dembele’s agent talks about he would like to even stay at Celtic for four years.

Review

(fatboab of KDS)
awesome goal to light up a fairly routine performance.

(kevll7 of KDS)
Superb first goal from Dembele

Boyata came on to a game after a very shaky start with a lot of stray passes etc. but i thought Erik was a rock all the way through the game which probably gave Boyata confidence to play a bit since he knew Erik would cover.

Bitton and Brown were superb today nothing too spectacular but they kept the ball moving and looked extremely confident

Also thought Gary Mackay Stevens had a good game tracking back etc him and Gamboa linked up well and both looked as good as Tierney and Sinclair on the left wing going forward.

All in all a comfortable professional comprehensive win and still the run continues. Ref couldn't be as much of an influence tried a little but knew he was being watched although Sinclair is tougher than he looks i like the cut of his gib as he can mix it up a wee bit which is nice to see

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Stats

Celtic
Hamilton

Possession
Home65%
Away35%

Shots
Home10
Away5

Shots on Target
Home3
Away1

Corners
Home4
Away1

Fouls
Home8
Away11

Articles

Celtic 2 – 0 Hamilton Academical:
Moussa Dembele at the double as Celts win again Moussa Dembele celebrates scoring his side's second goal of the game.
Picture: Jeff Holmes/PA Wire Moussa Dembele celebrates scoring his side's second goal of the game. Picture: Jeff Holmes/PA Wire ANDREW SMITH

Read more at: http://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/competitions/premiership/celtic-2-0-hamilton-academical-moussa-dembele-at-the-double-as-celts-win-again-1-4376768

Brendan Rodgers seems to find a way to do most things in this anointed first season at Celtic. The 31st win of his team’s 32-game unbeaten season appeared hardly one to commemorate – Moussa Dembele’s gorgeous opener apart – but he found a way to do that too.

In reflecting on an afternoon when his team dusted up Hamilton with the help of some Dembele dazzle, the 44-year-old heralded largely solid efforts by fusing them to a hitherto-unknown anniversary.
“I said to the players before the game that it’s almost 20 years to the day since I first qualified as a coach and over those 20 years I’ve watched and read, been involved in hundreds of games and what I’ve learned in that period is the greatest principle you can have is denying the opponent space,” Rodgers said.

“And how the players 
counter-pressed the game today, didn’t allow Hamilton to make any sequence of passes – and they have some real technical players – deserves real credit in terms of how hard they are working. They are so many points [24] ahead and they still show that desire and hunger to close the space.”

Such technical intricacies were overshadowed by another Dembele show. After the Premiership’s bottom side provided stubborn resistance for 44 minutes, it felt as if the 20-year-old Frenchman decided he had enough when, wrongside to the goal, he produced an exquisite drag back to turn him round and away from Massimo Donati and send him galloping towards the box. As he reached it, he wrapped his foot around the ball and sent a curling, clinical effort into the top left-hand corner of Garry Wood’s net.
For his next trick, he simply converted a penalty awarded after Kieran Tierney had caught Donati’s outstretched leg on the hour mark, but the forward did so with aplomb. A third hat-trick, and 12th goal in seven matches then looked on the cards but with 20 minutes remaining Rodgers introduced a fit-again Leigh Griffiths for only his second brief appearance in 2017.
Rodgers maintained the switch did not leave Dembele miffed at having to wait till at least Wednesday’s encounter with Inverness to break the 30-goal mark in this wondrous season for the forward recruited from Fulham for £500,000, even if his slumped-shouldered trudge towards the tunnel might have suggested otherwise.
“The boy oozes quality; he absolutely oozes quality and for a 20-year-old to see the improvements he’s making is just fantastic,” said the Celtic manager. “I thought he looked alright [going off] he was milking the applause, he was enjoying it.

