Despite playing below par against a determined Dundee team, Celtic managed to secure a commanding three points today. James Forrest’s two outstanding goals, which validated his manager’s belief in the winger who he played from the beginning, are largely responsible for the Celtic supporters’ victory today.
The victory came after our title opponents, St. Mirren, had earlier earned three points with yet another lackluster showing. Following the Celtics game at Dens Park, these are my three talking points.
1. James Forrest demonstrates his excellence once more James Forrest has been proving his worth off the bench over the last few weeks, so Celtic supporters had been clamoring for him to start tonight. Brendan Rodgers obliged, putting him on the left wing ahead of Yang Hyun-Jun and Luis Palma. The manager’s confidence in the seasoned striker was validated when he scored two goals in a man of the match performance, demonstrating the 32-year-old’s continued importance to this Celtic club.
Forrest stepped up to the plate today and helped his team out of a bind, as several of his colleagues were not performing up to par. With a first-time volley goal into the net’s corner that gave the goalkeeper no chance at all, his first goal was a work of beauty. After regaining possession of the ball from the Dundee defender, he sliced through the defense and sent a low shot between the goalkeeper’s legs for his second.
There has never been a player in my lifetime that the fans have underappreciated as much as James Forrest. Forrest has been one of the most devoted employees of the team in an era when players join, stay for just a year or two, and use the team as a springboard for a move elsewhere. Season after season, he has excelled in huge games like this one and has consistently performed to a high standard. He works quietly and keeps a low profile at all times. Whenever his time at Celtic Park ends, we will miss him.
2. Our overall performance today was poor
The only thing that really mattered was getting all three points out of Dens Park, which we did, albeit we weren’t at our best today. In order to win both the league and the cup, several of our players underperformed, therefore they will need to improve over the next few weeks as the season draws to an end. Prior to our second goal, it appeared that Dundee was the only team with a chance to score the next goal. The majority of the team was guilty of misplacing a significant number of easy passes at some time.
The midfield trio struck me as being especially subpar. I think Callum McGregor is still recovering from an injury because he isn’t even close to his normal level of performance. Reo Hatate and Matt O’Riley have a tendency to overcomplicate things by attempting intricate twists and turns that didn’t work. Hatate was unfortunate not to score to make it 3-0, although he did appear to get better as the game went on.
Adam Idah’s introduction helped us look more attacking, even though Kyogo was largely ineffective up front. Unfortunately, the Irishman scored an own goal, which added unnecessary tension to the game’s finish. Next weekend, we play Hearts, who have shown to be our hardest opponent thus far this season, so many players will need to step up their game.
3. Following last weekend, Liam Scales made amends Due to some of the goals we gave up against Aberdeen, Liam Scales and Greg Taylor received some criticism the previous weekend. However, I thought he did a great job today of handling the Dundee attack. Even though the Irishman had a busy day, he played strong defense the entire time against a Dundee team that most definitely did not show up to play for ninety minutes.
The tale of Scales, the center back who was on the verge of quitting the team the previous summer, is remarkable; he went from being a key player in the core of the Celtic defense to an unexpected mainstay. Without a doubt, Brendan Rodgers will search for a new center defender in the summer to play with Cameron Carter-Vickers, but Scales has shown himself to be a reliable backup at the club, as I mentioned in an article last week.
Scales has the mentality to bounce back from a poor performance and perform well the next week, which is encouraging given the number of important games he has coming up over the next few weeks. Even though many wanted Maik Nawrocki to replace him and drop him, Scales showed that his management was right to keep him on. His involvement in the championship run-in will be crucial.
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