Celtic Maintain Winning Streak Despite Struggles

Martin O’Neill left Perth with three points and a headache.

Celtic’s 100% start to the Scottish Premiership season stayed intact – six wins from six – but this was no swaggering champion’s performance. A much-altered side edged past St Johnstone thanks to Mika Baur’s first goal for the club, yet the night raised more questions than it answered for a manager already “juggling” his squad ahead of a defining week.

A win that solved little

O’Neill rolled the dice at McDiarmid Park. On-loan Wolves goalkeeper Sam Johnstone made his debut. Oliver Sorensen started in midfield for the first time. Dane Murray came in at centre-back. Sebastian Tounekti and Kasper Hogh were recalled out wide and up top.

Five changes. A fresh look. But not a clearer picture.

“I’m not sure what to make of it, really,” O’Neill admitted to BBC Sport Scotland after Baur’s second-half strike settled it. Speaking to Sky Sports, he went further: “We’re still well short of it.”

That is not what Celtic want to hear with a mammoth spell looming: Ferencvaros in the Europa League at home on Thursday, Rangers in the Premier Sports Cup on Sunday, then Rangers again in the league a week later. The champions are winning, but they are not humming.

The Duran dilemma

The biggest surprise came before a ball was kicked. Camilo Duran, Celtic’s early-season talisman, started on the bench.

Most of the pre-match debate had centred on whether Duran and Hogh would form a front two or whether the Colombian would be pushed wide. Few imagined O’Neill would leave him out altogether.

By full-time, that felt like an experiment unlikely to be repeated.

“Our main man only came on in the last 10 or 15 minutes, so it gives you food for thought,” O’Neill said after Celtic failed to build on Baur’s opener despite finally cranking up the tempo.

Duran’s impact since arriving has been obvious. O’Neill knows it.

“[Duran’s] just been class. He looked tired in the game on Saturday, but I’m not surprised for the amount of things he does for us, both with the ball, which is terrific, and also the work that he does off it.

“He’s second only to Daizen Maeda in terms of closing players down. So, I wanted to try and see if we could do without him, and the answer is probably not.”

That is the balance O’Neill must strike. Celtic once leaned heavily on Maeda; they cannot afford to become just as dependent on Duran, however dazzling he has been at 24. Yet every time he is absent, the drop in Celtic’s menace is stark.

Hogh’s struggle, service starved

Hogh is built for the penalty box. A poacher, not a presser. The polar opposite of Duran’s constant chaos.

On this evidence, he needs far better service.

With the wings misfiring, the Dane endured a grim evening. Before half-time he touched the ball only twice in the box. When the ball did come, it rarely arrived where or when he needed it. Often he peeled off his marker, made the right run, and watched the pass never come. The frustration on his face told its own story.

O’Neill did not hang his striker out to dry, but the hint was there.

“You just can’t put the ball on a plate for people,” he told Sky Sports. “They have to make room for themselves in the penalty box to try and score a goal.”

The message was clear: the supply was poor, but the club’s record signing must impose himself more.

From Yang to Tounekti – a steep drop

Yang Hyun-jun’s absence only sharpened the contrast. The South Korean winger has started the season in glittering form. Without him, Celtic’s right flank lost its spark.

Tounekti, given a rare chance, could not fill the void.

The gap in confidence, quality and end product was glaring. At half-time, former Scotland international James McFadden described Tounekti’s display and decision-making as “safe” on Sky Sports.

“He likes to come inside, that’s pretty positive until the last part,” McFadden said. “He’s got a big problem in his starting position, where he receives the ball, he’s always in the eye-line of the defender.

“He’s frustrating to watch because he’s quick and sharp with good feet, but he’s desperate to come inside and never wants to take the risk of going down the outside.”

Time and again in the first half, Hogh darted into space only to be ignored or seen too late. The pattern repeated, the chance evaporated, the striker’s annoyance grew.

Celtic looked exactly what they were: a side with five changes, short on rhythm and relationships.

New faces, few answers

St Johnstone were not static either. They made four changes themselves, including a first start for Joe Cotterill, who forced Johnstone into a superb save, and a debut for on-loan Hibs midfielder Josh Campbell.

Yet it was Celtic’s newcomers under the microscope.

Before kick-off, O’Neill admitted he “had no idea” what Sorensen could bring. Ninety minutes later, he may still be wondering. The game drifted past the midfielder, who never quite stamped his authority on the contest.

The bold call to leave both Duran and Benjamin Nygren – another significant goal threat – on the bench looked risky as Celtic laboured. Nygren eventually replaced Sorensen with just over 20 minutes to go, Duran followed, and the visitors finally carried a sharper edge without landing the knockout blow.

It just about worked. Just.

The upside for O’Neill is that both arrived freshened up for the looming Rangers double-header. The downside is that Celtic’s depth did not fully convince when asked to carry the load.

Winning while “keeping your head above water”

For all the unease, the numbers are pristine. Six league games, six wins. Champions who keep finding a way.

O’Neill, though, is not fooled by the table.

“I know the results have been fine, really fine, but when we get players up to speed, that’ll be great,” he said. “I think that’ll take a few weeks for players. In the meantime, the most important thing is to try and keep your head above water.”

Celtic are doing more than that in terms of points. Yet with Ferencvaros and Rangers coming over the horizon, the question lingers: how long can they keep scraping through before performances have to catch up with the results?