2017-12-13: Celtic 3-1 Hamilton, SP

Match Pictures| Matches: 2017 – 2018 | 2017-18 Pictures

Trivia

• Celtic remain on top by 5pts with game in hand, Sevco defeat Hibs.
• Half empty Celtic Park due to Xmas, midweek game and very very cold weather. Also this month has been expensive not least for the ridiculous number of games.
• 69 games unbeaten domestically in a row, but Hamilton could have grabbed 1 or2 more goals today and could have been a different story. Some great goals today too by both sides.
• Defence continues to cause concerns.
• Quite an alternative select XI last night.
• For one lucky child the night will be extra special as this is the game where Kano Foundation will welcome their 7000th child through the gates. Incredible.
• Celtic draw Zenit St Petersburg in the next round of the UEFA Cup, round of 32.
• Griffiths has not played much of late, fuelling rumours of discontent between him & the manager.
  RB Leipzig boss Ralph Hasenhuttl has insisted he won’t allow Marvin Compper to leave in January – because of the club’s injury problems. Celtic had been linked with a move for the 32-year-old Germany international, even if he would be ineligible for the Hoops’ Europa League ties.
• Reports linking Celtic with Astana forward Patrick Twumasi look to have been wide of the mark, with suggestions that the Hoops are not looking to add the Ghanaian striker to their ranks.
• Brendan Rodgers hasn’t ruled out a move for Spurs ‘keeper Michel Vorm next month as he looks to bolster his squad for the club’s tilt at the Europa League.

Review

"The first thank you tonight goes to the supporters. It was probably a hard decision to not stay in when the kettle is on, the house roasting and football on the telly."
Brendan Rodgers

(el Praiso)
Strange game. We dominated but in the end were lucky not to blow it with comical defending. Suppose it was to be expected with a back three containing one CB and two midfielders. That said, the worst mistake was from Jozo. On the upside it allowed us to give Mikael and KT a well needed rest. Expect them back at the weekend. We need to take these risks if players like Ajer are to get game time and our first picks are to stay fresh. Was actually a bit disappointed with Ajer, but given his limited time on the pitch I won't be too harsh. Edouard has something about him, just a shame the midfield did not pick him out often enough and give him something to work with.

(Ben7 of KDS)

Teams

Celtic

Goals

• Ntcham (12' minutes),
• Forrest (40' minutes),
• Sinclair (41' minutes)

Hamilton

Substitutes

• 2Skondras
• 12Fulton
• 16Templeton
• 22Lyon
• 25Ferguson
• 28Cunningham
• 89Sarris

Goals

• Redmond (29' minutes)

Articles

• Match Report (see end of page below)

Pictures

• Match Pictures

Forum

• Pre-match http://kerrydalestreet.co.uk/topic/11050169/
• Match http://kerrydalestreet.co.uk/topic/11050551/
• Post Match http://kerrydalestreet.co.uk/topic/11050565/2/?x=50

MOTM

• Voting Thread http://kerrydalestreet.co.uk/topic/11050568/
• Result Thread
• Winner –

Stats

Possession
Home70%
Away30%

Shots
Home16
Away6

Shots on Target
Home8
Away2

Corners
Home11
Away3

Fouls
Home8
Away9

Articles

Celtic 3 – 1 Hamilton: Two goals in a minute the difference for Celtic
https://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/competitions/premiership/celtic-3-1-hamilton-two-goals-in-a-minute-the-difference-for-celtic-1-4638872
STEPHEN HALLIDAY

Published: 21:41 Wednesday 13 December 2017
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It wasn’t a performance to set pulses racing but Celtic continue to tap out a steady beat in their pursuit of a seventh consecutive league title.
READ MORE – Hibs 1 – 2 Rangers: Dominant hosts downed by quick-fire double
First half goals from Olivier Ntcham, James Forrest and Scott Sinclair saw Brendan Rodgers’ men maintain their comfortable five-point lead at the top of the Premiership with victory over a Hamilton Accies side who caused them sporadic problems without ever seriously threatening an upset.
Danny Redmond provided the champions with a briefly unsettling period when he cancelled out Ntcham’s opener, while the visitors also scorned a couple of decent opportunities to make it awkward for Celtic after the break.
But after Sunday’s late wobble against Hibs at Easter Road, this was a routine and certainly deserved win for Celtic over the piece as they extended their record unbeaten domestic run to 69 matches.
Perhaps as much through necessity as design in the midst of a schedule which sees Celtic play nine games in December, Rodgers opted for some squad rotation. Kristoffer Ajer and Nir Bitton came into defence, joining Dedryck Boyata in a back three.
The reshaped formation, which saw Callum McGregor able to drop in from a fluid midfield to operate at left-back when required, also saw Stuart Armstrong back in the starting line-up.
There was still no place in attack for Leigh Griffiths, however, as the Scotland striker’s current absence from the starting line-up extended to a fourth consecutive game with Odsonne Edouard again preferred up front.
Celtic hit their stride quickly with Bitton and Ntcham both coming close from distance in the early exchanges, the former’s effort forcing a fine save from Gary Woods before the latter fizzed a shot narrowly wide.
It only took until the 12th minute for Celtic’s early dominance to earn a tangible reward. Sinclair sprinted onto a cute pass from McGregor down the left and the winger’s cross found Ntcham who thumped a right foot shot beyond the helpless Woods from around eight yards.
The early setback forced Hamilton to adopt a slightly more adventurous approach and Bitton had to make a tremendously timed interception to deny Redmond a shooting chance on the edge of the box.
READ MORE – Partick Thistle 3 – 2 Motherwell: Visitors fall short of epic comeback
Celtic continued to control proceedings, however, and Woods made another smart save when he threw himself to his left to keep out a stinging long range effort from the eager Ntcham.
But Accies suddenly threw a spanner in the works for Rodgers and his players when they grabbed a 29th minute equaliser. The Celtic defence were caught flat-footed as Darian MacKinnon found Redmond on the edge of the penalty area and his left foot shot soared beyond the grasping left hand of Craig Gordon into the roof of the net.
Celtic’s sense of purpose and assurance was momentarily disturbed but they forced themselves back into the ascendancy in emphatic fashion to exert a firm grip on the contest with two rapid-fire goals just before half-time.
Accies were cut open all too easily from their perspective on both occasions. The goal which regained the lead for Celtic saw Armstrong’s through pass find Forrest’s untracked run, allowing him to take the ball around Woods and slide home his 11th goal of the season.
Barely 60 seconds later, it was 3-1 as Forrest cut in from the right and squared the ball for Sinclair who had all the time he wanted to steady himself and curl home a right foot shot.
Edouard’s efforts to make an impact in the first 45 minutes were restricted to a late barge on Woods which earned him a booking just before the interval. The French teenager made a more positive start to the second half, twice being denied at close range by Woods as he showed good pace and movement to get on the end of a couple of fine passes by Ntcham and Scott Brown.
But it was generally a frustrating night for Edouard who was substituted with just over 20 minutes remaining, the arrival of his replacement Griffiths prompting one of the loudest cheers of the night from the home support.
Hamilton had not yet given up on salvaging something from the match and Rakish Bingham should have reduced the deficit when he shot wide from close range after fine set-up play from Greg Docherty. Slackness at the back from Celtic presented Bingham with another chance but this time his shot struck a post after beating Gordon.

