The noise from Ibrox had been louder than usual which made Celtic’s victory all the sweeter.
This was the greatest ever Sevco side, frightening the life out of Celtic and set to draw level on points with a win at home to Kilmarnock next Saturday. Game On.
Be careful what you wish for Brendan Rodgers warned, Graeme Murty tried to backtrack and predictably Chris Sutton warned that the home players would be sh****ing themselves before going to Ibrox.
Celtic’s defending left a lot to be desired but the spirit was alive and true with Odsonne Edouard the unlikely hero at one end while Scott Bain had a debut to cherish whatever his career may achieve.
For the viewers on Sky Sports it was a thrilling match, in Glasgow it will be long remembered as the end of the Sevco project.
A win for the tribute act would have saw every angle cranked up, with Celtic, even short of their best, coming out on top cold reality awaits as they sweat it out for second place with their deficiencies brutally exposed.
Drawing 2-2 they had half an hour to see off ten men. They failed, they lost and by the final whistle their prize asset Alfredo Morelos was a joke figure.
It’s onwards and upwards for the hoops, new memories and heroes set, the week ahead at work will be a joy while the follow up to today’s victory will be comedy gold!
MATCH WINNER
Two minutes after replacing James Forrest Odsonne Edouard had earned a special place in Celtic folklore.
With Celtic down to ten men it takes a bold manager to make an attacking substitution but that’s why Brendan Rodgers is paid big bucks and not looking after youth team development projects.
Edouard anticipated the pass perfectly from Moussa Dembele, turned James Tavernier inside out then curled a glorious shot around Wesley Foderingham. Whatever his career achieves he’ll never be forgotten for that magic moment at Ibrox.
HE’S LOVIN IT
The more they boo and jeer him the more he likes it, at Ibrox he was lovin it, Kevin Keegan style.
Celtic’s skipper has heard it all from Ibrox down the years but always finds something extra- this time he captained Celtic to a fourth successive win over the tribute act.
Most of his work today was of a defensive nature but with Danny Candeias trying to take him out he sent through a brilliant pass for Moussa Dembele to score from just before half-time.
PASSION
The fans came in their thousands, to see the boys go, Champions, make it seven.
There was the usual mix of passion and humour from the 7,000 strong away support as they turned up to see their side kill off another Sevco revival.
Graeme Murty’s team of young loan signings had been scoring goals for fun, they had also been losing them for fun with strikes from Tom Rogic, Moussa Dembele and Odsonne Edouard wildly celebrated.
HE’S DONE IT AGAIN
The Celtic striker has been taunted by the deluded as they worked themselves into a frenzy over the bidding war for Alfredo Morelos, they sneered at Dembele Dollars.
Over the last couple of weeks Moussa has scored at Pittodrie and Ibrox to bring title number seven within sight, his power frightens the life out of SPFL defenders.
Shrugging off Bruno Alves, anticipating Scott Brown’s pass he held Fabio Cardosa at bay then flipped the ball over Wesley Foderingham to kill off all of the fervour generated by the home fans during the first half.
Dor fun he set up Edouard for the winning goal, an epic display from the 21-year-old.
WHAT A DEBUT
It could have been ominous when his first touch was to pick the ball out of the net from a third minute Josh Windass shot.
There was another goal surrendered but in the second half Scott Bain proved his worth as he marshalled a nervy Celtic defence in front of the Copland Road stand.
He held a James Tavernier free kick, stood up well to a shot from Alfredo Morelos then kept is cool to hold the rebound after the £22m striker had struck the post with two minutes left to play.
FAN IN THE STAND
The bookies had him as 7/2 joint favourite to open the scoring but Leigh Griffiths never got closer to the action than sitting in the front row of the back stand.
There was no big hat or jacket to keep him in disguise as he lapped up the celebrations with the fans who had celebrated his goal in the September fixture between the clubs.
A troublesome calf injury has been keeping him out of action but he is well on the way to recovery and could be on the park for next month’s Scottish Cup semi-final at Hampden.
JOLLY GREEN JACK
KHe has had to settle for a bit part role so far but the former Dundee defender has come on to help ten men to wins at Aberdeen and Sevco.
With Sevco hunting an equaliser Jamie Murphy barely got a look in down the left as Celtic restricted the supply of balls into the penalty box.
This experience will be priceless for the new defender, if he can get in another half dozen appearances he can return for pre-season training looking to push for a starting place.
THE MASTER AND THE ROOKIES
LThe new generation midfield of Docherty and Sean were expected to impose themselves on Celtic’s old timer but that couldn’t have been further from the truth.
Head to head and face to face they tried their best but Brown has seen off far better players than the Sevco duo today, he made them look as ineffective as Andy Halliday and Jason Holt.
It is all right bossing it against Falkirk and Ayr United but another matter entirely when you are up against a six-in-a-row skipper who fully intends being around for at least a few more- as Shay Logan and Sam Cosgrove will acknowledge.
THE BOSS AND THE ROOKIE
When the going gets tough the tough get going. And losers talk about fine margins- the calling card of failure.
He might be brilliantly trained to exude positive noises in media conferences and be the master of the power point but it’s at the coal face that managers are made.
Mr Murty didn’t know what to do against ten men, Rodgers put on another attacker and within two minutes he had scored the decisive goal. It’s about fine margins and after two fluke results at Celtic Park obscurity beckons for the former Reading utility man.
THE FREE BROOMLOAN
Young and old, make and female they all enjoyed themselves at Ibrox as Celtic racked up their fourth successive win against the tribute act.
From the warm up to the warm down they backed their team and were rewarded with a performance that had CHAMPIONS stamped all over it.
They watched from a distance as Tom Rogic and Moussa Dembele equalised, none of them will forget what happened next when Odsonne Edouard drew back his right foot and prepared to curl a shot around Wes Foderingham- priceless.
THE NEW BROONY!
He has enjoyed a few celebrations at Ibrox, there will certainly be a few more for the Celtic skipper to lap up.
Kris Ajer was just starting secondary school when the Broony first appeared in 2011 but the young Norwegian is made of the same stuff as he stood firm at the back to keep Sevco at bay.
A generation of Celtic players are used to winning at Ibrox, Murty is the third Sevco manager to try and halt that run, it looks like it might be a little longer before they get to halt Brown and his Celtic celebrations.