Glasgow Celtic

[salty]

Wednesday night it is. 7.45KO. Arbroath with its "bracing" North Sea wind seems like a great place to cure a hangover.

[CelticBhoy]

Arbroath would be a good place for a Thaivisa meet up as

it has more old coffin-dodgers than Surin. Ideal location.

[smokie36]

Arbroath would be a good place for a Thaivisa meet up as

it has more old coffin-dodgers than Surin. Ideal location.

I will be watching from Bangkok....coffin dodgers is right....its a lovely place in the summer....as many Glaswegians used to know.

The population used to treble during the Glasgow summer holidays!

We know we are likely in for a hammering....but we don't care.....bring it on!!

[salty]

Maybe not as big a certainty as many people think:

http://www.celticquicknews.co.uk/

[salty]

A 1-0 win for Celtic in the replay v Arbroath and nothing like the hammering feared by Smokie. It was anything but comfortable for Celtic. They got the only goal after 18 minutes from Matthews his first goal for Celtic. It was a terrific strike form the edge of the area across goal and into the opposite top corner after taking advantage of a lack of sharpness by the Arbroath full back to gain possession initially. Far from lying down Arbroath continued to scrap for everything and in centre forward Dorris had the man of the match. He was holding the ball up well and laying it off and was a constant danger to the Celtic centre backs. Before half time Lassad might have made life a bit more comfortable for Celtic but shot tamely at the keeper when well placed.

Arbroath continued to make things difficult for Celtic in the 2nd half. What was worrying was Celtic were conceding a succession of free kicks in dangerous areas with a series of clumsy fouls. Forster was not having a good game and his handling was suspect at time . After an hour a talking point came when in a crowded goalmouth instead of punching clear he tried to catch, dropped the ball under pressure and Dorris poked the ball over the line. The referee however had already blown for a free out. While there did seem to be a infringement Celtic got a break. After 65 minutes Celtic replaced Izaguirre and Lassad with Wanyama and Hooper. Just before Izaguirre had wasted an oppurtunity to make a dangerous cross with a dreadful centre which was miles overhit. But while Celtic had more possession Arbroath were making a real fight of it. With 9 minutes to go the Arbroath goalie made a terrific save from Kayal clawing the ball away. Arbroath raced to the other end and almost availed of more sloppy defensive work by Celtic. Birse broke free and only an excellent save from Forster with his foot denied him. It was Arbroath's last real chance and Celtic hung on much to my relief.

[smokie36]

A tough wee toon it is salty. Good luck in the next round!

[CelticBhoy]

"Dorris had the man of the match."

Priceless. Quote of the week Salty old son.

[salty]

No joke CB. Adam Matthews and he interviewed after the game and Dorris got the bottle of bubbly.

[CelticBhoy]

Gayfield Park, Salty old son, and

Dorris is the man of the match?!?!

Look lively there old fella!

[salty]

Time difference CB. You were awake and alert I just about to hit the sack. Now I am awake and lively well sort of.

[salty]

At last a home win in the SPL. 1-0 up and missing chances the script was perfect for a late equaliser. Thankfully a 2nd in the closing stages to ease the anxiety.

[salty]

Champions League draw for last 16.

Celtic v Juventus

Other 7

Galatasaray v Schalke 04

Arsenal v Bayern Munich

Schaktar Donesk v Borussia Dortmund

AC Milan v Barcelona

Real Madrid v Manchester United ( Stand out tie. Ronaldo back at Old Trafford.)

Valencia v Paris SG

Porto v Malaga.

I was hoping for Malaga or Schalke as our best hope of progressing. Juve very difficult but hey Chelsea or Man City would be delighted to have been in the draw.

[salty]

Celtic game 1st leg Tuesday February 12th at Parkhead. Other game that night Valencia v Paris SG.

CB I will be in Thailand on holidays for 1st leg matches. From previous experience I assume that both games will be covered on Thai TV on different channels.

