No defence- Celtic fans dismayed at another European nightmare
The fall out from the 3-1 defeat in Norway last month was dramatic with more criticism bound to follow on after a another dis-spiriting display in which Kieran Tierney was the only player to earn pass marks.
Although it is possible for Celtic to qualify from Group A no one will be kidded that the team is progressing after back-to-back defeats from the side currently sitting in sixth place in the Norwegian League.
For the sixth successive European match Celtic lost two goals with tonight’s action a re-run of a depressingly familiar movie.
Ronny Deila has only lost one domestic match of note, the highly controversial Scottish Cup semi-final defeat to Inverness Caley Thistle, but his European record makes for grim reading.
Last season’s double defeats to Legia Warsaw and Maribor were more or less accepted by a support hopeful of a new direction that would see the club competing meaningfully in the Champions League group stage rather than making up the numbers.
Deila’s wishes have been embraced by the support, a younger, fitter, leaner squad that sacrificed a striker to accommodate a 4-2-3-1 system with the emphasis firmly on the midfielders.
After the defensive collapse against Malmo cost the club a place in the Champions League the concerns from a year ago escalated with Virgil van Dijk departing for Southampton in the aftermath.
Jozo Simunovic, Tyler Blackett, Dedryck Boyata and Efe Ambrose have all been tried in the bid to find a settled defence but regardless of the personnel the flow of goals lost have continued with Craig Gordon’s form taking a dip.
Losing 2-1 at half-time the team was booed off the pitch, within a minute of the restart Blackett and substitute James Forrest has misplaced passes as the first half nerves returned.
There was a growing desperation about Celtic’s play in the second half against well drilled opponents who knew exactly what they were doing as they soaked up Celtic’s possession before breaking with menace and purpose.
At the slightest sign of threatening the Molde goal the vocal support was increased with headers from Mickel Lustig and Nir Bitton coming close to finding the net on the hour mark.
Any flicker of hope that something could be salvaged from the game died when Bitton was red carded with the Israeli moved back into defence after substitute Blackett was replaced by Nadir Ciftci.
Bitton and Stefan Johansen will be suspended for the match against Ajax but much bigger questions will be asked before Celtic face the Dutch side who have also failed to win any of their first four group matches.
As the final whistle blew there was a silent resignation among the home supporters left in the stadium as they applauded the Norwegian side whose competence had outsmarted Celtic twice in a fortnight.