Matchday 12 in the Scottish Premiership entailed plenty of twists and turns for the league’s Australians contingent as the title race begins to heat up.
Ange Postecoglou:
Celtic 0 – Livingston 0
Ange Postecoglou’s Celtic missed a golden opportunity to overtake Rangers in the title chase after a frustrating goalless draw to Livingston.
In a heated tussle, Celtic were unable to overcome a 10-man Livingston at Celtic Park. Late drama, including a moment of madness that led to a missed penalty in stoppage time and a red card, was still not enough to get Celtic over the line, as Livingston’s ‘park the bus’ strategy proved too great a challenge for Postecoglou’s men to break through.
If statistics were anything to go by, Celtic were well and truly on top for the 90 minutes. After acquiring 86% of possession and a further 16 shots compared to Livingston’s two, they were merely unable to break down Livingston defensive brigade.
Despite Celtic’s outstanding recent form, critics have highlighted the fact that they have now attained just one point out of a possible six against Livingston this season. This may prove critical for Celtic’s title aspirations come the business end of the season.
A notable lack of creativity was also evident in the evening’s proceeding, after Socceroos star Tom Rogic did not recover from his hamstring injury in time to make selection. It has been reported that Rogic will miss two to three weeks after coming off injured in the first half against Hibernian last Thursday following an impressive performance. This will likely see Rogic miss out on selection for Australia’s upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Saudi Arabia and China PR.
Celtic Matchday 13: Dundee vs Celtic – Sunday 7 November 11:00pm AEDT
Ashley Maynard-Brewer
Dundee United 0 – Ross County 5
In a sunshine of hope for the future of Australian goalkeepers, young prospect Ashley Maynard-Brewer put out an outstanding display for Ross County, as they defeated Dundee away in a 5-goal hammering.
Maynard-Brewer made an impressive three saves throughout the match, including an early on long range shot that took a deflection, causing the 22-year-old to reshuffle and make a world class save with his feet.
It was Maynard-Brewer’s first clean sheet of the season as he continues his surge at Ross County to becoming the number 1 keeper in the side.
Certainly, The Staggies will need the young Olyroos keeper to continue his hot run of form as they face an uphill battle fighting relegation. They currently stand six points clear of safety.
Ross County Matchday 13: Rangers vs Ross County – Monday 8 November 2:00am AEDT
Cameron Devlin
Aberdeen 2 – Hearts 1
Aberdeen defeated Cameron Devlin’s Hearts in a valiant come from behind victory. Devlin played the whole 90 minutes in his defensive midfield role at Hearts but was unable to prevent Aberdeen’s sublime performance at home.
Overall, it was a solid performance by the 23-year-old, as he introduced a significant amount of energy in the Hearts midfield and made multiple interceptions. However, the second half posed a few more significant challenges for Devlin, as through balls on the left-hand side became an increasingly threatening play that caused him to make up a large amount of territory and catching him out of position.
The loss was the Jambos first off the season and keeps them in third place as they continue to challenge their way to the top. Currently they sit six points behind table leaders Rangers.
Matchday 13: Hearts vs Dundee United – Sunday 7 November 2:00am AEST
In other news surrounding Australians in the SPL
Martin Boyle: Hibernian did not feature in Matchday 12; however, Boyle will hope to continue his career-high form as the equal top goal scorer of the league. Boyle is currently sitting on 7 goals for the season, averaging a remarkable 0.65 goals per 90 minutes. Hibernian will hope his current form continues as they take on Livingston on Matchday 13 as he makes himself available for Australia’s upcoming World Cup qualifiers.
Matthew Millar: Unused substitute for St Mirren as they lost 0-1 to Dundee United on Sunday
Jason Cummings: In juxtaposition, Cummings was an unused substitute for Dundee United as they defeated Matthew Millar’s St Mirren 0-1 away from home.
