Celtic v Motherwell - Scottish Cup Final Preview

Celtic will be without Joe Ledley and Beram Kayal but Kris Commons returns from suspension and will almost certainly start after netting nine times in his previous nine appearances.  Motherwell have a full squad to choose from, meaning the only selection worries Stuart McCall has is who to leave out of his starting eleven.

Celtic

With the absence of Ledley and Kayal in the last few games, Neil Lennon has moved Scott Brown into the centre of midfield alongside Ki Sung-Yeung.  In order to add more industry to the midfield, Charlie Mulgrew has been moved from his makeshift central defensive position to a makeshift midfield role.  Mulgrew has been deployed on the left-side of midfield but in a more tucked in role, like that of Brown for much of the season only on the opposite side.  The knock-on effect has been to move Kris Commons over to the right, meaning that we are now seeing a mirror of the lopsided 4-4-2 that Lennon has preferred for much of the season.

With Mulgrew being moved into midfield, Glenn Loovens has found himself restored to the starting line-up recently.  The Dutchman will take his place in an otherwise familiar back four.  The only other decision for Lennon is who to select in attack.  Gary Hooper is a certain starter but he then has to choose between Anthony Stokes and Georgios Samaras to partner him. 

Samaras broke his duct of only being selected for Old Firm matches when he was selected to play against Motherwell at the weekend and managed to get on the scoresheet.  Hooper and Stokes have a great understanding and their link up has been excellent at times this season, although Stokes seems to have been overlooked when the bigger matches arise, including Celtic’s previous cup final appearance this season.

Motherwell

With the cup final in mind, Stuart McCall has chopped and changed, rested and experimented in recent weeks so his last few line-ups and formations will have no bearing on his selection for Saturday.

The Motherwell manager has a full squad to choose from and has let it be known this week that he has decided upon his starting eleven with the exception of one position.  This could possibly be related to what formation he is deciding to go with.  When he first took charge, McCall experimented with a number of formations but settled upon a 4-4-2 (which became a 4-2-3-1 in possession) when Motherwell hit their best run of form since he took charge.

Despite this, Motherwell’s 2-0 victory over Celtic in February saw McCall line up his side in a 4-5-1 formation, matching Celtic man-for-man in the middle of the park.  The formation also included two pacey wingers that were positioned high up the pitch, pressing against Celtic’s full-back, thus, nullifying the threat they posed.

For that reason, as well as the probability that McCall will want to keep it tight early on, I think that Francis Jeffers, who usually partners John Sutton in attack, will have to make do with a place on the bench to make way for an extra central midfielder.  This means that the main selection worry that McCall was alluding to was more likely whether to go with Steve Jones or Chris Humphrey on the right wing but more on this below.

Key Battles

Whether or not Motherwell start the match with a central midfield two or a central midfield three, this area will be one of the key areas of the field.  Celtic’s formation is such that they, in effect, have three central midfielders, meaning that Motherwell will find themselves overrun should they go with 4-4-2.  So assuming Motherwell start 4-5-1 then Hateley-Jennings-Lasley up against Brown-Ki-Mulgrew will be an intriguing contest.

Even if matched man-for-man in the centre of midfield, Celtic’s ace in the hole could be Kris Commons.  The Scotland international’s starting position is that of a winger although he likes to drift inside and occupy the space between the lines, no matter which side he starts on.  With the central midfield three of each side lining up man-form-man against each other, Commons may just be the man to find space and punish Motherwell.

The above means that Celtic’s midfield tends to be narrow but, as has been a feature of their play and a successful tactic for much of the season, they like to get their full-backs forward to provide width.  Mark Wilson and Emilio Izaguirre have both been dangerous when getting forward though, as mentioned earlier, the presence of two Motherwell wingers high up the pitch may cause them to think twice before their forays into the opposition half, therefore, making them less of a threat.

Which takes us back to McCall’s main selection problem: Jones or Humphrey?  Jones is tricky and has more of an end product, whereas Humphrey is, for the most part, pure pace.  Jones likes to cut inside when on the right wing, whereas for Humphrey it’s all about hugging the touchline, getting outside the full-back and hitting the byline.

