KEEPING a clean sheet in the East End of Glasgow has recently proven as elusive as the Holy Grail for Scotland’s top flight. The footage might not quite be sepia tinted but it was so long ago that it feels like a different lifetime.
It was October 2021 and the team were Livingston. Odd as it may be now, it was still the time of some Covid uncertainty - Christmas was all but cancelled just a few weeks later - and Ange Postecoglou hadn’t yet won over the Celtic faithful; sentiment that would today be about as welcome in that side of the city as Rangers’ 2023 annual.
Then Livingston, buoyed by the excellence of Ayo Obileye, Jack Fitzwater and Max Stryjek, came calling. On Wednesday, they’ll have the chance - in their first game back post the World Cup break - to repeat those heroics and stop Celtic scoring, but will once again need everything to go their way.
“If we can manage to replicate that, it would be very nice,” said Livingston captain Nicky Devlin. "We know how difficult that will be.
“Before the break, Celtic were domestically in great form. It's not as if we are going there and they’re off form a bit.
“It’s a game everyone is looking forward to, the big stadium, big crowd and the boys love that.
“You have to defend well as a team all over the park, everyone has to be at least a seven and almost an eight or a nine out of 10 and you need Celtic to have an off-day, especially attacking-wise.
“There are lots of factors need to go your way. The only one we can control is our performance.
“If we can get everyone performing near their peak then we’ve got a chance.”
Livi’s task hasn’t been made any easier by the fact that what should have been their first game in months fell victim to the weather on Saturday. But they haven’t just spent the last month with a few beers in hand and the World Cup on the telly (unlike some of us).
The Lions were in Turkey, where wins over the Netherlands’ Fortuna Sittard and FK Liepaja, of Latvia, were enough to claim the Titanic Cup.
More importantly, it was an ideal chance for former Hibernian and Rangers winger Steven Bradley, signed during the break, to bed in with his teammates, and Devlin is already excited about what the 20-year-old could bring to the squad.
“Steven Bradley has been great since he came in,” Devlin said. “He was over in Turkey training with us, he scored in both the games.
“He’s settled in well. We’ve got quite a young group anyway. He’s fitted in quite easily.
“I am sure in the weeks to come and over the period of time he will get used to how we work and train.
“He will be a good addition to the squad. He wants to be on the ball and to attack.
“He scored two really good goals over in Turkey and if he can repeat that through the season we will have a really good player on our hands.
“That’s what the club hope he will develop into. He’s obviously still young, still got a lot of learning as well so it’s one that will hopefully be an exciting signing for the club.”
