Raging pundit reads riot act to Celtic quartet as mystery Hoops aces branded miles off Old Firm pace
The Celtic icon believes there were four Hoops star off the pace in Sunday’s Old Firm.
Former Celtic and Republic of Ireland goalkeeper, Pat Bonner believes the Hoops were ‘outplayed’ at times against Rangers, as he listed several names who didn’t cut the mustard at Ibrox.
A Youssef Chermiti brace in the first half an hour gave Rangers the ascendancy in Govan early on, before a valiant second half Hoops effort earned them a point. Kieran Tierney was on target with his header from Benjamin Nygren’s cross then Reo Hatate eventually tapped the ball at the third time of asking after Jack Butland saved his penalty and initial rebound.
Hatate was one of a few Celtic second half substitutions who made a real impact in swinging the momentum back in their favour, however Bonner wasn’t impressed by a few Hoops stars in the first 45, who he claimed were passengers. One of which was new boy Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, who was taken off at half time for the Japanese midfielder.
Oxlade Chamberlain lack of Old Firm experience told
On BBC Radio Scotland, Bonner said at half time: “I hate to say it. Celtic have been out-fought, out-muscled, especially in the middle of the pitch, outplayed at times. And that first 12 minutes, Celtic were really on the back foot. And of course, an unbelievable goal, you’ve got to say. But there was other chances.
“And I just think that there’s players out there at the moment that just cannot play it in this fixture. You know, Oxlade-Chamberlain, we talk all about his qualities and all that, but the game is just by passing him. He just doesn’t know that this game, you’ve got to work really, really hard, first and foremost. Run around, and then the quality comes to the fore, and he’s hoping that his quality will put him into the game.”
Celtic were overran in the first half and created next to nothing in terms of chances, something they can ill-afford to repeat on Sunday for Old Firm round two, as the sides meet at Ibrox again, this time in the Scottish Cup. Bonner picked out three more names in the first half, who struggled to make their mark on the match.
Hoops trio also called out
Bonner continued: “Sorry, you’ve got to do the other part. The other two, Yang and Maeda, nothing. Adamu, really from nothing up front. Maeda, I am not surprised [he had the fewest touches]. And when he did get a touch, then there was a great moment, I think, after 15 minutes, when Yang won the ball and he played forward to Maeda and his touch was awful.
“The crossing from Maeda was awful also when he was in a great position down the left hand side. Those are details that you know, if you haven’t got the ball, there’s games where you don’t have a lot of possession, but then when you do, you’ve got to be spot on. They are not spot on.”
Maeda’s header eventually led to the Celtic penalty as he struck the ball off the arm of Dujon Sterling. The energy of the Japanese winger once again gave The Hoops a much-needed lift in the second half. However the performances of Yang and Adamu left a lot to be desired as their positions in the starting XI are now under threat.