All things considered, Humphrey may just be the better choice.  Izaguirre has shown a little bit of fragility to the defensive side of his game – most notably in the post-split fixtures versus Inverness and Motherwell – and Humphrey may not only cause the Honduran to stay back more often, he may possess the attributes to punish him more effectively.  The other option is to keep Humphrey for later on in the match and use him as an impact substitution when everyone else is tiring as the pace he possesses could be deadly at that point.  The trouble with this is that it gambles that the match will still be alive come the latter stages.

Whichever player McCall decides upon, it will be interesting to see whether he, along with Jamie Murphy on the other wing, can not only prevent the Celtic full-backs from moving up the pitch and get involved in attacks, but also punish them if they do decide to get forward.

SPL Team of the Season

An SPL campaign in which the actual football rarely hogged the headlines saw a departing Walter Smith lead his threadbare Rangers side to the title.  The eleven players below are predictably dominated by Old Firm players who once again were streets ahead of their rivals.  You may wonder, given the eventual champions, why there are five representatives from Celtic and only three from Rangers.  The answer is that Celtic played the better football throughout the course of the season.  Rangers ground out results a bit more, apart from towards the end of the season when they pretty much blew everyone away, and their play was overall more reactive than Celtic’s, although not exclusively so.

Before proceeding I should mention a few players that were unlucky to miss out.  There were two positions that were extremely difficult to decide upon – goalkeeper and striker.  Allan McGregor could just as easily been selected instead of Marian Kello.  His penalty save in the final Old Firm match of the season was a major factor in Rangers winning the title and he also saved his side on a number of other occasions.  Despite this, I have opted for Kello for the reasons given below.  The other player that was very difficult to leave out was Gary Hooper.  Nineteen league goals in twenty-five league matches is a fantastic return for his first season in the SPL, however, I feel that Nikica Jelavic’s overall contribution trumps that of Hooper, more on this below.

Some may also be disappointed not to see any Dundee United players represented.  They had a tremendous second half to the season after the return of Craig Conway and Danny Swanson from injury.  Although highly influential, these two did not quite perform consistently enough to warrant a place and the other candidates – David Goodwillie and the central midfield three – are worth a mention but unfortunately cannot be included at the expense of any of those selected.

Marian Kello, Heart of Midlothian

To keep Allan McGregor out of the side you must have had a tremendous season and that has certainly been the case for Marian Kello.  The Slovakian goalkeeper has faced up to three penalty saves this season and saved them all, including one in the 93^rd minute of a match that ensured a 2-1 victory over Dundee United – an absolutely vital three points for Hearts in the end given th eventual difference in points between the two sides.

His stand-out performances include the 0-0 draw at Pittodrie as well as the 1-0 victory at home to Rangers, a match which saw him awarded the Clydesdale Bank SPL save of the season award for one of his many stops that day.

Mark Wilson and Emilio Izaguirre, Celtic

Emilio Izaguirre was awarded both the SPL and the PFA player of the year awards this season and it is a given that the Honduran World Cup star finds his place in the best XI of the season.  His attacking prowess from left-back has seen him take up the position of a winger for large parts of matches and his delivery into the box is always dangerous.  He has been exposed defensively on a few occasions, including in the defeat that cost Celtic the title, however this should not detract from the high level of performance he has given throughout the season.

On the opposite side, Mark Wilson has finally managed a season of being relatively injury free and shown himself to be one of his side’s top performers.  There was a period in the season when he would also get forward at every opportunity but has become more and more reserved in his positioning as the season has drawn to a close.  Wilson is defensively solid, filled in at central defence for a short spell this season and has found himself a member of the most recent Scotland squads.

Marius Zaliukas, Heart of Midlothian

When his manager has been allowed to select him, Zaliukas has been vital to the defensive solidity Hearts have shown at times this season.  The Lithuanian international is prone to the odd horrific mistake but this aside he is one of the top central defenders in the country.

Zaliukas was frozen out at the start of the season due to a breakdown in contract negotiations and during that time Hearts struggled to keep clean sheets and, therefore, pick up points.  Hearts managed only one clean sheet in their opening seven matches without Zaliukas and it is no coincidence that they began a run of twelve wins in fourteen SPL matches, including eight clean sheets in nine matches, upon his return.

Charlie Mulgrew, Celtic

Bought under the pretence he could solve Celtic’s left-back problem, Mulgrew struggled in his early days at Parkhead and found himself out of favour before long, especially after the arrival of Izaguirre.  After multiple injuries in the centre of defence, Mulgrew found himself deployed as a makeshift centre-half and has since made the position his own.  The return of Majstorovic and other central defenders - Thomas Rogne and Glenn Loovens - from injury failed to oust Mulgrew and he must now be considered as a potential international in this position given the lack of quality Craig Levein has available there.

