Almondvale was monumental. For Brendan Rodgers, going to a nightmare ground and winning with style (and ten men) was huge.
The crowd, players, and Brendan Rodgers all realised how significant the victory was, but radio pundit Gordon Dalziel didn’t.
Dalziel appeared to have a problem with Celtic defender Alistair Johnston going out after the game to claim that the win could help Celtic win the league.
“I found it very strange for Johnston to come out and say that it could be a big result leading to winning the championship,” Dalziel remarked.
“There are still a lot of games to play.”
“I believed Livingston were fortunate to lose 3-0. Celtic dominated the majority of the game, in my opinion. Livingston let me down big time. When you have a man advantage, especially at home against Celtic, you must strive to capitalise on it.
“They don’t capitalise on that in my opinion.” They played perfectly into Celtitc’s hands, and there could only be one victor.”
Why were Alistair Johnston’s Celtic remarks correct?
Getting to Almondvale on that horrible artificial surface is always a challenge. Celtic have discovered this to their detriment on numerous occasions throughout the years.
Dropping points on Saturday would have meant that any momentum built up since the Ibrox win would have almost instantly been halted.
It would also have put pressure on Brendan Rodgers at a time when the fans were still coming to terms with the League Cup exit and the loss at home to St Johnstone.
Alistair Johnston
Furthermore, every victory following a difficult away European match is always appreciated. How many times have we seen Celtic suffer from a hangover after a Champions League match and lose even more points in the league?
With five more European games to go, the Livingston victory will give the team confidence that they can still perform well at home and stay ahead of the pack.
In the grand scheme of things, Livingston’s victory was critical in the context of the league. If not for the sake of winning it now, then for the confidence it will instill in the players for the rest of the season.
In related news, ‘What I saw’: Neil Lennon stated he saw something he hadn’t seen in a long time during Celtic’s game against Livingston.
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