100 trophies and counting. That is the theme for the month of November as we were crowned League Cup Champions for the first time in two seasons. November also saw the club inch closer to the knockout stages in European Competition. Finally in league play Celtic continue to dominate as we have not lost in any of the thirteen matches this season. Craig Gordon has not allowed a goal in the Premiership in six straight matches.
Unlike the previous month Celtic had many player get awards including two for Stuart Armstrong who received the Player of the Month and Goal of the Month Awards. Patrick Roberts received the Young Player of the Month award.
The William Hill Scottish Cup Fourth Round draw also took place this month. We will be traveling to Hamilton to face the Accies on January 21st.
Through 13 matches Celtic are in control with 33 points. In Champions League Celtic are currently in second behind Leicester City with 8 points.
"Stu (Armstrong) is really having a great season so far and it is nice to see my friend get recognized for it. The club is really benefiting from his improvement," said Gary Mackay-Steven
Here is your spoiler free recap of November
Revenge has finally happened as Celtic sweep Porto in the two games played between each other. Two goals from
Moussa Dembele lead the way as the home team were brushed aside despite working hard.
Scott Sinclair also scored.
The first of two Premiership matches in a row saw Celtic defeat Inverness by a 4-0 victory. Goalkeeper
Craig Gordon continued his dominant play in the league by having his sixth clean sheet in league play.
Scott Sinclair got the game off by scoring a penalty in the fifth minute. He would follow up with his second in the twenty-sixth minute. Goals were also scored by
Patrick Roberts and
Stuart Armstrong.
The trip to Rugby Park saw the Hoops play one of the most impressive displays of football this season. Seven goals were scored and it all started when
Stuart Armstrong scored back-to-back goals in the second and third minutes.
Moussa Dembele also scored two goals this match. Three players had solo goals including
Erik Sviatchenko.
The fifth match of the group stage saw Celtic in a hard fought match that resulted in a draw against leaders Leicester City. It was a much more relaxed day for the Bhoys as they placed at home.
Craig Gordon was the key player making several saves as not allowing the guest to score. This result was a turn around from the 3-1 loss on matchday one.
Four days later Celtic would attempt to win their first piece of silverware this season. In a packed Hampden Celtic would win by a 4-0 score en route to the clubs 100th trophy in club history.
Patrick Roberts got the match started off with a goal in the thirteenth minute. He would eventually score his second of the day in the seventy-eighth minute. An own goal by Hibernian gave us some more room and
Stuart Armstrong finished the day off with a goal in the eighty-third minute. Sadly
Kieran Tierney got injured with a broken jaw and will miss between two and three weeks.
Things did not go the way Brendan Rodgers wanted in the final match of November. After a very grueling month the team was once again rotated and this lead to another scoreless result. The team could feel the effects without
Kieran Tierney and his athletic play from the back.
Craig Gordon had a repetitively quiet day as St. Johnstone only had three shots on goal.
Stuart Armstrong had one of his best months in the green and white hoops as he is the November Dafabet Player of the Month. He did everything from scoring to assisting and defending. His stellar play included a two goal game at Killie. In this match he scored two goals back-to-back in the first five minutes of the game.
Congratulations on a massive month.
Competitions
December marks the closing of 2016 and there are a total of
nine matches. Most are make ups due to Champions League. Also in this bunch Celtic will be traveling to Greece in an important final day of the group stage on December 6th. It will be the deciding factor to what knockout round Celtic advance to, either the Champions League or Europa League. Celtic embark on a three game road trip starting with Motherwell on December 3rd and finish it at Patrick Thistle on the 9th. A three match home stand is next in the middle of the month starting with Hamilton on the 13th, Dundee on the 17th and Partick Thistle on the 20th. Four days later on Christmas Eve Celtic travel to Hamilton and four days later host Ross County. On New Years Eve Celtic finish 2016 off with a trip to Ibrox for the second Old Firm of the season.