BBC

By John Barnes
BBC Scotland at Celtic Park
Celtic eased aside Hamilton Academical to maintain their five-point lead at the top of the table and stretch their unbeaten domestic run to 69 games.
It was no surprise when, after a spell of early pressure, Olivier Ntcham fired Celtic into a 12th-minute lead.
Danny Redmond equalised with a fine finish, but the Premiership leaders scored twice within a minute through James Forrest and Scott Sinclair.

Rakish Bingham hit the post as Accies had the better second-half chances.
But there was to be no fightback from the side who remain ninth in the table after their three-match unbeaten run away from home came to an end.
With Aberdeen sweeping aside St Johnstone and Rangers edging out Hibernian, Brendan Rodgers' reigning champions retain the gap at the summit with both – and still have a game in hand.
Celtic made a lively start and Nir Bitton, who had returned to the centre of defence, forced a save from goalkeeper Gary Woods then Stuart Armstrong and Ntcham fired just wide from distance.
They were getting closer and opened the scoring with a wonderful effort from Ntcham. Sinclair worked a neat one-two with Callum McGregor before picking out the Frenchman, who blasted a right-foot volley from 10 yards into the net for his fifth goal of the season.
Ntcham came close to adding to his tally with a fine half volley from the edge of the area that Woods tipped excellently round the post.
Hamilton had won only one of their previous 20 matches against Celtic, but they stunned the home crowd with an equaliser just before the half-hour mark.

Darian MacKinnon set up Redmond on the 18-yard line and he sent a left-foot shot over goalkeeper Craig Gordon and into the top left-hand corner of the net.
However, Celtic were dominating and regained the lead through Forrest. A defence-splitting pass from Armstrong picked out the winger on the run and he rounded Woods before slotting home with a low left-foot shot.
Sinclair, who scored twice at the weekend against Hibs, hit Celtic's third three minutes before the break with an exquisite finish, chipping from 16 yards beyond Woods.
Redmond had an effort deflected wide early in the second half as he followed up after his own free-kick was blocked by the defensive wall.
Celtic were still creating more than the visitors and, when Odsonne Edouard was clean through, Woods was up to the task of saving his low shot.
Accies were always dangerous on the counter attack and Bingham missed a glorious chance, screwing his shot wide when unmarked eight yards from Greg Docherty's low cross.
Docherty wasted another chance when he burst forward and dragged his shot wide when he had the opportunity to pass to Bingham.
A short pass-back from substitute Jozo Simunovic presented Bingham with another chance and the striker sent a low shot beyond goalkeeper Craig Gordon but back off the post.
Celtic substitute Jonny Hayes forced another fine save from Woods, but the damage for Accies had been done in the first half as Rodgers' men stretched their unbeaten home run in domestic game to 44 matches.

Match reaction

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers: "I was very pleased because Hamilton showed why they've gone to Ibrox and gone to Easter Road and other places and won games because they're a good side with good players and Martin Canning's done a very very good job with them.
"So it was always going to be a test for us, but I thought we came through it very well.
"We tried something slightly different in our shape and our positioning when we had the ball and, in the main, that worked really well for us.
"We scored three very good goals with things we've been working on in terms of breaking the line.
"There were a couple of mistakes which weren't so good, but at this time of the season, when games are coming thick and fast, it was a very very good win for us.
"Olivier Ntcham's first goal was great technique and his overall play and passing and movement was very good."
Hamilton Academical manager Martin Canning: "I thought we performed well. Obviously, at 1-1, a one-minute period killed us in terms of the game – we go 3-1 down.
"In the second half at 3-1, a goal for us and it's game back on and we had two or three really good chances from which we could quite easily scored.
"In terms of the performance, the boys worked hard, the shape was good and we created our chances and I'd have liked to have seen us take one of them to add that little bit of pressure on.
"We competed very well and limited Celtic to not a lot as far as opportunities because a lot of the chances came from distance.
"Obviously Celtic are a top team and, when you come here, its always going to be difficult, but in terms of the players effort and commitment, it was first class."