All of today’s Scottish Premiership action ...
Right then, I guess that’s us. Thanks for your company and comments – enjoy the rest of the weekend, and please feel free to post me a killie pie.
Sky give Nicke Kabamba man of the match, which is a good call. He made his team’s goal, made Jullien’s life a misery, and gave his team an out-ball. He might’ve done better with a couple of headers, but if he can maintain that level of performance, he’ll have a good season.
Celtic only drew two of the 30 games they played last season, and only lost two; it may only be August, but dropped points matter. Back in Glasgow, I daresay Phil Collins is getting an airing.
Two teenagers get schooled by Phil Collins.https://t.co/SV4eczvuq9 pic.twitter.com/6IoaatJYIq
— 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘰 (@tprstly) August 6, 2020
Full-time: Kilmarnock 1-1 Celtic
Killie did a brilliant job of denying Celtic space, and kept the heid when things might’ve got fraught at the end. They were good on the ball too, keeping it when they must’ve been tempted to lash clear, and more than earned their point. Celtic, on the other hand, were slow, dull and tame.
90+3 min Celtic knock it three-yard passes to each other, intending this perspicacious ruse to tempt Killie into forgetting they’re defending a point. They do not, and when the cross comes in, Broadfoot heads away.
90+2 min Ntcham wellies a cross over the by-line. Celtic have been execrable, Killie have been excellent.
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90 min There’ll be three added minutes.
89 min Celtic have been a little better these last few minutes, and here’s Ntcham, driving a ball out to Bolingoli, who finds Christie, who slings over a cross for Klimala ... can he get his pate to it?! No he cannot, and the ball flies over the by-line!
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87 min A change apiece, Killie bringing on Kiltie for Burke and Celtic bringing on Bolingoli for Taylor.
86 min This is a bit better from Celtic, Christie barging by Burke and zooming down the side of the box to collect a return pass from Taylor; he crosses hard and Edouard tries to deflect it home, opening his body and using the pace on the bal, but he cannot, and the ref gives a foul against Christie.
85 min Celtic have been dreadful second half. Who knows whose fault it is, but going from Rodgers to Lennon is a colossal downgrade in the opinion of this idiot.
84 min Better from Celtic, Christie finding himself on the ball inside the Killie box and crossing low, but Findlay is there again to clout clear.
83 min Christie turns a chip into the box, but Findlay clears.
81 min I’m surprised Celtic haven’t chucked more men forward. It’s also not especially clear what their plan is – they’re playing like they assume something will happen for them.
80 min I’m not sure why this has taken so long – Celtic just have not looked like scoring – but finally, Ntcham is on, replacing Brown/
78 min Killie are spending as much time in the Celtic half as vice-versa, but has that given Celtic a chance to counter into space? Forrest nashes down the right and looks to cross, but Haunstrup is right there getting on his nerves, nicking the ball away as he looks to make his move.
77 min Brown slides Tylor down the left, but he crosses directly into Millen’s back.
76 min There’s not loads going on here.
74 min Killie are defending the edge of their box so well, again forcing Celtic into a shot from distance; McGregor’s effort is deflected behind, and the resultant corner comes to nowt.
73 min Kabamba and Tshibola combine to work the ball away from Brown, who boots the latter, earning a yellow card. Burke fancies the free-kick, but lamps it wide of the far post.
71 min Celtic are so slow in possession, with no one breaking lines or running in behind. Again, they get Edouard on the ball outside the box and again he shoots; again Rogers saves easily.
70 min Tell you what, Celtic don’t look any likelier to score than Killie.
68 min “The Killie pie story is deep and rich,” says Fergus. “The club’s current sponsors are the original makers of the pie but had a meaty dispute a few years back with a much disliked former chairman, who trademarked the word ‘Killie’ – meaning the bakers couldn’t sell it as such outside of games. For a while the club sold a different Killie pi, but it was offal compared to the real deal. You can even get the actual ‘Kilmarnock Pie’ in some supermarkets now. But probably not in England...”
That does indeed seem unlikely, likewise the likelihood that my local kosher delicatessen will be into stocking them.
