Hibs’ highland curse continues, Celtic falter

By: Ian Rose | December 8th, 2007

That’s why I don’t bet on football, especially Scottish football. Over the course of a season, as everyone knows, a bet on one of the Old Firm to win the SPL is a pretty safe one, but any given week, any team in the SPL can get a result. I really thought that even a depleted Celtic defense could handle a St. Mirren side that was blasted 5-1 by Falkirk last week. Apparently, things in the back are worse than I thought. The Buddies’ Stephen McGinn put them up in the 75th minute, with the first visiting goal scored at Parkhead all season. Celtic’s luck and magic at home, especially in the last ten minutes, would not be completely denied, though, and their late equalizer came from the most unlikely source, Derek Riordan. The same Derek Riordan that has been chewing at the bit to get out of his Celtic contract because of a lack of playing time. Today, he was the hero, saving a point for the Bhoys. Still, two draws in a row, to Hearts and now St. Mirren, have got to have Celtic fans sweating and Rangers fans licking their lips. Rangers come to Parkhead in less than a month, and they will come with confidence.

Up in the Highlands, Hibernian continued their scoring drought at Inverness, now having gone all five matches without a goal at the new Caledonian stadium. Inverness ended a drought of their own, with underachieving transfer Marius Niculae scoring his first two league goals of the season. The most expensive signing in the history of the club, Niculae has often been involved, but has failed miserably when it came to finishing, and most of the striking duties have had to fall to Dennis Wyness. Inverness have now won three in a row, all clean sheets, including wins over the fourth and fifth ranked teams in the league. They have boosted themselves in that time from 11th to 8th, and after a terrible start to the season, there are finally smiles on the faces of Caley fans (this one included).

The reason I refer to Hibs and Dundee United as the fourth and fifth ranked teams is that Motherwell has overtaken them for third. The ‘Well did one better than last week’s Celtic effort, going to Tynecastle and beating Hearts 2-1. They are now the best road team in the SPL, with six wins and three losses in nine traveling matches. Mark McGhee’s men have earned their way into that UEFA Cup spot, and if they can stay there, McGhee will be more than Manager of the Month (as he was in November) - he’ll be Manager of the Year. If the national team job doesn’t take him away, of course. He is currently the bookies’ favorite to replace Big Eck in the Scotland job.

Aberdeen kept their revival in the league going, with an unimpressive win over Kilmarnock, 2-1. Killie has been terrible, with five losses on a trot, and perhaps Aberdeen should have handled them better at Pittodrie, but three points are the only stat that really matters, and that’s just what they got. Falkirk helped Motherwell out in their jump to third place with a 3-0 win at home over Dundee United. Pedro Moutinho joined Steven Fletcher as the second-place scorer in the SPL this season with his 5th minute strike, and Falkirk never looked back. When they are on, they are a formidable team, and they appear to be finally firing on all cylinders.

Rangers, of course, are not playing this weekend, needing the entire week to prepare for a home game they only have to draw against a team they beat 3-0 on the road … We’ve probably talked enough about that already, and I’ve made my opinions known. Still, a draw for Celtic, at home against St. Mirren, is virtually a win for Rangers, and they now sit only two points behind Celtic with a game in hand. Unless the Bhoys can right the ship against Falkirk, a much better team than St. Mirren, this might well be the week that fans look back to as the time the SPL championship started to slip away.