Late goals - Our achillies heel?

[54andcounting 0]

After the recent disappointment v St Mirren which came about with the loss of an injury time goal to the opposition, I ask should we be concerned about the trend so far affecting our season?

 

Late goals have seen us dumped out of Europe with an injury time concede to mighty Maribor, we then unbelievably got humped out the 'Rangers Cup' against Falkirk again with a goal deep into injury time.

 

This latest loss of a goal with the last kick of the game, although not totally damaging, sees a worrying fault within our current squad....why are we switching off in injury time?

 

Ally and his staff MUST instill in his players to keep playing to the FINAL whistle or this season could well end in disaster.

 

We remain realistically 7 points ahead of timmy, but anymore of these slip-ups could be disastrous in our drive for 4iar.

Edited October 16, 2011 by 54andcounting

[craig 5,199]

I think your last sentence is a tad melodramatic 54.

 

We still are 7 in front and we can still afford to drop points. Something the Tims cant afford to do. And looking at both their results and their performances it is more likely they will drop points than us.

 

That said, we should be closing games out. Used to be US scoring late goals to draw or win games, not the opposition.

[54andcounting 0]

Craig it's only October and already we are out of Europe to a crap team, and even Falkirk managed one over us, now St Mirren have done some damage to our title hopes with a stupid late goal against us....all I'm saying is if this trend continues into the coming months then Celtic WILL take advantage, I know they are rubbish at the moment, but they turned certain defeat today into a draw and it could well kick start their season - we got a draw too, but it wasn't inspiring, that's all I'm saying.

[pete 2,499]

I think your last sentence is a tad melodramatic 54.

 

We still are 7 in front and we can still afford to drop points. Something the Tims cant afford to do. And looking at both their results and their performances it is more likely they will drop points than us.

 

That said, we should be closing games out. Used to be US scoring late goals to draw or win games, not the opposition.

 

To be honest Craig I don't find the last sentence that melodramatic. What is 7 point lead at this time, it is bridgeable within 1 week if we have 3 games. Looking back over the last few years the team lying points behind have quite often become champions. The top team seem to get nervous and the team lying second have nothing to lose. I must admit that at 13.30pm today, I was counting my chickens but just look what can happen in a short time. Celtic will come back at us of that I am sure, I just hope we have the strength to see them off.

[craig 5,199]

Craig it's only October and already we are out of Europe to a crap team, and even Falkirk managed one over us, now St Mirren have done some damage to our title hopes with a stupid late goal against us....all I'm saying is if this trend continues into the coming months then Celtic WILL take advantage, I know they are rubbish at the moment, but they turned certain defeat today into a draw and it could well kick start their season - we got a draw too, but it wasn't inspiring, that's all I'm saying.

 

Sure, but then I will try to focus on the fact that we are still the only unbeaten team in the country and are 9 points clear at the top of the league. Now, we can discuss late goals ad nauseum and, yes, they have happened. But the SPL is still the primary aim (ask Lennon what his primary aim is this season) and this is the ONLY time this year that a late goal has punished us in the SPL this season.

 

I dont really see it as a trend. You can but we have lost late goals 3 times in 16 games. It happens.

 

And much as though it could happen.... there is no evidence whatsoever that Celtic "WILL" take advantage. We dropped points in the 1st game of the season. They didnt take advantage. They could have closed the gap today with a win at Rugby Park. They didnt take advantage. Yes, they COULD take advantage but this Celtic team is in complete and utter turmoil, no matter how they try and spin it. They lost 3 goals and escaped with a DRAW at Rugby Park.

 

There is as much, if not MORE, likelihood that the gap will widen rather than close.

 

They didnt really turn certain defeat into a draw. They actually turned an expected win into a draw. Yes, they were down 3-0. Yes, they pulled it back. But they were expected to go to Killie and win. So they turned a win into a draw. Good news for us. Both sides of the OF should be winning against St Mirren & Killie. But neither did.

 

We have dropped 4 points at home to Hearts (not unreasonable given Hearts standing & it was opening game) & St Mirren (definitely disappointing but St Mirren wont be a pushover this season). Celtic have dropped 3 points at home to St Johnstone (also a tricky game) - so just 1 point a difference at home.

 

We have dropped zero points away from home. Celtic have dropped 8 points away from home to us, Killie & Hearts. None of those are easy games admittedly. But they HAVE dropped those points. And they have looked poor in other games too, as have we.

