Luis Palma twice missed a penalty as Celtic relied on Alistair Johnston’s deflected first-minute strike to beat Ross County 1-0 in the Premiership.
Johnston’s first goal of the season looked set to open the floodgates but County responded well and on-loan Fulham goalkeeper George Wickens kept them in the game by denying Palma a second time from the spot following a retake.
The visitors hit the crossbar through Will Nightingale and the Celtic Park crowd endured a nervy finale as County finished strongly.
It was job done for Celtic in the end as they restored their five-point lead in the cinch Premiership following Rangers’ lunchtime win over St Mirren, but the final whistle was met with a mixture of cheers, jeers and relief after County twice came close in stoppage-time.
Callum McGregor returned from his extended winter break to make his 450th Celtic appearance, while Cameron Carter-Vickers was back from a hamstring injury to replace Maik Nawrocki.
A calf injury for Greg Taylor paved the way for Alexandro Bernabei to make his first start and only fifth appearance under Brendan Rodgers.
The left-back made his mark in the opening minute as his low cross found Liel Abada. The Israel international’s shot was blocked before falling for Johnston 18 yards out. The right-back’s strike appeared to take a deflection off Nightingale before spinning over the line.
Without a win in their previous five games and on the back of a 3-0 cup defeat by Partick Thistle – which elicited another interview from manager Derek Adams which was unlikely to help team morale – the visitors might have been expected to fold.
But they responded with a decent spell of pressure of their own, although they should have been two down when Wickens’ parry from Matt O’Riley’s strike fell for Paulo Barnardo 12 yards out, although the Portuguese midfielder shot over the empty net.
Celtic had another glorious chance after Simon Murray tripped McGregor inside the box.
Palma delayed the run-up to his first penalty attempt and Wickens dived low to his right to stop.
After a lengthy delay, referee Euan Anderson signalled a retake, given the video assistant had spotted three County players encroaching inside the box. Palma delivered almost the exact same spot-kick – minus the delay – and Wickens saved again.
Celtic almost paid the price when Joe Hart completely missed Yan Dhanda’s corner but Nightingale headed off the crossbar from close range.
Wickens produced two more saves from Palma just before the interval to leave the game in the balance.
Celtic were more in control after the break but a two-goal cushion proved elusive.
O’Riley twice came close from long range and Wickens made a good stop from a header from Carter-Vickers, who made way for Nawrocki in the 64th minute as Rodgers looks to ensure his return is lasting.
Nicolas Kuhn replaced Palma at the same time to make his debut and the former Rapid Vienna winger showed flashes of skill and direct running.
However, County were encouraged by the narrow scoreline and put Celtic under pressure in the closing stages.
Josh Sims embarked on a lengthy run and squared for fellow substitute Jordan White, whose effort was held at the second attempt by Hart following an initial parry at full stretch.
The home support showed their frustration as Celtic failed to manage the game and Sims also came close when he hooked the ball over from six yards.
World Cup Girlz back in the fold? Gilbert hints at return of experienced players for Brazil friendlies
For the first time in almost nine months, it seems as if Jamaica’s interim Reggae Girlz Head coach Xavier Gilbert will have members of the World Cup squad at his disposal, when they visit Brazil for a two-match friendly international series in June.
The Girlz, who first locked horns with Brazil, and lost 0-3, at the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup in France, went one better at last year’s global showpiece in Australia, as they not only held the South American giants to a goalless stalemate, but also ensured their elimination at the group stage.
By all indications, that performance, and by extension, the fact that the Girlz made an historic appearance in the knockout stages of the World Cup, earned them even more respect from the number 10-ranked Brazilians, who are currently in preparation for this summer’s Olympic Games in Paris.
The games, scheduled for June 1 and 4, are expected to assist Brazil in their preparation, while the now 42nd-ranked Jamaicans will get a much-needed test to regain their appetite for international competition, having last sported the nationals colours against Canada last September.
Since that Olympic qualifying fixture in Canada, members of the World Cup squad withdrew their services from national representation, citing lack of payment and mistreatment from the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF), among their reasons.
While it is yet to be confirmed how many, if any, of the World Cup players will make the trip, Gilbert gave the clearest indication yet that there might be a few, as he welcomed the games, after not utilizing the last FIFA window.
“It is always important to secure games during the international window. It not only assists in exposing players, but it also ensures the team is active, which helps our rankings, and also our quality of play. Because as you know, the more we play together, especially against quality opponents, the better the team becomes, and we also get to work on different things both offensively and defensively,” Gilbert told SportsMax.TV.
“The expectation is for us to give a good account of ourselves, it has been a while since these players have played together, but the good thing is that they are actively engaged in their respective leagues in Europe and United States. So, it is not like they were inactive, and obviously, it is not the first time they will be playing together.
“So, we just have to keep things as simple or as close to what we did prior to, and during the World Cup, to make sure we are competitive. It is going to be a little bit different, but it’s not far-fetched that we can get another positive result against Brazil,” he added.
Atletico Madrid 3-1 Athletic Bilbao: Hosts close in on top-four finish
Atletico Madrid beat newly crowned Copa del Rey winners Athletic Bilbao 3-1 at home in LaLiga on Saturday as Diego Simeone's side moved a step closer to a top-four finish.
Fourth-placed Atletico moved onto 64 points and have increased their advantage over Athletic, in fifth, to six points with five games to play.
Midfielder Rodrigo de Paul put Atletico in front in the 15th minute with a goal from outside the box. After controlling an attempted clearance from the visitors, his effort dipped just under the bar as his strike deflected off one of the Athletic defenders.
Athletic levelled just before half-time through Nico Williams after Antoine Griezmann lost the ball through a careless pass.
But Angel Correa restored the lead for Atletico in the 52nd minute and later came close to scoring again.
With 10 minutes to play, away goalkeeper Unai Simon inadvertently made it 3-1 with an own goal after Samuel Lino’s effort came back off the post, ending any Athletic hopes of a comeback.
Hull City 3-3 Ipswich Town: Tigers fight back three times to deny Tractor Boys
Ipswich Town missed the chance to move into an automatic promotion spot as play-off-chasing Hull City came from behind three times in a thrilling 3-3 Championship draw at The MKM Stadium.
Ipswich knew a victory would take them second after Leeds United were surprisingly beaten 4-0 by Queens Park Rangers on Friday, and they led on three separate occasions, George Hirst opening the scoring before Omari Hutchinson produced two brilliant strikes from the edge of the area.
However, buoyed by slip-ups from rivals Norwich City and West Brom earlier on Saturday, Hull dug deep to fight back on each occasion, Ozan Tufan and Liam Delap scoring their first two equalisers.
With Liam Rosenior's men 3-2 down with just four minutes to play, substitute Noah Ohio blasted his shot in off the crossbar to punish an error from Ipswich goalkeeper Vaclav Hladky.
The result keeps Ipswich behind second-placed Leeds on goal difference, though the Tractor Boys have a game in hand to come at Coventry City on Tuesday.
Hull, meanwhile, are two points adrift of the top six, with Norwich's goal difference advantage meaning their top-six spot is all but assured. The Tigers will, however, leapfrog West Brom if they beat Plymouth Argyle on the final day and Albion lose to Preston North End.
Data Debrief: Hutchinson's best not enough
Hutchinson was a man who deserved to be on the winning side on Saturday, giving Ryan Allsop no chance with two near-identical left-footed strikes from the right corner of the penalty area.
His goals came from an expected goals (xG) total of just 0.6, and he led all players on the pitch for shots (eight) and passes in the final third (21), also laying on three chances for his team-mates.
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