Celtic overcame Ross County last weekend convincingly, with a dominant display seeing the hoops leave Dingwall 3-1 winners.
Matt O’Riley has revealed that the Staggies tried to stop Celtic’s fast-flowing game, failing to water the pitch before Celtic’s visit, making the pitch really dry. The friction that the dry pitch has slows the ball down; therefore, the team’s passing is affected.
Ange Postecoglou likes his team to control the ball, move it fast along the ground, and attack the opposition relentlessly. This can be hard to do with a pitch that hasn’t been watered.
O’Riley revealed Ross County’s tactic in the Kilmarnock pre-match press conference. [Celtic TV]
“The approach is always the same. We can only control what we do. Ross County was really dry as well to be honest. They didn’t water the pitch for us so we had to adapt. We just have to try and move the ball as quickly as we can. It’s not going to be easy but I think we’re capable of doing that so that’s what we’ll try to do.”
As you can tell by the scoreline and performance, it doesn’t work. Ange’s side always finds a way through the opposition.
Postecoglou Faces Same Problem on Sunday
Kilmarnock’s plastic pitch is often sticky, mixed in with the heat, and likely the lack of water, it’s going to be hard for Celtic to play their game. But Ange will make sure he sets up his team adequately and give no room for excuses on Sunday.