67 min Double change for Celtic, Abd el Hamed and Klimala replacing Frimpong and Elyounoussi.
66 min Hello! With the ball out wide, Edouard and Findlay flirt for possession, then Edouard introduces hands to phizog. Findlay is not at all happy, but the ref gives him a free-kick and nowt else.
65 min Celtic find McGregor 25 yards out and he unfurls a curler that drifts just over the top. Decent effort, but Killie will be delighted to see another long-ranger attempted.
63 min Like now, for example! They win a free-kick 30 yards out and Burke whips over to the back post, where Kabamba is unmarked! He should go for goal because, though the angle’s acute, there’s more chance of a goal or rebound than of him nodding back across and picking out a man. but he opts for the second option and Rogers aves.
63 min Killie are doing a great job of disappearing this game. They’ve been really solid at the back, and looked to be brave in attack.
61 min Celtic are really struggling here – there’s no zip in their passing or movement, a failing encapsulated by the ball reaching Brown on the edge of the box and him having no option but to drag a shot wide.
59 min Power lifts a pass over the top for Kabamba, but it’s Kjaer with him, not Jullien, so the striker is forced wide; Millen crosses, and Barkas claims.
57 min Taylor points to where he wants a return pass and Forrest obliges, inside and running towards the by-line. Taylor catches up with it, though it looks like it’s out, and crosses low; Rogers eventually claims.
57 min I don’t think it’ll be long before we see Olivier Ntcham.
55 min Kabamba pulls wide and drills a decent ball into the middle, where Burke’s replaced him. But the touch to control is loose, and the opportunity vanishes.
54 min Edouard controls a long ball well, but Dicker is on him as he turns, and Elyounoussi concedes a free-kick by launching at the pair of them.
53 min Celtic are playing with urgency but not quality.
52 min “My normal culinary experience at Rugby Park – or BBSP stadium,” emails Bobby McDonald, “is a pint in the hotel, one killie pie pre game, one at half-time with a bovril and usually sour grapes after. Ain’t it the life though.”
I must have one right now.
51 min Edouard is warming up, turning cleverly – I think that’s his first touch inside the box – before leathering a shot that’s blocked at source.
50 min Edouard nabs half a yard outside the box, spinning to clump high over the bar.
49 min It’s been a quiet start to the half, which gives us the opportunity to thank Peter Oh. “I think the word you’re referring to is ‘umgelumperter’, he says. The adjective form umgelumpert (awkward, unwieldy) shows up in this Yiddish online dictionary.
48 min “That’ll be ‘galumphers’ I guess,” emails Dave Russell, “after jabberwocky.”
I wondered about that – my old fella was an English teacher – but I’d be surprised – and proud – if it was his own work.
47 min In fairness to that running out of petrol situation, I had just seen this goal, so swings and roundabouts.
46 min Off we go again. Killie send on Haunstrup for his club debut, as McKenzie has a calf strain. Haunstrup is a recent acquisition from Pompey, but hasn’t played since January.
Half-time email: “Oi, nowt wrong with The Riverside,” retorts Mike Ollier, “and it hasn’t been called Cellnet for years.”
The Cellnet bit was a joke, but I would also say, all things considered, the Riverside is up there, or down there, with my least favourite away grounds - not just the ground itself, though that’s part of it, but the lack of much going on around it. I did also once run out of gas on the motorway on the way home, and see Afonso Alves score twice, in the same game, while getting snowed on in April.
Half-time entertainment: Killie back in the day.
Half-time: Kilmarnock 1-1 Celtic
Killie will be very happy with that. You feared for them when Celtic went ahead, but they’ve stayed disciplined and focused, while Kabamba has the beating of Jullien. The second half shuold be decent, so join me a bit for that.
45 min There’ll be one added minute.
45 min Christie launches a cross from the right and Forrest is there in the box, hurling himself at it but flicking wide. In commentary, Andy Walker reckons if he’d tried to head it straight in, he’d have scored, and missed because he attempted a glance, but I think it was just slightly out of his reach.
