DINGWALL proved to be every bit as challenging an away day as Dortmund had been on Tuesday night for Celtic this afternoon.
The Parkhead club had travelled up to the Highlands hoping to put the harrowing 7-1 hammering they had suffered at the hands of Borussia in their Champions League league phase match in Germany in midweek behind them and record a seventh straight William Hill Premiership victory.
Ross County, who went into the encounter with the defending champions at the Global Energy Stadium on the back of a three game unbeaten run which has seen them rise to seventh spot in the top flight table, had other ideas.
Ronan Hale put the home team ahead from the penalty spot two minutes before half-time after VAR showed first that Liam Scales had handled a Michee Efete cross inside his own area and then that Kasper Schmeichel had come off his line before saving the striker’s initial spot kick.
Alistair Johnston restored parity in the second half when he diverted a Callum McGregor shot in and Nicolas Kuhn secured a hard-fought victory for the Scottish champions when he netted with less than three minutes of regulation time remaining. Here are five talking points from the match.
Canny County
Brendan Rodgers made three changes which had taken to the field in midweek. Greg Taylor was unavailable due to injury so Alex Valle, who had replaced his club mate at half-time in Germany, started at left-back.
Elsewhere, Reo Hatate was preferred to Paulo Bernardo alongside Arne Engels and McGregor and Adam Idah was given a start up front as Kyogo Furuhashi was rested.
Freshening up the starting line-up appeared to have the desired impact. The visitors, roared on by their vocal travelling support in the North Stand, took control straight from kick-off and applied intense pressure to their opponents’ defence.
It was County, however, who created the first real scoring chance on the counter attack. Hale, who hadd been on target six times since joining the Highlanders from Cliftonville in his native Northern Ireland in the summer, forced a fine save from Kasper Schmeichel.
But the Dane could only palm his powerful volley wide and he was lucky that Noah Cilvers’ follow-up shot from the edge of his penalty box flew just past his left post.
Don Cowie’s men contained their rivals well, deserved to take the lead and could easily have gone in at half-time 2-0 ahead. Josh Nisbet fired a long-range attempt wide in added on time at the end of the first 45 minutes.
VAR spot on
Celtic fans will doubtless be unhappy that VAR official Nick Walsh urged referee kevin Clancy to have a look back at the Scales handball and then ruled that Schmeichel had strayed off his line before Hale had struck his first penalty. Conspiracy theories are sure to abound.
But the match officials got both decisions correct. The Parkhead centre-half’s left arm was outstretched when the Efete delivery struck it and the goalkeeper clearly moved before the taker made contact with the ball.
New technology helps to get the majority of calls right and this was another example of that undeniable truth.
Celtic spirit
Whatever Rodgers said to his charges in the changing room at half-time provoked a reaction. Celtic posed far more of a threat in the final third early in the second half than they had in the first. McGregor went close after making a mazy upfield break and Daizen Maeda forced a save from Ross Laidlaw after a well-worked move.
Their manager, however, was clearly still unimpressed with what he was witnessing. He made a triple substitution on the hour mark and replaced Hatate, Engels and Idah with Bernardo, Luke McCowan and Furuhashi respectively. Then James Forrest took over from Maeda out wide.
The latter instantly added a some much-needed invention to the Glasgow outfit’s attacking endeavours. The Japanese forward teed up Kuhn with a cheeky back heel and the winger was only prevented from levelling by some quick thinking from Kacper Lopata.
They eventually levelled after Laidlaw had palmed clear a glancing Furuhashi header at a Bernardo corner. The ball fell to McGregor who lashed at it wildly. His shot was deflected in off an unsuspecting Johnston.
The right back initiated the attack which put Celtic in front and secured another three points. He sent Kuhn racing down the right flank with a perfectly weighted pass. The German could have supplied Furuhashi. But he realised his team mate was offside and cut inside and coolly slotted into the bottom left corner.
Cue utter bedlam. Away fans jumped over advertising hoardings to celebrate on the pitch with their heroes just as they had done two seasons ago when Anthony Ralston netted an injury-time winner. It was a sweet moment for them on a difficult day.
We have a title race
When Rodgers, who strengthened his squad with Bernardo, Engels, Idah, McCowan, Schmiechel, Auston Trusty and Valle in the summer, masterminded a 3-0 win over Rangers in the opening Old Firm game of the season at the start of last month there were few in Scottish football who thought they would fail to retain the Premiership trophy.
This outing, however, showed that Celtic, who had won their opening six league games without conceding a single goal, are not entirely infallible.
Cameron Carter-Vickers, who is sidelined with a toe injury at the moment, is a huge miss for them. It could, too, be argued they were fatigued both physically and mentally after their exertions in Europe this week. Ultimately, they got the job done.
Still, this 90 minutes highlighted that they can and will drop points between now and May. The game against Aberdeen at Parkhead on Saturday week will be a belter.
Cowie clout
This was a sore defeat to take for the County manager and no mistake. But his side impressed greatly during the course of the 90 minutes. If they continue to perform as well in the weeks and months ahead they will challenge for a top six spot.
