da dobrowin： Back in the 2003/04 season, Martin O’Neill’s Celtic side made history when they set the record for most consecutive top-flight wins, winning a massive 25 on the spin in total. Fast forward 13 years and it looks like the Hoops again have a team capable of reaching those heights.
da brdice： Since drawing away to Inverness Caledonian Thistle back in September Celtic have won 20 Scottish Premiership matches in a row as part of an incredible 31-game unbeaten streak this season. They’re just six games away from making history and bettering one of the most incredible records set in Scottish football.
That run of six matches starts on Saturday with the visit of Hamilton to Celtic Park. Currently just two points off the foot of the table, on paper it’s a routine win for Brendan Rodgers’ side.
As we all know, though, football matches aren’t won on paper and across the 90 minutes, it’s far from a guarantee that Celtic come away with the victory and close in on that record set by O’Neill and his side.
Here are THREE reasons why Hamilton could be a stumbling block on Saturday…
They didn’t make it easy last time
When Celtic visited Hamilton in January they routed the Accies 3-0, but back in December at Celtic Park, it was a different matter. The Hoops overcame Martin Canning’s side by a single goal to nil and the visitors had a chance or two that could have made it a much different result and stopped Celtic’s winning run stone dead.
Leigh Griffiths got the goal, making a rare starting appearance alongside Moussa Dembele rather than on his own, and it was the Frenchman who provided the assist.
If Accies turn up with the same determination and spirit then they could nick a point at Celtic Park and while Brendan Rodgers’ team would maintain their unbeaten streak it would end their record-setting ambitions.
The Celtic Park pitch
A key talking point coming out of Celtic’s win over Motherwell last week is that the Celtic Park pitch has most definitely seen better days.
Brendan Rodgers was quick to point it out in his post-match press conference, lauding his players for overcoming Motherwell and gaining the victory despite the surface.
As quoted by The Daily Mail, he said:
“I thought the players did remarkably well, considering the level of the pitch is poor. Some of our football was very good on what, although it might not look it, is a very, very difficult field. We actually go away to some grounds and play better because the pitch is better. This here slows us down.”
It’s clearly something at the forefront of his mind and if he feels the pitch is stifling his side’s attacking intent then it’s something that can again impact their performance and subsequently their result against Hamilton.
The Accies aren’t a team afraid to pass the ball about either, but will be more adaptable to a defensive and direct style of play that could frustrate Celtic across the 90 minutes.
Hamilton’s resilience
Martin Canning’s Hamilton have shown some impressive resilience in recent weeks to not only keep their survival hopes alive in the Scottish Premiership but to progress in the Scottish Cup. In three of their last four fixtures they’ve been behind only to come back and rescue a draw or in the case of their cup tie against Dunfermline Athletic, win on penalties.
Kilmarnock were winning at New Douglas Park before an Eamonn Brophy goal rescued a point and in both the initial tie and the replay against Dunfermline they came from behind to get results.
That resiliency could play a part on Saturday again. As was the case in the December match at Celtic Park we’ve already mentioned, Hamilton aren’t a team that collapses when going a goal behind and they’ll work every bit as hard to the final whistle as in the opening 20 minutes of a match.