Celtic 1-1 Kilmarnock: Three things we learned
By Ethan Barlow
David Watson’s 92nd minute equaliser rescued a deserved point for Kilmarnock after Kyogo’s first half header. Celtic continue to leave their supporters displeased with yet another poor performance, while Kilmarnock retain fourth place in the table with St Mirren dropping points.
Kilmarnock thwart Celtic once again
Kilmarnock have forced Celtic into a negative result for the third occasion this season. After Kilmarnock beat the champions at Rugby Park in the league and knocked them out of the Scottish League Cup, Celtic would have been looking for revenge, but it was Derek McInnes’ side who had the last laugh.
Celtic were pretty dominant in the first period and took the lead when Anthony Ralston’s brilliant pick-out found Kyogo, who dispatched his uncontested header to give the Celts a first-half lead. Kilmarnock were always in the game and could have had a penalty when Marley Watkins was brought down by Stephen Welsh, but John Beaton deemed there to be no foul and he was backed up by VAR.
In the second period Celtic’s second half syndrome continued, when the home team’s levels of performance dropped again and Kilmarnock’s brilliant off the ball work and pressing caused problems for Brendan Rodgers’ team.
Kilmarnock had to be patient to reap their rewards, but it was well worth the wait when Watson’s late header sent the travelling support into jubilance, as this is the second time the substitute has rescued late away points for The Pride of Ayrshire this season.
The title race takes an interesting turn
With Celtic dropping more points, they now hand Rangers the chance to go top of the league, if they can take three points from their trip to Perth. It’s hard to believe Celtic were once seven points clear of their bitter rivals but with Rangers on the ascendancy and the chance to go top with a win against St Johnstone, things are looking bleak for Celtic.
Celtic have lacked a real spark in recent months and their level of performances aren’t leaving their supporters at all satisfied. Rangers seem to be growing week by week under Philippe Clement and come April when Celtic head to Ibrox the teams might not even be close in level of performance and league table standings.
Kilmarnock have Europe in their sights
With another impressive performance and St Mirren surprisingly losing to Livingston, Kilmarnock have moved further clear in fourth which wouldn’t have been on many people’s bingo cards, this week.
Kilmarnock will hope to keep up their level of form and with the backing of a great January window, they should have more than enough to have the passports out in the Summer.