Celtic reaction: Penalty quirk shouldn’t prompt paranoia; spectacular symmetry to scoring bonanzas; curious kerfuffle over pimply pitch invaders

Celtic’s 4-0 home thumping of St Mirren prompted some fascinating facts when goal digging into the Scottish champions’ league campaign.

Celtic's Kyogo Furuhashi hasn't helped his team win a peantly at home in the league this season, in part, because defenders can rarely get close to him as he weaves his magic that was to the fore with his double in the 4-0 win over St Mirren. (Photo by Ross MacDonald / SNS Group)

Penalty quirk shouldn’t prompt paranoia

Celtic had a shout for a penalty when Liel Abada tumbled in the box in the opening minutes last night. If the award had been given, it would have been the first at home for Ange Postecoglou’s men in the top flight this season. Bizarrely, Celtic are one of only two clubs not to have won a spot-kick in their own environs in 2022-23…the other being bottom team Ross County. Now, any cries of injustice or dodgy goings on are misplaced over how this could possibly be so. How can a team more on the front foot than any other in the country, and have plundered more goals on their own patch than any other over the first 12 league games, be on a level only with a County that have struggled mightily it happen in the final third?

In some ways, the answer could lie right there. As well as the alacrity with which Celtic pounce in their opponents’ penalty area. Postecoglou’s men are all about one-touch movement and one-touch punishment in their visitors’ area. No-one more so than the cinch Premiership’s top scorer Kyogo Furuhashi. His two finishes to take his league tally to 17 – of an 18 season total - were of this variety; a first-time lob to open his account against the Paisley men a truly world-class goal. Celtic do not hesitate or hold on to the ball when crafting scoring opportunities in danger areas. Defenders don’t have moments to down them because they are rarely given opportunities to do so.

Spectacular symmetry to scoring bonanzas

Celtic’s latest four-goal haul - a third in their past five league games - means they have now netted 34 times in 11 home games, and 35 times in 11 away games. That not only makes them the top scorers in both measures and the solitary top flight side with more goals away from their own backyard, it also means they are spectacularly consistent in dishing out punishment to opponents. The best means to illustrate this fact is through considering their scoring returns in terms of how many minutes for each goal. At this juncture then, Celtic have scored a goal every 29 minutes at home, and every 28 minutes away.

Curious kerfuffle over pimply pitch invaders

When Celtic bagged their third goal courtesy of Furuhashi’s second in the 52nd minute last night, from somewhere behind the goal at the Lisbon Lions end, three young teens ran on to the pitch. They made their escape with at least one, as far as it could be determined, bolting into the family section of the old main stand, situated just below the press box. This led to stewards embarking on a boy hunt. They found the miscreant and promptly huckled him out. A furore ensued with angry punters in the area shouting at those in luminous jackets merely doing their job to “leave the boy alane”. A case of wholly misdirected anger when it should have been the youths who couldn’t stay off the pitch who raised the hackles. If a blind eye was turned to such antics, how many more would be encouraged to stage such invasions, leading to who knows what? The pitch is for players, not punters.