Finding himself at the heart of the defence with the best record in the SPL is an excellent achievement for Mulgrew and it will be interesting to see whether he remains in this position next season or whether Neil Lennon decides to strengthen and keep Mulgrew as back up.

Steven Davis, Rangers

Steven Davis may not have made the best start to the current SPL campaign but the Northern Ireland international has improved as the season has progressed and is another one of the reasons why Rangers finished as champions.  Davis, more often than not, formed a central midfield pairing with Maurice Edu who has a tendency to underperform and go hiding in matches.  Despite this, Davis has controlled and dictated the midfield area, be it coming deep to collect the ball from his defence, his tremendous range of passing, or through his driving runs from deep positions.  His dominance in matches is even more impressive when considered that he and Edu often faced up to a central midfield three yet did not find themselves overrun.

Beram Kayal, Celtic

Beram Kayal was almost everyone’s choice as the man unlucky to miss out on a player of the year nomination.  Some even touted him as the actual player of the year.  Bought for a modest sum of £1m, the Israeli, along with Izaguirre, shows just how effective the Celtic scouting system has been over the past year.

Kayal is the full package.  He takes up the position of a deep-lying or holding midfielder, he is tenacious in the tackle, presses his opponents hard and can also dictate play.  He usually keeps it simple, playing sideways passes but can also hit a killer pass when the opportunity arises.

Alexei Eremenko, Kilmarnock

The signing of the season.  Mixu Paatelainen took over a side that avoided relegation on the final day of last season and immediately used his contacts to seek out some reinforcements.  His fellow countryman Alexei Eremenko was signed on loan from Ukrainian side Metalist Kharkiv and deployed in the ‘number 10’ role, a position few in Scotland posses the attributes to play effectively.

Even though he didn’t score many goals during the course of the season, it was his link up play and the assists he provided where he was most valuable.  Flicks, tricks and always at the heart of Kilmarnock’s good passing moves, he has been a joy to watch and it is a shame that he won’t be around for us to enjoy again next season.

Steven Naismith, Rangers

I have to say that out of all the nominees for the PFA player of the year I found the inclusion of Steven Naismith the most surprising.  Up to that point he had had a great season, however, it seemed that at no point up until then had he even been the best player in the Rangers side.

Since then it is like he has been out to prove all his doubters, or maybe just me, wrong.  Another player who struggled with injury for spells during the season, his return saw him fielded in a few different roles until Walter Smith settled him into a right-midfield/right-wing role.  During matches, Naismith likes to drift inside, playing just behind the striker(s), allowing right-back Steven Whittaker space to overlap and providing Rangers with an extra man in central areas.

Naismith has scored ten goals this season, the most notable of which was this spectacular effort in the recent hammering of Motherwell.

Kris Commons, Celtic

Even though Kris Commons only signed for Celtic in January, it is difficult to look past him for a place in the team of the season.  The English-born Scotland international almost signed for Rangers and up until a few weeks ago, looked as though he might be the difference between which side won the league.

Commons opened up his scoring account for Celtic minutes into his debut and has managed eleven league goals, fourteen in all competitions since, some stunning goals at that (check this one out too).  He has scored nine goals in his last nine matches.  All very impressive for a winger.

Deployed as a wide player, at least in terms of his starting position, like Naismith, Commons has a tendency to drift inside and allow the full-back, in this case Izaguirre, to overlap.  He is usually deployed on the left of Lennon’s lopsided midfield four, which, along with its many variations, has probably been the most interesting tactical feature of the season.

Nikica Jelavic, Rangers

As mentioned in the intro, this was a very difficult position to decide.  It could just as easily have been given to Gary Hooper and that is not even to mention the likes of David Goodwillie of Dundee United and Conor Sammon, formerly of Kilmarnock.

But Nikica Jelavic it is.  The Croatian international has shown himself to be a more complete player than Hooper, evidenced in his ability to play either up front on his own or else as part of a front two - towards the end of the season he has formed a devastating partnership with Kyle Lafferty.  His ability to come deep and link play is better than any other in the league and his goalscoring ability, with his feet and in the air, is again unmatched in the SPL.  He was awarded goal of the season for his expertly taken overhead kick against Aberdeen.  What made this goal even better is that it came in a 1-0 victory and not when his side were already cruising to victory.

