Ross County 1 Celtic 2Â
From the Yellow Wall in Dortmund to a Highland Wall in Dingwall, there were bound to be a few mental scars for the Celtic players to overcome ahead of this Premiership clash with Ross County.
Such was the scale of their humiliation in a 7-1 Champions League thrashing in Germany last Tuesday, plenty of soul-searching was inevitable in the days which followed.
Certainly, a Sunday lunchtime kick-off at this most notoriously awkward of venues wouldn’t have been top of the list for Brendan Rodgers and his players as they looked to start the rebuild.
Seeking shelter from the storm, it felt like the dark clouds may well continue to gather for the visitors when they trailed 1-0 to a first-half penalty from Ronan Hale.
But after crumbling in front of the fabled Yellow Wall at Signal Iduna Park, Celtic finally smashed through County’s wall of resistance on a testing afternoon.
Don Cowie’s Staggies were drilled with almost military precision, sitting deep and frustrating Celtic for large swathes of the contest.
Kuhn celebrates his late goal which snatched vital points for Celtic
Winger Kuhn jumps for joy while County keeper Laidlaw if floored
Manager Rodgers hails Kuhn after the dramatic finale in Dingwall
Rodgers’ side looked set to drop their first league points of the season, only to emerge victorious thanks to a dramatic finish which saw them score twice in the final 15 minutes.
A deflected goal from Alistair Johnston pulled them level, before Nicolas Kuhn fired his sixth goal of the season to win the match with just two minutes left to play.
It preserved Celtic’s 100 per cent record in domestic competitions this season on a day when they were far from their fluent best.
They had to dig deep and show resilience, something for which Rodgers was fulsome in his praise after watching his team grind it out for three hard-earned points.
Heading into the international break, the debacle in Dortmund remains the sole – if sizeable – blot on Celtic’s copybook in the new season.
Had they spilled points here in the Highlands, more questions would have been asked. Instead, Celtic began the healing process after being torn apart in Germany.
Schmeichel saved Hale’s penalty but had strayed off his line and it was successfully retaken
Hale, on right, savours his big moment after giving County the lead against Celtic
McGregor celebrates with Johnston after the full-back’s deflected equaliser
Rodgers made three changes, with Alex Valle, Reo Hatate and Adam Idah coming in to replace Greg Taylor, Paulo Bernardo and Kyogo Furuhashi respectively.
While Hatate and Idah are established members of the first-team squad, this was Valle’s first league start after joining on loan from Barcelona in August.
As for County, they made one change on the back of their 1-1 draw with Hearts at Tynecastle last weekend, with Aidan Denholm replacing Jordan White.
Cowie’s side had been unlucky not to win in Gorgie, denied only by a last-gasp equaliser from Lawrence Shankland.
Unbeaten in their last three matches, with two wins and a draw, the Staggies came into this on a decent run and were looking to prey on any Celtic wounds from midweek.
The game in Dortmund had been incredibly open. Especially in the first half, there was an abundance of space to exploit in midfield, which Celtic found to their cost as Julian Brandt and Co ran riot.
This was a much different proposition. Setting up in their 4-5-1 shape, County sat deep and stifled Celtic. A tight and cagey affair, space was at a premium.
Celtic looked laboured. Their use of the ball was one-paced and predictable, with County keeper Ross Laidlaw having very little to do in the opening 20 minutes.
The hosts had the first decent sighting of goal when a low shot from Hale forced Kasper Schmeichel into a low save, with Connor Randall firing wide from the rebound.
Rodgers is delighted with precious victory in the Highlands
County boss Cowie was unhappy with incident leading up to Celtic’s late winner
A Celtic fan hugs McGregor during a tense day for the champions in Dingwall
It was fair to say this was a slow-burner, but the game finally exploded into life just a couple of minutes before half-time when County were awarded a penalty.
Michee Efete advanced down the right and his cross struck the arm of Celtic defender Liam Scales, with referee Kevin Clancy awarding the spot-kick after consulting the VAR monitor.
Hale stepped up to take the penalty, but Schmeichel seemed like he had repelled the danger when he got down low to his right to make the save.
However, Clancy pointed to the spot once again and declared that the penalty should be retaken due to Schmeichel having come off his line.
Up stepped Hale once again and, this time, the County striker made no mistake. Choosing to go the same way, he fired low into the bottom corner for his seventh goal in 11 games since a summer move from Cliftonville.
It was the first league goal Celtic have conceded this season. Rodgers’ side enjoyed more than 80 per cent of possession in the first half but had done absolutely nothing with it.
Trailing 1-0at the break, the Celtic boss resisted the temptation to make any substitutions but it was clear that his team had to deliver far more than what they had shown in the opening 45 minutes.
In particular, Hatate and Arne Engels were offering nothing in central midfield. Engels, in particular, gave the ball away repeatedly.
County almost doubled their lead early in the second half when the lively Hale pounced on a mistake from Johnston.
Spotting Schmeichel well off his line, Hale tried to lob the Celtic keeper from a long way out, only for the ball to drop just wide of the post.
Rodgers finally rung the changes with a triple substitution just after the hour, with Luke McCowan, Bernardo and Kyogo coming on to replace Engels, Hatate, and Idah.
Celtic were certainly playing with greater tempo in the second half. Yet, as the game went into the final 20 minutes, they still trailed to a County side whose defence refused to buckle.
Audible groans of frustration grew louder and louder from the travelling support. Much to their relief, Celtic finally drew level with just under 15 minutes to play.
Laidlaw was required to make a smart stop to keep out a near post flick-on from a corner, before the loose ball broke to Callum McGregor.
Having scored four goals already this season, the Celtic captain fancied his chances and lashed a powerful shot towards goal.
The ball cannoned off team-mate Johnston and into the net for 1-1. Finally, County’s resistance had been broken as Celtic chased a winner in a late barrage.
County were clinging on for dear life, trying desperately to hold on to a point they had worked so far for. They couldn’t manage to see it out as Celtic hit the front with just two minutes remaining.
Having scored the equaliser, Johnston turned creator on this occasion. The Celtic right-back split the County defence wide open with a sublime through ball for Kuhn to race on to.
Cutting inside on to his left foot, the German curled the ball low into the far corner to send the travelling supporters into raptures behind Laidlaw’s goal.
Cowie felt his team had been harshly treated, the County boss disputing a foul on Luke McCowan in the build-up which had then allowed Celtic to break forward.
Nonetheless, it was still a tidy finish from Kuhn, skipping inside and ignoring Kyogo, who had strayed offside, before placing the ball past Laidlaw.
For Celtic, relief was the overriding emotion as they made the journey back down the A9 with three points in their pocket.