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44 min Killie have played pretty well here. Celtic have had a lot of the ball, but have created little – they’re playing much too slowly and look a little rigid, much more so than under Brendan Rodgers.
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43 min “What is geleimpters? asks Joseph DeBin. “I can’t find its meaning on Google.” Yes, I had a look myself and could only find me using it in another one of these. I’m probably spelling it wrong, or perhaps my da made it up, but as far as I know it’s a Yiddish word, which means large daft individual.
41 min Jullien is not enjoying the physical contest against Kabamba - you fear for him when he faces someone as strong but with a bit more pace - and again, he’s bullied off the ball, losing a header following a long hump from Power, turning slowly as Kabamba heads into his own path, and eventually sliding a desperate leg along with Kjaer which sends the resultant shot looping over Barkas, who has time to chase back and paw it away.
39 min Celtic push with Frimpong coming on a game. Twoce in this latest passage he turns up on the ball, whacking a cross into the arms of Rogers on the second occasion.
38 min A shop in ‘Boro used to do Parmo Pies but sadly no more,” says Mike Ollier. “A few years back the lovely Brighton catering chaps welcomed us fans with their version of a parmo ~ nice thought, but they were manky.”
There’s not much that can redeem a trip to the Cellnet, but a cheese parmo – chicken or pork topped with bechamel and cheddar - is one such thing.
36 min Edouard tries the golf club-style sidefoot and Rogers is feart enough to dive full-length, but the ball floats just wide of the far post.
35 min Power hitchkicks in on Elyounoussi 20 yards from goal, just left of the D, and is booked. Edouard fancies it, while Rogers feels a twitch.
35 min Sky apologise for any swearing that wee might be hearing, as though that’s not a reason we might be watching, as though there’s nothing more offensive about football that goes unapologised for.
34 min Killie win a free-kick 40 yards from goal, send up the geleimpters from the back ... and Burke promptly luzzes over the by-line.
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32 min Christie wanders right to join Forrest and gang up on Waters, but he and McKenzie do well to block the resultant cross and win their side a goalkick.
30 min Millen is crossing really nicely today, and he curves another in towards Kabamba, but the ball is too high meaning Kabamba can only get under it, and he heads away tae Falkirk. If Killie can get Millen on the ball slightly closer to the line and the box, they’re in business.
30 min Findlay heads home weakly, and for a second it looks like Edouard might be in, but Findlay is on-hand to tidy up.
28 min Celtic are back knocking it about, but so far, Killie have done a good job of keeping Edouard quiet. We’ve also not seem loads of Frimpong down the right; Killie have forced things pretty narrow.
26 min “Having covered the Killie pie, I refer you to the worst football/culinary experience,” returns @AsNaturalAsRain. “I’ve just recalled the time me and @twovolumenovel went to Celtic v Aberdeen at Hampden (2011 ish) and the guy sat next to us had brought a bag of hard boiled eggs. Maybe the most offensive thing ever encountered in a football ground.”
25 min Yerman Rogers must be extremely relieved at what’s just come to pass.
GOAL! Kilmarnock 1-1 Celtic (Burke pen, 24)
Burke opens his body and punches into the bottom-right side-netting. Barkas goes the right way, but the placement is too much for him. We got ourselves a ball-game!
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PENALTY TO KILLIE!
Brilliant play from Kabamba, who holds onto the ball near the by-line as Brown and Jullien look to unload him; he strong-stands, then turns adroitly and Jullien can’t help but haul him down. That is extremely daft behaviour.
21 min “You may have seen the hoardings advertising the famous Killie Pie,” tweets @AsNaturalAsRain, “(luscious chunks of steak & gravy in a pastry case - glorious) Do you have a favourite matchday treat? I’m also a fan of the balti pie found at various Midlands stadia. Really is the best of Britain.”
I rarely eat at the game – I’m more of a sweet guzzzler – but my favourite football food is to be found at the Vine pub near the Hawthorns. But either Arsenal or Spurs away is reason enough to go to Diyarbakir on Green Lanes.