Jelavic suffered from a bad injury towards the start of the season and has grown stronger and stronger as the season has progressed.  We can only wonder what his goal and assist tally would be had he been fully fit for the entire season.

SPL Young Team of the Season

Here's my (undescribed) SPL young team of the season also.  Honourble mentions go to Johnny Russell of Dundee United and Gregg Wylde of Rangers who both narrowly missed out.

Tactical shorts: Celtic 4 Dundee United 1

Celtic responded to Rangers' emphatic win the previous day with a comfortable win of their own.

With Joe Ledley missing, Neil Lennon opted to move Scott Brown into a central role and go with two wingers.  Kris Commons played his usual role of switching between wide and central positions with James Forrest more of an out-and-out winger.  Commons began on the left but was moved to the right, with Forrest switching to the left, after less than ten minutes.  The pair switched once again at the start of the second half.  Antony Stokes was restored to the starting line up and was the more advanced of the front two with Gary Hooper in a deeper role than he is known for.

Dundee United were at full strength and began in their usual 4-5-1/4-3-3 formation with a fluid midfield five.  They pushed their full-backs on and attempted to attack from the off, rather than soaking up pressure like most teams that visit Celtic Park do.

The match began with both sides displaying equal amounts of stray passes and quick, intricate periods of possession.  After the first goal, which involved a shocking error from Garry Kenneth and some excellent link up play from Stokes and Hooper, Dundee United became impotent as an attacking threat and only began to threaten again when they conceded a second and introduced Johnny Russell from the bench.

Midfield battle

Celtic were outnumbered by three to two in the centre of the pitch but a few different reasons negated this.  Firstly, Scott Brown and Beram Kayal put it excellent performances, especially in a defensive sense.  The tenacity of the pair and their constant harrying meant that Dundee United struggled to work the ball through the centre of the pitch.

Secondly, Celtic’s strategy was to move the ball quickly to Forrest and Commons and push the full-backs on.  With their height disadvantage in attack, they then focused on working the ball across the goal in the form of cut backs and low, driven crosses.

One final reason was that the positions of Commons and Hooper meant that, at times, Celtic did have a third man in the centre of the pitch.

Celtic’s full-backs

Relatedly, Mark Wilson and Emilio Izaguirre were back to their attacking best.  In recent matches, Wilson has, through design or necessity, found himself staying back more often than not, while some sides have managed to lessen the threat of Izaguirre.  On Sunday, however, both managed to get forward on a number of occasions, provide support to the attack and put in dangerous crosses.

This had the knock on effect of causing the Dundee United wingers, Danny Swanson and Craig Conway, to track back more often than they would have liked, leaving Daniel Majstorovic and Charlie Mulgrew to deal with the isolated David Goodwillie.

Substitutions

Both managers made substitutions that made an impact on the game.  After going 2-0 down, Peter Houston replaced Prince Bauben and Danny Swanson with Jon Daly and Johnny Russell and moved to a 4-4-2.

Dundee United instantly improved which was evidenced when Russell cut inside from the right wing and struck the post with a left foot strike.  Russell wasted another chance when he decided to go for goal rather than squaring it to Goodwillie for a tap-in.  Russell eventually scored in injury time but by that time it was too late and his side were three goals behind.

Lennon responded to the Dundee United substitutions by introducing Ki Sung-Yeung for Forrest and moving Brown to his, now familiar, tucked-in right sided role in a lopsided 4-4-2.  It was now Celtic who had the man advantage in the centre of the park and the presence of Ki meant that they were able to utilise possession better and slow the pace of the game down.

A further substitution on seventy-five minutes saw Shaun Maloney replace Hooper and take up a trequartista role.  Again this helped Celtic retain possession with the added bonus of a third goal which Maloney provided the assist for.

One final substitution for Celtic saw Brown withdrawn to be replaced by Daryl Murphy.  Murphy restored Celtic’s three goal advantage with a fine solo effort in the final minute of injury time.

Tactical shorts - Celtic 4 Aberdeen 0

Here’s a quick look at two of the factors in Celtic’s 4-0 victory over Aberdeen in the Scottish Cup semi final yesterday.

