An Old Firm with little riding on it? Celtic may have lost their grasp on the SPFL title but that was never going to be the case at Parkhead on Sunday.
Indeed, this was a fantastic opportunity for the Hoops to deny their rivals of an unbeaten campaign.
The Bhoys have been shocking this season and after watching their title slip away to Rangers, this was the only sense of pride they could regain.
For the most part, Celtic were the better side. They created plenty of openings in the first half and if it wasn’t for Allan McGregor, they’d have taken home all three points.
The score ultimately finished 1-1 as Celtic dropped yet more points. It wasn’t a first Old Firm as a manager to savour for John Kennedy, but nor was it a good afternoon for Jonjoe Kenny.
This was an Old Firm initiation for the young defender but he failed it, slipping up defensively and looking out of sorts from an offensive point of view.
Should Celtic sign Kenny permanently?
Yes please!
No thanks!
McGregor may well have denied the Bhoys victory but it was Kenny who arguably cost them the game.
Celtic were seemingly cruising through the first half when a huge lapse in concentration ruined their day. Kenny was in possession of the ball when he played a bizarre back pass that went out of play for a corner.
The set-piece was ultimately one that Alfredo Morelos scored from and again Kenny was at fault. The Everton loanee lost his marker and then failed to track him to the back post. It left the Rangers striker with a tap in he couldn’t miss.
Speaking on BBC Sportsound, Pat Bonner said: “Jonjoe Kenny played that passback with no control when he didn’t even need to which led to the corner. Balogun out jumps everyone and no one follows Morelos. After dominating the game it’s another set-piece that undoes Celtic.”
This was nothing short of a nightmare display from the 24-year-old. He lost possession of the ball on 17 occasions, more than any other Hoops player including Ryan Christie, while he completed just 80% of his passes.
Celtic’s right-hand side was virtually non-existent with Christie providing little threat either. However, he did at least provide two key passes, something Kenny didn’t produce any of.
Offensively he was particularly mediocre. Against Dundee United, the full-back regularly got forward and proved a constant threat. However, this Sunday he didn’t show much, registering just one accurate cross from three attempts.
This was a dismal outing and one that let Kennedy down significantly.
AND in other news, Celtic must ruthlessly axe £15k-p/w “enigma” this summer, Lenny hated him…