20 min Rangers have beaten St Mirren 3-0. They join Hibs and Ross County as teams who have won their two opening games.
19 min Taylor is looking good down the Celtic left and he finds space to cross with Elyounoussi, on loan from Southampton, free. But Broadfoot is alert, and he heads clear.
18 min Jullien heads Burke’s corner clear and Celtic build once more.
18 min First bit of Killie in a bit, Burke getting away down the right, but he doesn’t have the pace to get to the line and Ajer lumbers over the stick the ball into touch.
16 min I mentioned Hibs earlier, and didn’t mention Sunshine On Leith, but not because I didn’t think to mention it. Is there a better football song in all the world?
15 min It’s all Celtic at the moment. They’re looking to get this finished, while Killie are hoping to sit in and see what happens later on.
14 min and here’s Taylor down the left, ramming a cross into what looks not unlike a hand. There are shouts for a penalty, but the ref says no.
13 min Celtic are passing with purpose now. You fear for Killie.
GOAL! Kilmarnock 0-1 Celtic (Christie 11)
For some reason there’s no wall, so Christie steps up and sweeps left-footed, low, into the far corner. It’s a decent effort, but ye’ve gottae save those. Happy full debut, Danny Rogers.
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10 min Edouard spins Dicker, who chases and blooters him up in the air, playground style. He’s booked, and Ryan Christie fancies the free-kick, 30 yards out, left of centre....
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10 min The advertising hoardings are telling us about Kilmarnock pie, which Wikipedia teaches me is “a steak and gravy pie produced by Brownings the Bakers since 2003. The pie has won a vast number of awards including best savoury pie in Scotland two years running as well as picking up the best pie in Scottish football.” Need badly.
8 min Dicker slams a cross into the box, but McKenzie, martialled by Frimpong, can’t get anywhere near it.
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7 min Forrest squares for McGregor, who whacks from 20 yards; the shot deflects off the nearest shin, and Christie can’t catch up with it before Rogers grabs.
6 min Killie get it wide to Millen, who has time to look up before measuring a cross into the middle. And Kabamba is up too, but can’t pull head and neck behind it, so ends up heading wide. That wasn’t an easy chance, but that wasn’t a very good effort either.
5 min Celtic knock it about until Taylor wins a free-kick. There’s a lot of shouting coming from the touchline.
3 min My Sky drops out just as Kabamba motors through the middle, then returns just in time for me to see Frimpong on the ground, having taken a bang to the coupon. He’ll be fine, as a replay shows me that Kabamba didn’t have the pace to get away from the men in pursuit.
2 min Celtic are in their lime green Albert Kidd kit, one of the absolute greatest of all-time.
1 min Morelos has just put Rangers 3-0 up.
1 min Celtic get us underway.
The players take a knee. All black lives matter, people.
Here come the teams...
Elsewhere, Rangers lead St Mirren 2-0, a Connor McCarthy own goal just compounded by Alfredo Morelos; there are 18 minutes to go.
I’m kind of surprised that Olivier Ntcham isn’t starting games. Celtic are more likely to drop points because they don’t create enough than because they’re not solid enough.
He says his players were more intense in training this week, as they get fitter, and that Barkas needs to get settled. He had a difficult conversation with Bain, who took the news well, and will play some games this season.
Neil Lennon says this is a different game to last week, but he expects the same outcome. He thinks the pitch will make the game slower and that the ball won’t run well, but Celtic won this fixture last season so it’s no excuse.
The goals here...
I should note that the Rugby Park surface is artificial. I guess we’ve moved on from the burning fibreglass versions we had in the 80s, but the Liverpool side of the era famously hated playing at Kenilworth Road. The run and bounce are truer nowadays, but perhaps there’s an advantage for Killie there.
That’s exactly what it stood for my man! U legend... get in touch I will send u my shirt from tonight. Keep fighting ❤️
— Kieran Tierney (@kierantierney1) July 18, 2020
Greg Taylor seems a very sorted young man, and a perfect replacement for the equally sorted Kieran Tierney.
