Celtic conjur up late drama after flat fan protest as some new signings show up better than others
Debutant nets stoppage time winner after harsh penalty award
And just when you thought it couldn't get more dramatic when it comes to Celtic ...
After weeks of rancour over recruitment, a club statement that incited even more venom towards an embattled board and a protest and a manager who publicly torched a "cowardly" member of his own board for briefing against him to media, we had this, a highly dramatic conclusion to a Premiership encounter against Kilmarnock.
Celtic left Ayrshire with a controversial 2-1 win courtesy of a 96th-minute penalty from new signing Kelechi Iheanacho on his debut. It was given after referee John Beaton was advised to check a handball by Lewis Mayo to block a goalbound effort from James Forrest. Such instances are dominating the Scottish game right now.
The win moves Celtic back to the summit of the league on 13 points, ahead of Hearts on goal difference. They are already nine ahead of supposed nearest challengers Rangers, who are already in the red zone when it comes to the title race after just five rounds of fixtures.
The late winner is a hallmark of champions, although Celtic did not look like a title-winning team for much of this match against a well-organised and plucky Kilmarnock side that did so well to recover from Daizen Maeda's 57th-minute opener by levelling matters through David Watson in the closing stages of the match.
Those Celtic fans who attempted to hog the headlines with a 12th-minute protest against the club's hierarchy were spectacularly thwarted by events on the pitch. Even still, the late entrance of roughly half the away support to the Chadwick Stand did not visibly pack a punch.
Chants of "sack the board" and placards calling out major shareholder Dermot Desmond, chairman Peter Lawwell, chief executive Michael Nicholson and finance director Chris McKay came thereafter. The rage against the Celtic machine will continue for some time yet.
Keeping pace with Hearts
Goodness knows to what level if Celtic had not found a winner at Rugby Park. While Rangers look more like mid-table fodder right now, an early challenge has emerged from Edinburgh in the shape of Hearts. Keeping pace with them feels important at this stage given the Jambos are in a far more stable state.
Rugby Park has often been a challenging venue for Celtic and they took a long time to get going amid the mutinous atmosphere. The first half was largely forgettable. Kilmarnock sat in a low block and invited the hosts on to them. Their goalkeeper Max Stryek dealt comfortably with strikes from Benjamin Nygren and Cameron Carter-Vickers.
Rodgers handed a debut to Tunisian left-winger Sebastian Tounekti, who showed up well on his first start, linking nicely with another new player in full-back Marcelo Saracchi. On the other flank, the less said about right-winger Michel-Ange Balikwisha, the better. He was signed from Antwerp last month and had a muted game.
Celtic did improve after the interval. They played with more zip and vigour and got the lead on 57 minutes when Saracchi whipped in a good inswinging cross and Maeda put his head in where the boots normally live to glance home the opener.
Maeda revealed earlier this week that he wanted to leave Celtic during the summer. He is locked in now until January and after an underwhelming start to the season, the Japanese forward will hope to kick on now.
Moment of controversary
Celtic tried to put the game to bed but could not land a second. Killie, to their credit, responded well. The introduction of Bruce Anderson livened up their front line and during a period of sustained pressure, the leveller came on 82 minutes. Greg Kiltie swung in an excellent corner and David Watson timed his arrival to perfection and bulleted home a close-range header.
Killie actually looked most likely to get a winner but deep into stoppage time, we had our moment of controversy. Forrest drilled a shot into a thicket of players in the six-yard box and the ball spun off Robbie Deas' boot on to the outstretched hand of Mayo. Celtic appealed for a penalty and on the advice of VAR Matthew McDermid, Beaton reviewed the incident and gave the penalty.
From an impartial position, the award seemed harsh. Mayo was so close to Deas and he could not read the deflection.
No clemency was shown by Iheanacho. A free-transfer signing, the Nigerian showed admirable courage to step up and send the ball high into the net. He ran into the Celtic end to celebrate, joined by his teammates.
A controversial moment, but one that could galvanise a fractured club right now. They needed this moment of unity to spark their season.
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