Match Report: Ross County 0-1 Celtic
Celtic extended their unbeaten run in domestic competitions to 64 games, after they narrowly defeated Ross County 1-0, at the Global Energy Stadium, on Saturday.
There were no major surprises with the team selection from Brendan Rodgers as Nir Bitton continued to partner Dedryck Boyata in the heart of the defence, while Callum McGregor started in behind striker Moussa Dembele in the attack, with James Forrest and Scott Sinclair on the flanks.
It was pretty much a sluggish start to the game, with the reigning champions struggling to get going with most players on the field for the Hoops looking off the pace. The first-half ended at 0-0 without much notable action as Celtic couldn’t muster up a single shot on goal, with the Staggies being composed and organized at the back.
Soon after the break, Mikael Lustig came close to scoring for Rodgers’ side, but his effort went agonisingly close. Davis Keillor-Dunn then asked a few questions of the visitors’ backline as the game started to open up. Ross County were in the ascendancy as substitute Alex Schalk and Christopher Routis came close to breaking the deadlock for the home team.
This prompted Rodgers to make some changes, with Leigh Griffiths and Jonny Hayes coming on for Forrest and McGregor for the final 25 minutes. And the substitution paid off for Celtic as Griffiths managed to find the back of the net in spectacular fashion in the 78th minute, scoring from a free-kick from 25 yards out.
With 8 minutes left on the clock, Olivier Ntcham came on for the Bhoys to replace Dembele and almost sealed the game immediately. But his brilliant curling effort ricocheted off the post. There was some late controversy as Boyata seemed to have handled the ball inside the box in the dying moments of the game. But the referee did not award a penalty and the Hoops managed to hold on to their lead to collect three points.
Celtic were nowhere close to their best but three points at the end of the day will please the boss as they get ready to face Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday.
Here’s how the Hoops’ fans reacted to the victory
Well in griff 💚 HH
— Rydo (@RyanWelsh1967) November 18, 2017
https://twitter.com/JBloxz/status/931890524608516097
https://twitter.com/chris1991q/status/931890864456196096
Well I'm Griff top class as per usual HH 💚
— Ryan Welsh (@RyanW1967) November 18, 2017
https://twitter.com/BenTheTim/status/931886419974467584
https://twitter.com/eunan1878/status/931887265864994817
https://twitter.com/GemmellLindsay/status/931886587335585793
https://twitter.com/independent1888/status/931890837218320385