With such a lack of cohesion and consistency in the final third of the field, in particular, it is going to take blood, sweat and pure honest toil if Celtic are to drag themselves over the line in this gruelling battle for the championship.
That’s where Daizen Maeda comes into his own, of course. Toil and effort and energy are his trademarks and it was exactly those characteristics that paved the way for this hard-fought victory over a Falkirk side that made plenty of chances themselves over a highly competitive 90 minutes.
With the game threatening to tip in favour of the Bairns on the half-hour mark, his relentless pressing forced a calamitous error from Keelan Adams and led to the opener.
He then set up Kieran Tierney to make it 2-0 in the moments leading up to the break and delivered a crucial third himself with seven minutes remaining after Falkirk substitute Kyrell Wilson had set up a nailbiting finale with an absolutely fantastic goal for the visitors.
In truth, Maeda’s inclusion as the spearhead of the forward line came as a surprise to many. Following his two-goal performance off the bench in last weekend’s Scottish Cup semi-final win over St Mirren, there was a sense Kelechi Iheanacho might have done enough to earn himself a starting jersey.
As it was, the retention of Maeda by head coach Martin O’Neill proved a wise decision amid a team selection that raised eyebrows in other positions.
Maeda made all the difference for Celtic, opening the scoring and then securing the win
James Forrest was given his first start in five months, an admission that some amount of really bad wingers have come through the doors of Celtic Park over the years, and did little before going off.
It was equally noticeable that not one of the five new faces brought in during the January window made the first XI. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was on the bench. Loan arrivals Joel Mvuka, Tomas Cvancara, Benjamin Arthur and Junior Adamu were nowhere to be seen.
Sure, the fact Maeda is still around is a clear sign, in itself, of how messy this season has been at Celtic. He had his bags packed to go to Wolfsburg last summer and would have been offski, along with Yang Hyun-jun, were it not for the fact the club couldn’t get anyone else in.
He hasn’t been anywhere near as effective as last term. Credit to him, though, for not downing tools completely after the way he’s been treated. The way it’s shaping up, he’s still going to be a key figure for Celtic as this battle for the flag goes down the home straight.
Sure, he’s not the perfect player and really not a natural centre-forward. That was shown when he squandered a great chance for his hat-trick late on when bending the ball wide when clean through.
However, he causes trouble, creates chaos, pressurises defenders into mistakes. He works and grafts and never gives up. And that raw perseverance, that unending willingness, is going to be required within a side that simply isn’t producing enough in the way of quality work in key areas.
One bonus for O’Neill as he continues trying to wring everything he can out of this ill-constructed squad is that Parkhead certainly feels unified again. It is only a temporary truce, but the atmosphere inside the ground yesterday was hugely supportive.
One small token of resistance remains in the ultras corner of the ground with a banner featuring the crossed-out faces of Dermot Desmond and certain board members. The ‘Sack The Board’ stuff has generally been parked until the season’s over, though.
Maeda watches his strike find the net after closing down a clearance on the half-hour mark
Punters were out in force here two hours before kick-off to welcome the team to the stadium. The Green Brigade flew a ‘Spirit of 86’ banner throughout, invoking memories of the team that overtook Hearts and won the title 40 years ago.
This Celtic side lacks the depth and substance of that side, though, as shown by the fact Falkirk had so many moments of their own in what remained a live contest until Maeda finally made it 3-1.
Midway through the first period, Yang gifted the ball to Calvin Miller, who, in turn, set up Brad Spencer for a 25-yard bouncing effort that Viljami Sinisalo had to touch wide to his left.
Leon McCann then fizzed a ball across the face of goal that was just begging to be popped in the back of the net – taking the slightest deflection off a Celtic jersey in the end to go wide for a corner.
Celtic had enjoyed the lion’s share of the possession until that stage without fashioning any great chances and it was a dreadful blunder by visiting defender Adams – coupled with terrific persistence by Maeda – that eventually led to the deadlock being broken.
Adams, in truth, had plenty of time to deal with a loose ball midway inside his own half. Yet, he dillied and dallied. And that sniff of uncertainty in an opponent’s actions is all Maeda needs. He closed the Falkirk man down, blocked his attempted ball forward with his boot and raced onto the ball.
Kieran Tierney hammers home Celtic’s second goal against Falkirk
Goalkeeper Nicky Hogarth was stuck in no man’s land as the Japanese attacker got the ball under control and just failed to get his left glove on Maeda’s low shot as it zipped into the empty net.
It was precisely what Celtic needed at a nervy time in the game, but, even then, Falkirk could easily have equalised in the closing moments of the half.
Spencer fired in a terrific cross from the right and Dylan Tait moved onto it directly in front of the target. It looked like a goal all the way until the ball came off his head at the most unlikely angle and shot wide of Sinisalo’s left-hand post.
From that opportunity, Celtic broke straight upfield and killed the game stone-dead in the most emphatic fashion in the 44th minute. Maeda was involved again with the most delicious little reverse pass out to his left and Tierney smashed home an absolute cracker with Hogarth flatfooted and helpless.
There’s no question the goal knocked the stuffing out of Falkirk and it took them time to settle back into things after the interval.
Yang had the ball in the net for Celtic just before the hour after being played through by Benjamin Nygren and seeing his initial effort saved by Hogarth, but linesman Dougie Potter had already raised his flag for offside.
Yet, all of a sudden around the midway point of the second 45, the Bairns found a second wind from somewhere. Barney Stewart sent a couple of headed efforts wide before substitute Wilson, on for Ben Broggio, controlled a diagonal ball from McCann superbly on the right and smashed home an unstoppable angled drive.
Wilson then saw a shot deflect off Liam Scales into the waiting arms of Sinisalo before Maeda finally wrapped things up when moving onto a pass from sub Seb Tounekti and slotting home.