Aberdeen’s high defensive line exposed

As has been persistently mentioned, the red card after nineteen minutes ruined the match.  Aberdeen started well and defended admirably between the sending off and half time.  Before and after this period, however, was notable for their high defensive line.  Time and time again they were caught out by balls over the top and in-behind the defence which the centre-backs struggled to deal with.

Celtic began the match with a high tempo and direct style which saw Gary Hooper and Antony Stokes beating Andrew Considine and Zander Diamond for pace too often.  Stokes should have scored with a one-on-one opportunity with Jamie Langfield and another chance led to Hooper winning the penalty and subsequent ordering off of Considine, which again should have lead to a goal.

When Charlie Mulgrew opened the scoring after forty-nine minutes, Aberdeen had no option but to attempt to get forward more often and again found themselves caught out on a number of occasions by the pace Celtic’s front two.  The second penalty, which brought about the third goal, also resulted from a ball over the top.

Kris Commons

Celtic started the match in their lopsided 4-4-2 with Scott Brown tucked in on the right, virtually as a third central midfielder, and Kris Commons wide left.  Commons started wider than he usually does, staying very close to the touchline and whipping in a number of dangerous crosses throughout the first half.

After the ordering off of Considine, Celtic were patient in their build-up play yet struggled to unlock the Aberdeen defence.  After half time Celtic not only moved the ball quicker, they adjusted the position of Commons, moving him more central and this was the key to them finally seeing off their opponents.  Admittedly, the first goal was the result of a set-piece, however, the sings were already there in the opening minutes of the second period leading up to the goal.  Commons caused more problems from central positions, not least because his direct opponent was now Scott Vernon, naturally a centre forward, who had moved to central midfield after Craig Brown had reshuffled his side.

A further consequence of the tweak in formation was that Emilio Izaguirre now found himself with more space down the left and he got forward much more often than he had during the first half.  As has been noted in the past, the key to stopping Celtic is to prevent Izaguirre's forays upfield.  When 11 v 11, the Celtic defence looked narrower than I had noticed it to be all season, but with Aberdeen playing with one less striker and Commons slightly infield, this created the space for Izaguirre to move into and in the end Celtic destroyed the ten men of Aberdeen.

Celtic 2 Hamilton 0

Two excellent strikes from Kris Commons ensured a comfortable win for Celtic.  Defeat for Hamilton now leaves them with no wins in fifteen SPL matches. 

Fraser Forster returned from suspension, replacing Lukas Zaluska in goal for Celtic and Antony Stokes began in attack due to the absence of Gary Hooper through injury.  The rest of their line-up was as expected.

In recent months, Celtic have lined-up in a lopsided 4-4-2 with Kris Commons as an out-and-out winger and Scott Brown playing more like a central midfielder on the opposite side.  In the recent Old Firm match, however, Brown seemed to have taken up a slightly more advanced role and Commons spent most of the match more infield than usual.  This was in evidence again yesterday and as a result Celtic’s shape was more 4-2-2-2.  This meant that Celtic’s midfield was quite narrow and, as usual, the full-backs provided width and spent most of the match in the Hamilton half, leaving the two central defenders to pick up Nigel Hasselbaink.

Hamilton dropped Mickael Antoine-Curier and Damien Casalinuovo to the bench from the 2-1 home defeat to Hibernian, brought in Jim McAllister and Nigel Hasselbaink, and lined-up in an ultra-defensive 5-4-1.  Dougie Imrie took up an unusual wing-back role and Hasselbaink was deployed as a lone-striker.  Predictably, Billy Reid’s strategy was to stifle as many Celtic attacks as possible and attempt to hit on the counter.

Celtic’s fluid attacking front five

As well as the slight change in shape, Celtic’s formation was more fluid than it had been in most of their recent matches and reminiscent of the 2-2 draw at Ibrox in which Celtic played the majority of the match with four interchanging central midfielders.

In the first half against Hamilton, the strikers took turns at dropping deep and wide and Commons would drift across the pitch behind the strikers.  As well as this, Scott Brown and Sung-Yeung Ki would often take up various positions higher up the field and all five would interchange frequently.  Beram Kayal was the only midfielder who stuck to a rigid position and his breaking up of Hamilton attacks and simple passing gave those in front of him the licence to move around freely.

With the score still at 0-0 and Celtic struggling to create, a change in shape was inevitable and Celtic moved Commons to the opposite wing with Antony Stokes coming left and Brown now an orthodox central midfielder.  Their formation was now more of a 4-3-3 but the shape remained fluid.