John Hartson is rhapsodising Edouard. I don’t know, but I’m guessing the lure of 10 in a row is a big one – I wonder if he might think about that, and also whether he might get a better move if he hangs on. He looks, to my eye, to be a far superior player to Moussa Dembélé, and though I don’t think anyone should be forced to work anywhere against their will, if Celtic can persuade Edouard to stay, they’ll get much better money for him in what is hopefully a post-corona world.
Here’s that interview in full. I urge you watch it.
“No one wants to have a job as a quota, ticking a box,” he says. “I want a job because I’ve earned it, not because it makes the figures look right.”
I think this is something that people don’t necessarily realise. For people of colour, it’s not just the jobs they don’t get but the ones they do; were they employed for any reason other than their ability to do it well? It is not difficult to grasp that this is an extremely difficult place in which to be.
He goes on to say that he’s never thought about himself as a role model, but his wife tells him he is, necessarily, and he hopes people look at him and realise that it can be done: black people can manage football teams. What a mortifying thing that is to type.
Alex Dyer, the Killie manager, is on Sky talking about how important it is that players took a knee last week. He talks about how it is, and was, in Newham where he grew up and how police treat black people differently to white people, following them and stopping them for no reason other than the colour of their skin.
“How do you have this car?”
“I go to work, I work for a living ... it’s not nice to be stopped regularly like that, looking over your shoulder.”
That one, er...
They qualified for Europe last season too.
Here they are, drawing 2-2 with eventual winners, Real Madrid!
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Please could someone commission me to write 6400-6500 words on Killie’s title win in 1964-65? Thanks.
As for Celtic, they bring in Vasilis Barkas, signed from AEK Athens this summer, for Scott Bain.
So what does it all mean? Killie make two changes from that Hibs defeat, with Gary Dicker replacing Greg Kiltie in midfield and Danny Rogers, who replaced the injured Jake Eastwood at half-time last week, staying in the team. Dickamona is on the bench.
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Teams!
Kilmarnock (4-2-3-1): Rogers; Millen, Broadfoot, Findlay, Waters; Power, Tshibola; Burke, Dicker, McKenzie; Kabamba. Subs: Lyle, McGowan, Haunstrup, Dikamona, El Makrini, Kiltie, Brophy, Whitehall.
Celtic (4-2-3-1): Barkas; Frimpong, Jullien, Ajer, Taylor; Brown, McGregor; Forrest, Christie, Elyounoussi; Edouard. Subs: Bain, Bitton, Klimala, Soro, Ntcham, Bolingoli, Robertson, Elhamed, Karamoko.
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Preamble
The number 10 is key to our culture: tithes, ten plagues, ten commandments, Ten by Pearl Jam. It controls how we count, which controls how we think, which controls how we feel, not just a figure, but a concept.
But when it comes to Scoish fitba, it means more. Celtic have won nine consecutive titles – a feat they also managed between 1965-6 and 1973-74, only for Jock Wallace’s Rangers to intervene – and a feat Rangers managed between 1988-89 and 1996-97, only for Wim Jansen’s Celtic to intervene. Now, though, it’s very hard to see.
Last week, Celtic swept Hamilton aside, with Odsonne Edouard scoring a 33-minute hat-trick. He is a brilliant player, and his poaching by a richer club in a richer league seems like Rangers’ best hope – even if Alfredo Morelos, their own star striker, also departs. But Celtic are strong in other areas too, particularly at full-back, where Greg Taylor, formerly of Kilmarnock, and Jeremie Frimpong offer speed, aggression and creativity.
Killie have their work cut out this afternoon. After finishing eighth last season, they lost 2-1 at Hibs last weekend – despite playing ok – and have been forced to change their keeper thanks to Jake Eastwood’s injury. Meanwhile, Clevid Dikamona, the former Hearts centre-back whose contract expired during the corona break and who signed last week, is unlikely to have been cleared in time to play. However, Alex Dyer has added six other players to his squad since the end of last season, so perhaps they can somehow force through a surprise.
Kick-off: 4.30pm BST
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