 

The point is, we already have the points on the board. To suggest that one more late goal to cost us points could have our season ending in disaster is being a bit over dramatic for my liking.

 

Celtic players AND fans were saying their league season would be over if they didnt win today. Whilst that is obviously incorrect and inaccurate the reality is that the pressure is still firmly on them. They simply cannot afford to drop points.

 

No, we werent inspiring. But we were comfortable. I dont think there is any doubt about that. Sometimes a team need a kick on the gonads to realise you cant simply turn up and win. The Hearts game is almost the perfect game for us given we just drew a game we shouldnt have and given they took points off us already.

 

Will we drop more points ? Definitely. Will we lose more late goals ? Probably. Is it a trend ? I dont really think so. Will Celtic also drop points ? Definitely. Will they drop less than us ? Going on current form, no.

 

We are still in pole position and we should enjoy that. The chasing, and the pressure, is on Celtic. Remember, we also have the players that have done it before. They proved last season to be bottlers. Looking at their recent results they dont have any leaders. We, in my opinion, have a team of them.

 

If we come through the January windo unscathed I am still quite confident we will win the league.

[craig 5,199]

To be honest Craig I don't find the last sentence that melodramatic. What is 7 point lead at this time, it is bridgeable within 1 week if we have 3 games. Looking back over the last few years the team lying points behind have quite often become champions. The top team seem to get nervous and the team lying second have nothing to lose. I must admit that at 13.30pm today, I was counting my chickens but just look what can happen in a short time. Celtic will come back at us of that I am sure, I just hope we have the strength to see them off.

 

So you are saying that if we lose a late goal just one more time it could be disastrous to our season ? Technically it is probably right. But it is highly doubtful that one late goal will be the sole reason for our season turning to shit.

 

Pete, the only team in recent seasons that have pulled back a deficit and won the league has been Rangers. You can go back to 2008 and suggest Celtic if you like but there is absolutely no doubt in my mind that had we not had such a horrendous fixture backlog then we would have won that league title. And we sadly dont have those European distractions this year.

 

OK, so at 1.30pm today you were counting your chickens. How about at 12.25pm ? Were you expecting Celtic to win or drop points ? You expected them to win. They didnt.

 

If they need to score 3 goals to get a DRAW every week then good.

 

We seem to be getting awfully nervous because we lost a very late goal and dropped two points in a game where we were actually very comfortable after we got our noses in front. Do we not have ANY confidence in our team to continue the great run of results we are on ?

 

FFS, we have dropped 4 points in 11 games. That is championship winning form for any set of fans other than, it would seem, Rangers fans.

 

We seem to be more nervous about Celtic than we should be. Can they go on a run ? Sure. Do they NEED to go on a run ? Absolutely. Are they just as likely to keep shipping points ? From what we have seen thus far, yes.

 

Why is it we are getting worried without even considering that Celtic have been PISH this season ? What is the evidence to suggest that they will get better ?

 

In the grand scheme of things, today is a blip.

 

Are we also forgetting we have just went on a 9 game winning streak ? Is that completely forgotten again ? Do we really believe we have a divine right to win EVERY game ? Come on people, surely we can grasp reality a touch here ?

[pete 2,499]

So you are saying that if we lose a late goal just one more time it could be disastrous to our season ? Technically it is probably right. But it is highly doubtful that one late goal will be the sole reason for our season turning to shit.

 

Pete, the only team in recent seasons that have pulled back a deficit and won the league has been Rangers. You can go back to 2008 and suggest Celtic if you like but there is absolutely no doubt in my mind that had we not had such a horrendous fixture backlog then we would have won that league title. And we sadly dont have those European distractions this year.

 

OK, so at 1.30pm today you were counting your chickens. How about at 12.25pm ? Were you expecting Celtic to win or drop points ? You expected them to win. They didnt.

 

If they need to score 3 goals to get a DRAW every week then good.

 

We seem to be getting awfully nervous because we lost a very late goal and dropped two points in a game where we were actually very comfortable after we got our noses in front. Do we not have ANY confidence in our team to continue the great run of results we are on ?

 

FFS, we have dropped 4 points in 11 games. That is championship winning form for any set of fans other than, it would seem, Rangers fans.

 

We seem to be more nervous about Celtic than we should be. Can they go on a run ? Sure. Do they NEED to go on a run ? Absolutely. Are they just as likely to keep shipping points ? From what we have seen thus far, yes.

 

Why is it we are getting worried without even considering that Celtic have been PISH this season ? What is the evidence to suggest that they will get better ?

