NEITHER Celtic's prospects of retaining the championship nor Hamilton's chances of avoiding a quick return to the First Division were ever likely to be flushed out by their coming together. In the matter of determining their status by the season's end, both will have other, different fish to fry.
For last season's promotees, this visit to Celtic Park would simply represent an opportunity to discover the fundamental difference between champions who operate on contrasting levels. As the Lanarkshire side's admirably honest manager, Billy Reid, p
ointed out, his team's high productivity rate in the second tier of Scottish football is a long way removed from that of opponents accustomed to heading the Premier League.
"It's a big jump for our players, coming to a place like this," said Reid, in the wake of the 4-0 defeat. "I mean, we got used to winning matches in the First Division and that helps your self-belief. But then you come here and see Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink injured in the first minute and his replacement is only Georgios Samaras, the highest scorer in the league.
"Yes, it was a disappointing day for us, but, being honest, it could have been more.
But most teams now are finding it tough against Celtic and Rangers. They're beginning to pull away from the rest and it's going to get harder."
As Reid suggests, Hamilton will almost certainly be obliged to look beyond the Glasgow giants in search of the points that will consolidate their place in the SPL. The fact that they had already won three of their first seven games testified to a self-belief that had been nourished by last season's prolific work, and to the manager's recruitment of seven new players to prepare for the rigours of graduating to the big school playground. But this latest trouncing followed the 4-1 defeat by Falkirk a week earlier and it seemed legitimate to wonder if Reid was concerned that a side containing numerous young players was in danger of becoming discouraged.
"It was a bad day for our younger players," said Reid, "but it won't be hard to lift them again. A few of them in the dressing room now are gutted because they feel they didn't perform as they can. James McArthur failing to score with a penalty kick summed up his day. It was probably his worst mach in a Hamilton jersey, but he's young, he's talented and he'll bounce back all right."
McArthur's attempt, with the score already 3-0, brought a terrific double save from Artur Boruc, who was down quickly to his right to knock the ball into the air and back on his feet in an instant to make an exceptional one-handed save – diving to his left – from McArthur's follow-up header.
McArthur certainly had a wretched day, but the most unfortunate of Reid's youngsters was Brian Easton, deployed on the left side of Hamilton's back four. Easton may have taken the field thinking he would have a chance to shine against the more studied and less mobile Shunsuke Nakamura on Celtic's right, but within minutes of the start, the Japanese and Aiden McGeady had switched and the full-back was left to cope with the surging, feinting, tormenting runs and wicked crosses of the Republic of Ireland international.
Reid's reference to the appearance of Samaras in the event of Vennegoor of Hesselink's injury – the Dutchman strained an abductor muscle in his first challenge with David Elebert and may be missing for a month – was more of a lament, justified by the tall striker's goal from Nakamura's perfectly measured path. Samaras took the ball in his stride and sent it low to the right of Tomas Cerny from the edge of the area.
Nakamura himself had already opened the scoring, chesting down McGeady's cross from the right near the far post and hitting the drop volley high past Cerny, and Scott McDonald would add the third when he fought Martin Canning for McGeady's through pass before rolling the ball over the line from seven yards.
If Easton was consoling himself with the thought that at least his torturer had not made the scoring credits, he would be denied even that small comfort when McGeady delivered the fourth. It was created by substitute Shaun Maloney, the little winger jinking past Simon Mensing and Canning with a series of stepovers along the byline on the left before releasing the cut-back. McGeady simply passed the ball to the left of Cerny with his right foot.
"It was a very good day for us because I had thought our attitude might be a problem," said Gordon Strachan. "It was wet and windy, we'd had the Champions League trip to Villarreal. To start as we did, full of energy, giving Hamilton respect, and then playing from there was very pleasing."
MAN OF MATCH
Aiden McGeady (Celtic)Scoring one and creating two in a total of four would be enough to clinch the award on any given day, but McGeady's relentless probing for weaknesses in the Hamilton defence through his twisting runs and menacing crosses made his performance on Saturday utterly exceptional.
The full article contains 871 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
