Irony of a broken silence, Aberdeen and Kyogo both hit for six

The honest retorts in the press from Calmac et al regarding being ‘embarrassed’ was bound to hit the next challenger on the rebound, and Barry Robson’s Aberdeen was unlucky enough to be ‘it’.

Celtic roasted the Dons in a contest so one sided that a boxing referee would have stopped the contest at half time, and the men from the north were left as red-faced as their sweat-bereft shirts. Yes, they were that bad although nothing should be taken away from a rampant Celtic who simply took a fly swatter to them.

The only minus points were the injuries to Kyogo and Yang, both who looked like they could win the game on their own. However, robust Montenegrin international, Rubezic delivered a bullet-like header into the back of Furuhashi’s head in an assault which would see him jailed had he done so in the street.

The defender was only yellow carded by Willie Collum whilst the Japanese lay prone for several minutes before being escorted off the pitch! Now, Kyogo is normally first to shake the hand of anyone who goes down or who fouls him, but this time he refused the callous hand of his attacker, and that in itself tells its own story.

Yang was the unfortunate recipient of a head clash which saw him retire early with a nasty gash just under his eye. There was no blame apportioned this time as it was a 50/50 challenge, and the extravagant Korean was withdrawn.

As to the action which yielded six goals, it was a joy to watch despite the feeling that Aberdeen had Mogadon for breakfast. The main protagonists, (and there were many) were Matt O’ Riley, Luis Palma and the aforementioned, Yang who netted first.

These Bhoys played like they meant it and simply destroyed the Aberdeen backline time and again with a variety of flicks, tricks and shimmies. The sorry absence of our Asian internationalists in January may seem less traumatic when we see what we have in the storage cupboard, Yang excepted as he may be called up to the Korean national squad.

The main bone of contention against Atletico was that we looked threadbare in reserve, yet in the Scottish Premiership yesterday we looked like world-beaters! I’ll let you debate that one amongst yourselves.

It was heartening to see Oh star in the most effective way, creating our penalty opportunity and heading home late in the game. He may not be everyone’s cup of tea but when he makes an appearance, he often makes a difference. I’d love to see him succeed at Celtic.

Withdrawing the calmly effective Holm seemed a bit of a mystery, but Turnbull proved to be Brendan’s ace up his sleeve with a beautifully guided missile just inside Roos’ post, and again, from distance. The much-maligned midfielder proved once again that he knows where the back of the net is!

All in all, it was a superb comeback from our European nightmare, but only demonstrated how poor our domestic league is when we take a top team like Aberdeen apart with the minimum of fuss.

That said, I believe the Dons hierarchy should -MUST- take action against Sky Sports’ couch potato, Kris Boyd after his ludicrous accusation that Aberdeen virtually threw the game and stated, angrily, that Robson’s men would not do so when his favourites, (penalty to)theRangers come calling to Pittodrie in a fortnight.

Boyd is a paid pundit, (paid by OUR fees!) and has a duty to impart factual and impartial information or opinions. If the rotund one cannot deliver without slandering clubs who do not fit his narrative, he should be replaced by someone who can. For all of Ally McCoist’s failings during our screen-time, he can, at least, be relatively balanced. Boyd cannot.

Celtic now go into a period of hibernation, (no, that’s not an Edinburgh club!) for two weeks due to the international snoozefest. The Champions are eight points, and seven goals clear of our nearest challengers and a massive sixteen from third spot, St. Mirren, albeit with a game more played. Did I say how poor our league structure looks?

Hopefully there will be no more injuries to our stars who will represent their countries during this hiatus. It will also eat into the time-out for the fallen, and with a bit of luck we will be back to almost full-strength when Motherwell bid to become more than a turkey shoot in Paradise.

One last gripe; despite the Celtic M.C. stating that the minute silence was for ALL the fallen in wars past and present all over the world, including players and supporters of our great club, and that it was a prayer of hope for peace, the singing and chants which emanated from parts of the ground were excruciating!

The very sight of men, women and babies decimated by bombs and bullets should be enough for folk to wish (or pray?) it all away, but like Michael Caine poignantly ventured in one of the Batman movies, “Some people just want to watch the whole world burn!”

I, like the vast majority of DECENT men and women, was sickened by it. Some people have no shame yet are happy to fly a flag of protest about the very same thing! It’s irony in its lowest form.

Europe aside, it’s an exciting time to be a Celtic supporter, and if, that’s a BIG if, The Green Brigade come to the table and resolve their differences with the club, then Celtic Park will be rocking again as we attempt to extinguish the Ibrox light of hope for yet another season.

Despite the external issues, they are a brilliant fillip for the team, and I hope to see them back in The Curve as Santa delivers the festive points. We live in hope! Well, some of us do…

Eddie Murray