 

In the grand scheme of things, today is a blip.

 

Are we also forgetting we have just went on a 9 game winning streak ? Is that completely forgotten again ? Do we really believe we have a divine right to win EVERY game ? Come on people, surely we can grasp reality a touch here ?

 

Put the shoe on the other foot Craig. Is the league over? I remember Manu breaking their record by winning 10 games on a trot and then played crap for the rest of the season and lost the league. I am not saying we should be cramped with worry but the season is still young and there will be many twists and turns to come.

 

In the grand scheme of things, today is a blip.

 

On the grand scheme of things we are out of two European cups and the League cup. We have had some woeful SPL form but managed to scrape through games. At this moment in time the few games we have been dominant in has been a blip, not the other way about.

[54andcounting 0]

If we come through the January windo unscathed I am still quite confident we will win the league.

 

.....and we somehow sort out that habitual problem of losing late goals pronto!!!

[craig 5,199]

Put the shoe on the other foot Craig. Is the league over? I remember Manu breaking their record by winning 10 games on a trot and then played crap for the rest of the season and lost the league. I am not saying we should be cramped with worry but the season is still young and there will be many twists and turns to come.

 

No, and I didnt say it was over. Did I ? But would you rather be where we are or where THEY are ? Who has been in better form thus far ? Us or them ? Who has had better results thus far ? Us or them ?

 

Yes, there WILL be many twists and turns to come. Today was just one of them. And guess what..... we came out no worse today than we were yesterday. That is surely not bad news. It could have been worse, it could have been better. But we were all happy at being 10 clear when we all signed in this morning.... so why should we not be happy at being 10 clear tonight ?

 

 

 

On the grand scheme of things we are out of two European cups and the League cup. We have had some woeful SPL form but managed to scrape through games. At this moment in time the few games we have been dominant in has been a blip, not the other way about.

 

What is the woeful SPL form ? Drawing 2 games out of 11 and being unbeaten ? Having played away from home 5 times and not conceded a goal and with a 100% record ?

 

Sorry pete but I really do think you are looking for negatives.

 

Look at our SPL results this season and the performances too.

 

Home

 

Hearts 1-1 - not a great start but a season opener with some new players

Aberdeen 2-0 - not a great performance but still pretty comfortable

Celtic 4-2 - I am sure some could find fault in the performance.

Killie 2-0 - very comfortable

Hibs 1-0 - much as though the result makes it look close we were very comfortable. Could have won by 4 or 5 and Hibs never threatened.

St Mirren 1-1 - not a good result but, again, I feel we were pretty comfortable. We had the better chances and enough of them to win more than one game.

 

Away

 

St Johnstone 2-0 - comfortable win in my opinion against a decent enough team.

ICT 2-0 - again, reasonably comfortable win for me.

Motherwell 3-0 - very comfortable win against one of the best teams in the league

Dunfermline 4-0 - very comfortable win and could have been more.

 

The Euro games were poor, we all know that. However, at home to Malmo we had enough chances to win the game although Malmo had chances too. Away to Malmo we were actually the better team even playing a man down until Bougherra also went and got sent off. Over in Maribor we were the better team, in my opinion, although at home we were poor.

 

We were shit at Falkirk, none of us can deny that. Worst performance of the season. But these things happen. Since then the performances have been better but no team has a divine right to be fantastic every game, certainly not us.

 

So I would contend that you are incorrect.

 

We may not be playing fantastic football and the stuff we would like to see every game but I think our performances have been decent enough as to say that the poor ones are the blip rather than the opposite.

 

There are only 3 games in 11 where we have not won by at least 2 goals. Two resulted in draws and the other was as comfortable a 1-0 win as you will ever see.

 

However, it is your prerogative to be a glass half empty person.

 

I just think that to suggest "one more late goal could be disastrous" is a gross over-exaggeration of the situation we find ourselves in. If we truly believe that then we are saying that we believe that Celtic are capable of going on a significant winning run. And whilst that COULD happen there is absolutely NOTHING to suggest it will other than our fear that they will close the gap on us.

 

The evidence suggests that they could just as easily drop even more points.

 

As I say though, it is your prerogative to see the negative. I wont be stopping you.

 

Am I disappointed today ? Yes. Do I think another late goal to drop 2 points would be disastrous or catastrophic ? No. Celtic will drop points too.

[craig 5,199]

.....and we somehow sort out that habitual problem of losing late goals pronto!!!

 

We will have to agree to disagree that it is habitual