Celtic continued their 100% start to the Scottish Premiership season with a seventh win in seven matches against Ross County on Sunday afternoon.
The Hoops travelled away from Glasgow to take on Don Cowie’s side in the final match before the October international break and claimed all three points with a 2-1 win.
Brendan Rodgers’ men were made to work hard for their victory, though, as the home side battled hard and went into the half-time break with a 1-0 lead.
A handball from Liam Scales provided Ross County with a chance to take the lead and Ronan Vale found the bottom corner at the second attempt, after Kasper Schmeichel had come off his line to save the first effort.
Alistair Johnston then found the equaliser in the second half by inadvertently deflecting Callum McGregor’s stand-bound effort into the back of the net.
The Canada international was then heavily involved in the match-winning goal with a perfect through ball to Nicolas Kuhn, who drove forward and found the bottom corner.
One player who did struggle on the pitch for Celtic from the start, though, was central midfielder Reo Hatate, who was selected alongside Arne Engels and Callum McGregor.
Reo Hatate's performance against Ross County
The Japan international was brought back into the starting line-up for Paulo Bernardo, after the devastating 7-1 defeat to Borussia Dortmund in Germany on Tuesday night.
It was an opportunity for the right-footed maestro to showcase the best of his abilities and show Rodgers that he deserves to start week-in-week-out for the Hoops, rather than to be dipped in and out of the XI.
The central midfielder was loose with his use of the ball as Celtic attempted to break down a stubborn Ross County defence, completing 78% of his attempted passes and losing possession eight times from 47 touches.
Hatate also failed to offer a goalscoring threat from midfield with one shot, that was off target, in his 61 minutes on the pitch for the Scottish giants, as he was subbed off with the team 1-0 down.
The 26-year-old midfielder struggled defensively, losing all three of his aerial duels and failing to make a single tackle, interception or block, and that may have been why the manager decided to withdraw him from the match with 30 minutes or so to go.
It turned out to be an inspired decision by the head coach, as his side went on to win the match 2-1, and the ex-Liverpool boss must brutally bin Hatate from the starting XI next time out in order to unleash the player who replaced him – Luke McCowan.
Why Luke McCowan should be unleashed
The former Dundee man is yet to start a match for Celtic in any competition since his move to the club on deadline day on a permanent deal.
He has strengthened his case to finally make the starting XI, however, with a strong performance off the bench to help the team to all three points against Ross County.
During Sky Sports’ live coverage of the match, Chris Sutton lauded McCowan for how “sharp” he looked and stated that the Celtic substitutes, whilst speaking about the midfielder specifically, made a “massive difference”.
Minutes played
29
Pass accuracy
88%
Key passes
1
Duels won
4/5
Dribbles completed
1/1
As you can see in the table above, the Scottish dynamo was impressive in possession, completing 88% of his passes and creating one chance, whilst also being dominant off the ball.
In fact, he used both his strength and his quality on the ball to win a vital free-kick in the build-up to Kuhn’s winner, plucking a ball out of the sky before forcing two defenders to foul him by using his body well.
McCowan has caught the eye in his last three appearances off the bench for the Hoops, with one goal, two key passes, and seven out of nine duels won.
The 26-year-old star, who scored ten goals and created nine ‘big chances’ in 37 league games for Dundee last season, should now be rewarded for his fine cameos with his start for the club, in the hope that he can bring dynamism, strength, and offensive quality to the middle of the park for Rodgers.
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Ditching Hatate from the starting XI to bring in McCowan, with Callum McGregor and Arne Engels keeping their places, would then mean that Paulo Bernardo, perhaps unfortunately, remains on the bench.
Paulo Bernardo's start to the season
The Portugal U21 international came on alongside McCowan in the 61st minute on Sunday and was slightly sloppy with his use of the ball, completing just 73% of his attempted passes.
He lost possession a whopping 14 times in just 29 minutes on the pitch and only won one duel, which shows that the Scotsman was the more impressive of the two midfield substitutes – due to both his play in and out of possession.
Bernardo was dropped from the starting line-up after his dismal showing in the first half against Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League in the previous match.
The 22-year-old ace was withdrawn at half-time in Germany after the hosts had scored five goals without the midfielder managing a single tackle, interception, block, or clearance for his side.
However, not all of his performances have been disappointing in the season so far. In fact, Bernardo has shown plenty of promise with his displays in the Premiership thus far.
Appearances
6
Starts
3
Goals
1
Big chances created
3
Key passes per game
2.0
Assists
1
As you can see in the table above, the Portuguese talent has created three ‘big chances’ in three starts in the division, to go along with one goal.
Despite his strong statistics from the games prior to these last two outings, Rodgers must now hand McCowan his first chance to impress from the start and ditch Hatate from the starting XI in the process, when Celtic come back from the latest international break.
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