Celtic dominate possession, few clear-cut chances 

A fluid midfield can cause problems for the opposing side by making the defensive players unsure as to who they should be marking but Hamilton’s set up was so defensive they effectively stifled the Celtic attacks.  A back three was flanked by Dougie Imrie and Jim McAllister at wing-back with a deep-lying midfield four just in front.  This allowed Hamilton to double up on the advancing pair Mark Wilson and Emilio Izaguirre, while retaining several bodies in central areas.

Inevitably, Celtic dominated possession but in the first half they didn’t create too much in the way of clear-cut opportunities.  Hamilton had one or two half-chances of their own and looked to be heading into the break with a deserved 0-0 before Commons opened the scoring.  A Celtic corner was cleared only as far as just outside the box and Commons was there to collect the ball and finish with style.  For all Celtic’s possession, it took a tremendous swerving strike following a set-piece to provide the breakthrough. 

Elebert mistake ends Hamilton challenge 

A substitution by either side did nothing to change the shape or strategy of the teams and within eight minutes of the restart a David Elebert mistake had gifted Commons a second goal, ending the match as a contest.  The blame may partly lie at the feet of Mark McLaughlin for allowing the ball to run past him but it was a poor decision from Elebert to play a pass into such a dangerous position. It was another emphatic finish from the Scotland international but he only had the goalkeeper to beat.

Billy Reid responded by bringing on Ali Crawford and Grant Gillespie for Mark Carrington and Flavio Paixao.  Crawford added an extra dimension to Hamilton’s play, showing his ability to run with the ball and beat players.  In fact, even though the nineteen-year-old was only on the pitch for around half an hour, he was the stand-out performer for the away side.

Hamilton’s play became a little more enterprising but they failed to create any real chances.  This unavoidably left more gaps at the back and Celtic will feel they should have increased their lead. 

Conclusion 

Hamilton were predictable in lining up with a back five, a bank of four in front and then an isolated front man.  Their strategy was then to sit back and hope that players like Imrie, McAllister and Jon Routledge (another impressive-looking youngster) could create on the counter attack.  The trouble was that they rarely broke with the numbers or quality that would trouble the Celtic defence.

Neil Lennon began his touchline suspension for this match but, nonetheless, when things weren’t quite going according to plan the decision (however by) was made to change the shape to a  4-3-3.  The most interesting point to note about Celtic, however, is their evolving formation.  They are now moving away from the lopsided 4-4-2 that has destroyed so many teams during their fantastic run and are now, starting matches at least, with Commons and Brown as the third band in a 4-2-2-2, both playing narrow and being persistently overlapped by Wilson and Izaguirre.

Scotland 3 Northern Ireland 0

Scotland completely dominated and ran out worthy winners against Northern Ireland in their opening match of the Carling Nations Cup on Wednesday night.  Craig Levein opted to field a striker this time in a 4-1-4-1 formation that pressed their opponents high up the pitch at every opportunity.  Northern Ireland were happier to sit off and allow Scotland to have possession.  They lined up as a 4-4-1-1 with Steven Davis on the right of midfield, as opposed to the centre, and Paddy McCourt just off Rory Patterson in attack.

James McArthur was a late replacement for Scott Brown after an injury during the warm up.

 

Northern Ireland began the better in a scrappy opening five minutes which saw both teams hit direct passes from defence.  After this initial period, Scotland began to settle and pass the ball around well.  Charlie Adam had been deployed as a deep-lying regista and, along with both full-backs, was dictating play.  One thing that stood out throughout the match was the space he and his second half replacement Barry Bannan were given.  Off the ball they were always in space and with possession they were not closed down and allowed to pick a pass.

Scotland’s pressing was so relentless in the first half that Adam even found himself charging down Northern Ireland goalkeeper Jonny Tuffey at one point.

For Northern Ireland, McCourt attempted to drop deep and link up with Davis and McGinn but the combination didn’t bear much fruit.  One chance for McGinn, after a McCourt through ball, was saved comfortably by Allan McGregor on ten minutes but other than this there was very little to trouble the Rangers goalkeeper.

Northern Ireland then pushed Corry Evans wide, moved Davis inside and looked to focus their play through him.  They put together some nice passing at times but did so without causing any problems for the Scotland defence.

