CELTIC manager Gordon Strachan praised midfield duo Shunsuke Nakamura and Shaun Maloney after they combined against Inverness to take the Clydesdale Bank Premier League leaders seven points clear of second-placed Rangers.
After their shock exit from Europe at the hands of Aalborg in midweek, the visit of Caley Thistle did little to inspire the Hoops players and fans on a freezing cold day at Parkhead.
The one shaft of inspiration though, came in the 29th minute when Maloney timed his run to perfection to capitalise on a fine reverse pass from Nakamura and fire past Caley keeper Ryan Esson.
Afterwards, Strachan recognised the moment of magic that made all the difference.
"For Nakamura to get the ball up and down with not too much pace in it, was the best part," he said.
"It was a clever run by Shaun, he knew that probably the only person on the pitch who could play that pass was Nakamura.
"If the ball had gone to a lot of other people, I don't think Shaun would have made that run.
"But that was two good players combining."
The victory gave Strachan's side their 12th straight SPL win to pile the pressure on Rangers, who lost earlier in the day at Hearts.
But the Celtic boss played down the significance of his side's lead in the championship race, while praising his players for their current form.
"The SPL never surprises me," he said.
"But this run shows that we can deal with disappointment and injuries and win when we are not at our best.
"Also, in this run, we've had Champions League games, League Cup games and six players away with international teams a lot of times.
"So the players have had a lot to deal with recently."
Inverness boss Craig Brewster was happy enough with his side's performance against the other half of the Old Firm after losing five first-half goals at Ibrox earlier in the month.
However, the Caley boss was annoyed his players failed to take advantage of some decent situations.
He said: "We gained experience from that game against Rangers and we didn't want to go through that again because it was a tough 45 minutes.
"We started the game well and we had a fair amount of possession.
"But we didn't do enough to hurt Celtic.
"We got in to good areas but didn't pick the right option."
Brewster had no complaints about the contentious offside decision just after the break which stopped striker Garry Wood racing clear of the Hoops defence to latch on to an Ian Black pass.
He said: "Sometimes, you get them, sometimes you don't."
The one shaft of inspiration though, came in the 29th minute when Maloney timed his run to perfection to capitalise on a fine reverse pass from Nakamura and fire past Caley keeper Ryan Esson.
Afterwards, Strachan recognised the moment of magic that made all the difference.
"For Nakamura to get the ball up and down with not too much pace in it, was the best part," he said.
"It was a clever run by Shaun, he knew that probably the only person on the pitch who could play that pass was Nakamura.
"If the ball had gone to a lot of other people, I don't think Shaun would have made that run.
"But that was two good players combining."
The victory gave Strachan's side their 12th straight SPL win to pile the pressure on Rangers, who lost earlier in the day at Hearts.
But the Celtic boss played down the significance of his side's lead in the championship race, while praising his players for their current form.
"The SPL never surprises me," he said.
"But this run shows that we can deal with disappointment and injuries and win when we are not at our best.
"Also, in this run, we've had Champions League games, League Cup games and six players away with international teams a lot of times.
"So the players have had a lot to deal with recently."
Inverness boss Craig Brewster was happy enough with his side's performance against the other half of the Old Firm after losing five first-half goals at Ibrox earlier in the month.
However, the Caley boss was annoyed his players failed to take advantage of some decent situations.
He said: "We gained experience from that game against Rangers and we didn't want to go through that again because it was a tough 45 minutes.
"We started the game well and we had a fair amount of possession.
"But we didn't do enough to hurt Celtic.
"We got in to good areas but didn't pick the right option."
Brewster had no complaints about the contentious offside decision just after the break which stopped striker Garry Wood racing clear of the Hoops defence to latch on to an Ian Black pass.
He said: "Sometimes, you get them, sometimes you don't."
Copyright (c) Press Association
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