Glasgow Celtic retained their top spot in the Scottish Premiership by beating Hamilton comfortably 1-4 on the road after the home side took an early lead in the game.
Celtic had to dig deep to get the win, but it was all well earned in the end. Hamilton went down to 10 men, after namesake Jamie Hamilton took a straight red card on 34 minute, which then resulted in the free-kick, from which Odsonne Edouard brought the visitors even.
Edouard was one of the players repeatedly linked to a move away from Celtic during the winter transfer window, but the Scottish giants were able to keep their talisman striker put. Edouard showed his heroics against Hamilton by scoring two goals and being a constant threat in the offensive end. While the score line would indicate otherwise, the game was a hard-fought issue and Hamilton did have their chances after going up 1-0 early on.
Celtic’s impressive run on top of the Premiership continued despite some frustration especially during the first half, when the home team managed to contain the visitors’ attacks and cling on to their lead with tooth and nail. It was only after the sending off that Celtic gained the upper hand and started to look like their usual selves.
Manager Neil Lennon agreed that the Celtic were not at their best in the first half, but was also proud for his team’s relentless determination, which paid off in the end. The game was level at 1-1 until the 78 minute, as this season’s surprise goal scoring machine, defender Christopher Jullien took the visitors up with a nice volley. After opening the levies, Celtic quickly added two more with Edouard’s second of the game on 81st and James Forrest’s 10th of the season to finish with 1-4 victory.
The battle for the title is still ongoing, but Celtic now have a bit of a cushion up front. They are seven points ahead of their arch-rivals Glasgow Rangers, but the Hoops have a game in hand. Speaking with BBC Radio, Neil Lennon was happy with having a bit of a breathing room, but reminded that it is really only four points as it’s likely that Rangers will win their extra game as well.
January transfer window saw no action on Celtic’s part and the players seem adamant on bringing home another Scottish title as well as fighting for the Europa League glory. There were no apparent needs to fill either, so Mr. Lennon can be content with his squad moving to the final third of the season.