Kenny Miller missed his first opportunity of the match on fourteen minutes but was on hand to give the Scots the lead five minutes later.  James Morrison won a corner on the left which was taken by Adam.  His outswinger was headed into the goalmouth by Phil Bardsley, who had peeled off the front post unmarked, and Miller stabbed home from two yards after the ball had bounced off Steven Craigen and Grant McAuley.

Scotland should have led 2-0 minutes later when Stephen Caldwell sent a free header over the bar after another excellent Adam delivery from a corner and Kris Commons had his shot blocked after he, Bardsley and Morrison linked up well on the left.

The more Scotland dominated, the more they got their full-backs forward and joining in with play which meant that they always had a man free in the middle third.  Added to this, the movement and pace of the Miller, Commons and Naismith – which became a front three in attack – and towards the end of the half, Scotland looked like this when in possession:

Scotland’s formation was not as rigid as Northern Ireland’s.  Morrison and McArthur would interchange and Commons and Naismith would often drift inside, allowing overlapping runs from the full-backs, and form a front three with Miller.

A McArthur cross eluded Tuffey in the Northern Ireland goal on thirty-two minutes to give Scotland a 2-0 lead.  The ball was intended to be hung towards the back post for Miller, was inaccurate and sailed into the top corner.  The Wigan midfielder, making his first start for the national side, admitted as much post-match.

The half ended with Scotland still completely dominating and chances from both Morrison and Bardsley were dealt with well by Tuffey.

At half time Nigel Worthington switched Northern Ireland to a 4-4-2, bringing on David Healy for midfielder Grant McCann and withdrew Rory McArdle, who had a torrid time trying to keep up with Commons, for Lee Hodson.

Notably, Healy's first action was to chase down a full-back, something the team had failed to do in the entire first half.  He instantly improved things for Northern Ireland and linked well with the midfield on a couple of occasions.

However, he failed to inspire a comeback and on fifty-one minutes Scotland stung together a succession of fifteen passes, which led to Commons making it 3-0.  Davis lazily allowed Naismith to run past him off the ball and when he received possessio at the edge of the box, he was able to deftly play Commons through with his first touch.

With the match sewn up Levein decided to give a few players a rest and another few a run out, making a triple substitution.  Adam, Bardsley and Naismith were replaced by Barry Bannan, Mark Wilson and Robert Snodgrass, while Northern Ireland brought on Oliver Norwood for Davis.  All three Scotland substitutions were straight swaps which meant that they retained their shape.  Bannan slotted into the position vacated by Adam seamlessly, added yet more pace to the side and appeared to have the same range of passing as the Blackpool midfielder.

More substitutions meant that they game petered out with Scotland keeping possession yet playing without much urgency and Northern Ireland content to sit back and not embarrass themselves further.  One more chance fell the way of the losing side but a tame free header from Patterson was straight at McGregor.

Overall Scotland showed that they have a lot of small quick players at their disposal who can not only retain possession but can also cause defences problems.  Levein ordered his full-backs to push on and this is ultimately what caused Scotland to dominate the midfield area.  The movement and pace of the front five and the overlapping runs from Hutton and Bardsley (along with a poor defensive display from Northern Ireland) meant that they were able to turn the possession into chances.

This was an excellent performance from the Scots and with players like Darren Fletcher and Graeme Dorrans still to return, they sit in a promising position level with the Republic of Ireland on both points and goal difference.

Lennon learns to focus his energy where it matters

After Celtic’s 2-0 defeat at the hands of Hearts in November, I proceeded to rant about Neil Lennon on a well known social networking site. In it I claimed that Lennon should stop pointing to match officials to explain his side’s inept performances and instead look within. Up to that point Celtic had an impressive record under the guidance of Lennon yet had failed in every big occasion he had lined his team up in, save an Old Firm victory against a Rangers team who had already been crowned champions.

Looking back now I still stand by what I said. At the time, Lennon had developed a habit of blaming officials for every match his side failed to win, rather than looking at his own players and tactics, and along with his chairman had helped fuel suspicion within the Celtic support that there was a conspiracy against their side, which lead some idiots to send death threats to some of the match officials involved.

If only Lennon had heeded the words of former Celtic manager Jock Stein when he proclaimed that “If you’re good enough, the referee doesn’t matter”, considerations echoed by his current assistant Johan Mjallby and set about getting his own house in order, Celtic would potentially be sitting in a more comfortable position at the top of the SPL.

