Celtic Park is one of those stadiums that is stooped in pure footballing history. A theatre for football that packs in fans, it creates a tasty atmosphere unlike anything else in world football. With Celtic looking to extend a record equalling unbeaten run, we sit alongside 51,000 fans to take in a landmark fixture.
With this game, Celtic were looking to equal the record set by the 'Lisbon Lions' fifty years ago and make it twenty six games unbeaten. It's a record set by arguably one of the greatest Celtic sides of all time who went on to lift the European cup in Lisbon in 1967. A record that has stood for generations, the fact that Celtic have been able to march on in similar vein shows the strength that the current side, led by Brendan Rodgers, has by the bucket load.
With that record not the only milestone in the making, it was also skipper Scott Brown's 400th appearance for the club. An emphatic record and not one he'd want to mark with a defeat. It is with that spirit that Celtic managed to edge this fixture. They were a class above, though St Johnstone gave just as good as they got. Shot after shot, the first half was busy for both sides and the keepers were kept busy from a number of fizzing efforts that continued to rattle in from outside the box.
The second half was a switch in momentum as Celtic took the upper hand. St Johnstone hit the woodwork to offer a ray of hope though keeper Zander Clarke was forever on high alert as the hoops kept the away side pegged in their own half for much of the second half. Class from players like Boyata and Sinclair shone through and it was the former who snuck in at the near post to poach a peach of a headed goal after a deliciously pin point cross. The talking points were not done with as St Johnstone had a late but fair shout for a penalty dismissed. 1-0 to Celtic is where this game draw to a close. A resilient win for a record equalling side who despite a small scoreline, look like heavy hitters.
With fixtures rolling thick and fast, Celtic have gone on two games to the good post this fixture. The first, to break the Lisbon Lions record saw them smash Hearts 4-0 and last night they hosted and beat Aberdeen 1-0 to keep on writing fresh lines in the history books.
Reasons to be cheerful for a Celtic fan right now. Thanks to New Balance for having us.
Photography by Adam Barnsley for SoccerBible.
