4/10 Celtic pair were just as bad as Scales and Carter-Vickers vs Falkirk

Celtic missed out on the opportunity to extend their lead at the top of the Scottish Premiership table when they were beaten 2-0 by Falkirk on Sunday.

The Hoops are four points clear in first place and could have made that seven because their Glasgow rivals were in Scottish League Cup action on Saturday.

REUTERS/Russell Cheyne

Unfortunately, Martin O’Neill‘s side were unable to take advantage of that situation because they came away from Falkirk with zero points to their name.

The Scottish giants will now be looking for a quick response against Besiktas in the Europa League on Thursday night, before they host Kilmarnock in the last game before the international break next weekend.

How Celtic’s defeat to Falkirk unfolded

It took less than three minutes for the home team to strike first in the game, as Ryan Strain’s cross from the right was deflected into the path of Ethan Ross, who made no mistake from close range.

REUTERS/Craig Brough

Celtic did not react well to going 1-0 down on the artificial surface, as they struggled to create quality chances to score, and they found themselves 2-0 down before the break.

A lovely piece of link-up play down Falkirk’s left ended with Scott Tanser stepping onto the ball in the box and rifling a low drive past Sam Johnstone to give his side a two-goal lead.

The Hoops were then unable to get past Scott Bain, who made nine saves, which meant that they never truly looked like getting back into the match in the second half.

How Carter-Vickers and Scales left Celtic down

Two of the players at fault for how Celtic let the game get away from them in the opening 40 minutes or so were Liam Scales and Cameron Carter-Vickers in the centre-back positions.

It was the USA international whose poor attempt at a clearance landed at Ross’ feet for the opener, and it was Scales who did not come across quickly enough to get a block in on Tanser’s shot.

Carter-Vickers, though, did far more to attempt to atone for his error than the Ireland international did, as he came off the pitch with 14 defensive contributions and a dominant success rate in duels on the ground and in the air.

Regardless of who was better or worse, the two central defenders let the Hoops down with their mistakes for the goals, but they were not the only pairing who underperformed against Falkirk.

4/10 Celtic pairing must never start together again

Callum McGregor and Mika Baur were just as bad as Carter-Vickers and Liam Scales as a pairing with their displays in the middle of the park for the Hoops.

They have been the first-choice pairing in central midfield for O’Neill over the last ten matches, a run that has yielded three wins, one draw, and six defeats.

That run of form is not good enough for the Scottish giants, obviously, and the lack of running power and strength in midfield has played a role in it.

REUTERS/Russell Cheyne

McGregor and Baur are both technically sound midfielders who rarely give the ball away, as they both completed at least 90% of their passes against Falkirk, but they are not disruptors who can break up opposition attacks efficiently.

The two central midfielders came off the pitch on Sunday with one tackle and zero interceptions between them, whilst they committed three fouls combined.

Their work in possession did little to make up for their struggles off the ball, as neither of them created a ‘big chance’ for a teammate to score a goal.

As Chris Sutton said in his analysis after the game, that was a result that had been coming for Celtic because of how poor their recent performances have been, and the midfield pairing plays a big role in that.

The central midfielders can set the tone both on and off the ball for the Scottish giants, but they have not been effective enough as a pairing to do that, which is why they should not start together again for the foreseeable future.