Since the 2-0 defeat at Tynecastle, Lennon has not only subdued his touchline manner somewhat, Celtic have also embarked on a fifteen match unbeaten run, most recently coming from behind twice at Ibrox in the Scottish Cup Fifth Round. Celtic played most of the match with ten men yet still managed to dominate and force the match into a replay. During this spell, especially against Rangers on Sunday, Lennon has shown himself to be a good motivator, tactically astute and not afraid to make big decisions at vital moments within matches.

Celtic began the match against Rangers on Sunday on the back foot, found themselves a goal down to a fantastic Jamie Ness strike within three minutes and could have been 2-0 down, and effectively out of the competition, had Steven Davis’s shot hit then net rather than the bar two minutes later.

Lennon had switched from his usual 4-4-2 to a 4-2-3-1, a formation which had been successful in his previous visit to Ibrox. Ki Sung-Yeung, arguably Celtic’s best player this season, returned from the Asia Cup and was deployed as the more advanced of the three central midfield players, just off Gary Hooper in attack. When it became clear that this wasn’t working, the Celtic boss moved Ki back into his more suited role as a deep-lying playmaker, pushed Kris Commons into the role vacated by him and Joe Ledley to the left of midfield.

The move allowed full-backs Mark Wilson and Emilio Izaguiree more room to get forward since Celtic were now effectively playing with four central midfielders. Ledley was on the left, with Scott Brown on the right, however, they were both tucked in and not very advanced.

Celtic instantly began to dominate possession and were rewarded when Commons equalised, resulting from a move which involved the three players who had changed positionally, plus one of the full backs.

This forced Rangers to change their own shape as they moved Davis into a central position, part of a midfield three, and El-Hadj Diouf wide with Steven Naismith switching flanks.

Frustratingly for Celtic, Commons was replaced by substitute goalkeeper Lukas Zaluska when Fraser Forster was sent off for bringing down Steven Naismith in a goalscoring position. The penalty was a result of Commons losing possession while Izaguirre was high up the pitch, allowing Naismith and Jelavic to exploit the space he left behind him. The resulting penalty was converted by Steven Whittaker and Rangers led 2-1 with forty-one minutes played.

Rangers began the second half brighter but before long Celtic were dominating again despite being a man down. This was partly down to Rangers’ decision to sit back and soak up pressure but also down to the fact that because Wilson and Izaguirre were so advanced they, counterintuitively, had a man advantage in the midfield area and were happy to leave Daniel Majstorovic and Charlie Mulgrew to stay back and deal with Nikica Jelavic. Brown and Ledley remained tucked in and were now interchanging with Ki and Beram Kayal in a fluid midfield.

Lennon soon made yet another brave decision to go 4-3-2 (although in truth it was more a 2-5-2), bringing Georgios Samaras on for Kayal around the hour mark.

It wasn’t long until Celtic were level after an excellent finish from Brown. When the goal was scored both Celtic full-backs were so advanced, a stranger to Scottish football would have been forgiven for thinking they were both wingers. Izaguirre found himself down the left and crossed the ball to Wilson who had found himself in the Rangers box. When he eventually controlled the ball and created some space, he laid the ball off for Brown who did the rest.

A point-blank save from Allan McGregor then denied Samaras the chance to make it 3-2 shortly after and Celtic finished the game the stronger of the two.

Rangers’ numerical advantage was cancelled out when Naismith picked up his second yellow card for diving but in truth Rangers struggled to do much in the half with either ten or eleven men.

Lennon has finally shown that he can achieve results when it matters and has, since November, calmed down in his post-match interviews and pre-match press conferences. Granted, this morning’s papers lead with headlines of him criticising Diouf, Peter Houston and the match officials, but at least he is now doing it in a manner which is calm and with a bit more dignity. Of course managers are entitled to comment on suspect refereeing decisions but it is when outrageous claims are made in addition to those are made that it becomes dangerous.

The 2-2 draw means that the replay will be the fourth of seven meetings between the sides this season and leaves Lennon in with a shout of achieving a treble in his first full season as a manager. Even though he faced much criticism for his dugout antics and post-match comments towards the end of last year, Lennon has now calmed down and returned the focus back on to what is happening on the pitch. If he keeps the focus where it should be then Celtic may just have unearthed a top-quality manager who has shown that he is fearless when it comes to making brave game-changing decisions.