Rob Maclean: Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers facing a striker dilemma

Moussa Dembele scored twice off the bench as Celtic overcame Hibernian at Hampden

Commentator Rob Maclean provides his take on another weekend of Scottish football action.

Dembele back with a bang

Battle is about to recommence for the main striking role at Celtic.

Last season's top scorer Moussa Dembele is back in business after a lengthy injury absence. His 25-minute Champions League cameo appearance away to Bayern Munich last midweek showed the sharpness was coming back.

And Dembele's half-hour at Hampden on Saturday was even more impressive.

The young Frenchman, who banged in 32 goals last season, bounced off the bench to score twice in the 4-2 defeat of Hibernian which took Celtic to next month's League Cup final.

Leaving out the vastly-improved Leigh Griffiths would seem unthinkable. And Brendan Rodgers is reluctant to shake up his system to make room for both in his starting XI.

But Dembele's return to fitness and form will give the Celtic manager some increasingly difficult decisions to make.

If it ain't broke, why change it?

Someone had better explain to me why you would leave out your first choice goalkeeper in a match which could be make or break for your future employment.

Yes I know, Rangers manager Pedro Caixinha played deputy Jak Alnwick instead of number one Wes Foderingham in both League Cup ties leading up to Sunday's 2-0 semi-final defeat at the hands of Motherwell.

The Rangers defence was badly exposed as Motherwell took the lead at Hampden

But Hampden was crunch time. The chance to get to a cup final and earn under-pressure Caixinha some breathing space.

He needed his best players on the pitch and Alnwick couldn't cope with the corner kick which brought Motherwell their breakthrough. He also helped make up Louis Moult's mind ahead of the on-form front man's spectacular second goal.

There are clearly other reasons Motherwell won. But that keeper clanger didn't help Caixinha's cause.

Patient Partick reap reward

It's not going to catch on with football club owners across the country, but patience at Partick Thistle might just pay off.

Others would have pressed the panic button with their team in the midst of a run of 15 league games without a win. But chairman David Beattie and his Firhill board stuck by the manager who led the Jags last season to a top-six finish in the Premiership.

And Alan Archibald finally came through on Saturday with that long-awaited victory. Beating Dundee 2-1 still leaves them at the bottom of the league table but they're very much in touch with the four teams immediately above them, and the psychological boost is obvious.

Thistle have had a rough time with injuries - skipper Abdul Osman is a particularly big miss - but that weekend win could put them on the road to recovery.

Ryan strikes a chord in attack

By the middle of last month, Arbroath midfielder Ryan McCord hadn't scored this season.

Since taking over the number nine shirt from injured striker Steven Doris, rampant Ryan has rattled in eight goals in five games.

Experience attacker McCord previously played for Alloa Athletic and Raith Rovers

He scored twice in Saturday's 7-1 thrashing of Airdrieonians, another double in last month's 5-0 win at Forfar and a hat-trick in the 6-2 victory at Stranraer.

• Saturday's Scottish League One round-up

McCord's amazing scoring spree has helped the Red Lichties pick up 10 points from their past five games and they've shot up to third place in League One.