“He’s a striker, he wanted the 
hat-trick and what not. But like I’ve said before there is no individual bigger than the team and I always like to make sure, when I can, to think about the team. He was outstanding today. He maybe could have got another hat-trick but it doesn’t matter. The first goal, great, the second one great composure to finish.”
The not-so-great finish of the afternoon was provided by Stuart Armstrong in his first start for a month. Just after the half hour he contrived to rattle the bar from four yards out with the goal unguarded after Tierney had swept over a cross to tee him up for what seemed a certain goal.
Meanwhile, the not-so-great prospects are those of yesterday’s visitors. Hamilton manager Martin Canning might have believed he could “take a lot” from his team “competing with the best team in 
the country” but the bottom line is that competing with any team in the top league long-term looks problematic with his club now propping it up.
Hamilton’s next run of games sees them face Aberdeen, Hearts, Rangers and St Johnstone, while they are also at Ibrox in the Scottish Cup quarter-finals next Saturday. And just as it is difficult to see where Celtic’s next defeat is going to come from, the same might be said of a win for the Lanarkshire men.

BBC
Moussa Dembele scored twice against Hamilton Academical to give Celtic a 21st straight Premiership victory.
The visitors, sitting bottom of the table, had limited the leaders to a Stuart Armstrong strike against the woodwork until Dembele struck.
The French striker curled home a superb shot on the stroke of half-time.
Dembele scored his second after 59 minutes from the penalty spot after Kieran Tierney was brought down by Massimo Donati.
Celtic's 15th consecutive win in all competitions means they retain their 24-point lead over Aberdeen, who beat Ross County.
Accies remain one point behind Inverness Caledonian Thistle, who had lifted themselves off the bottom with Friday's win over Rangers.

Dembele makes difference

Celtic were in command of this game, but that alone was not enough to overcome Hamilton.
The visitors were disciplined, well-organised and spirited, while their hosts lacked the edge and intensity that has distinguished the best of their work this season.
The game became a test of Celtic's patience until Dembele delivered a moment of improvisation and exquisite technique.
Spinning on the ball then dragging it past Massimo Donati, he made room 25 yards from goal then lifted a shot over Hamilton goalkeeper Gary Woods and into the far corner of the net.
It was striking enough for goalkeeper Craig Gordon to wait for his team-mate at the side of the pitch as the players left at half-time and congratulate him.
Dembele almost added a second early in the second half, but his shot from Tierney's cross was deflected wide.
The Celtic full-back still managed to create a goal for Dembele, though, being brought down inside the area for a penalty that the French striker converted calmly.

Hamilton suffer familiar tale

Not for the first time this season, much of Hamilton's play was solid and dependable.
They set up to contain Celtic and their work was diligent and thorough enough to frustrate the home side.
Darian MacKinnon was typically bullish in central midfield, while Danny Redmond kept trying to prompt counter-attacks from deep positions.
Steven Boyd, a graduate of the club's youth academy, looked promising up front, but mostly Hamilton were trying to maintain their hold on a clean sheet.
Redmond did shoot wide early on and one break upfield ended with MacKinnon playing Dougie Imrie in, but he sliced his shot wide of the goal.
The visitors had a claim for a penalty late on, when Gramoz Kurtaj went down inside the area, but the Hamilton forward was booked for diving instead.
Just before the end, Eamonn Brophy also had a header tipped over by Gordon.
Hamilton were bottom of the table before kick-off and there is no sense of panic at the club, but this was a difficult day for the visitors.
Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers: "When teams sit in that deep, it's always difficult. For spells in the first half we closed up our own space a little too much – that was just our positioning really.
"We still have moments where we could find the final pass a little bit better, but right on half-time an absolutely brilliant goal by Moussa. The boy oozes quality, he has wonderful finishing, and I think that was his first one from outside the box, so he's continually working on that.
"His movement was good, he's improving all the time in the setting up of his game. He's always a threat, he wants to score. His contribution was very high.
"Defensively we were outstanding, how quickly we won the ball back. Overall, a very pleasing performance."
Hamilton Academical manager Martin Canning: "We stuck to our task, and we did well, but it takes that moment of quality from Dembele to open the scoring.
"At that point the plan was working to frustrate Celtic, and when we had counterattack opportunities our quality maybe wasn't as good as it could have been. I was really pleased with the players' attitude, they worked hard.
"You can take a lot from it. They've competed with the best team in the country. It's always going to be difficult going toe-to-toe with Celtic because they've got quality players who can hurt you.
"You've got to come here with a plan of keeping your shape and being disciplined and organised. We did that very well and the concentration levels were great. There were positives to take into Tuesday's game against Aberdeen."