Thankfully the Real Madrid v Man U game is on next night so will be able to give my full attention to that as well. I will be home for the 2nd legs.

[CelticBhoy]

I'm sure they will be on the TV, Salty old son.

But in the wee hours . . . will you last the pace?!?

[salty]

I would expect so CB. I intend to watch a game on both nights both weeks . Not for me being too tired to watch. On these occassions I do wish however that I could be beamed home for the night as in Star Trek. I will be at home for all 2nd legs. All these important factors are taken into account before booking any flights. The life of the sports nutter is not an easy one.

Meanwhile back in the SPL a 4-0 win over Ross County has us beginning to put some daylight between ourselves and the possee.

[salty]

A 2-0 win over Dundee puts Celtic 7 points clear in the SPL. For all their dominance in the first half Celtic had only a goal to show for it a superb overhead kick from Samaras after a corner had been partially cleared. Ambrose also hit the crossbar earlier. Wilson was fortunate to escape punishment after elbowing a Dundee forward who was pulling his jersey. Very foolish and he may face retrospective action.

Despite playing 2nd fiddle for most of the game Dundee came close to an equaliser early in the 2nd half when only a superb save by Forster kept out a close range header by Nish. Later the keeper had to touch over again from Nish as his header was dipping just under the bar. Celtic got a second in the 71st minute their play had deserved and it was another beauty. Hooper staying onside took a touch to control a long ball from Lustig darted between the static centre backs and from an angle suberbly lobbed Rab Douglas . Celtic could have made it even more comfortable but they did not make the most of some chances. Towards the end Dundee forced a few corners and had Celtic in some difficulty but they were unable to score.

[salty]

A 1-0 defeat at Easter Road to Hibs. I must admit I have mixed feelings on this one. I like Pat Fenlon and am glad to see him doing well at Hibs. Celtic 6 points ahead and a defeat like this will hardly derail our SPL ambitions.

[CelticBhoy]

Back to winning ways with a 1-0 against 'Well.

Miles clear at the top of the SPL now.

No looking back from now on.

(No report as Salty is paddling in Pattaya)

[salty]

CB. Always safer to keep your socks on here.

[salty]

http://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/scotsol/homepage/sport/4752992/Celtic-4-Hearts-1.html

Another 3 points for the Bhoys. Come on CB I am on holidays.

[CelticBhoy]

Enjoy your wee break Salty old son.

Celtic are taking the SPL title easily.

Feb the twelfth is the biggie now.

Hope you get to see it.

Mrs.CB is pregnant again. July for this one.

Hope it is a wee ghirl as we have enough bhoys!

[salty]

Well done CB. Hope all goes well .

Yes we seem to have shaken off the possee. Hopefully we will hold onto our marquee stars and have a full complement available for Feb 12th. I will be setting alarm for 2.45am to watch this one. The danger is of course falling asleep again. Ironically I will be home for the 2nd leg and its almost a racing certainty I will fall asleep for a spell in front of the fire but thanks to Sky Plus can always catch up with the action.

[Jockstar]

Mrs.CB is pregnant again. July for this one.

Congratulations mate. You could call the baby Ally as it could be a boy or a girls name.

[salty]

http://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/scotsol/homepage/sport/spl/4758387/Celtic-4-Dundee-United-0.html

3 more points. Big FF is out with a neck injury. I hope he will be back pretty quickly. l have no doubt he will be needed for Juve.

[salty]

St Mirren 3 Celtic 2

Yet another League Cup defeat for Celtic continuing the tradition of losing when they were strong favourites to proceed. Over the years there have been a litany of these defeats in the League Cup. Mulgrew seems to have been the villian of the piece missing a penalty and then conceding one from which St Mirren went ahead.

Considering Celtic only got the 2nd goal in the final seconds St Mirren would seem to be worthy winners and it would be nice if they went on to lift the trophy.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/21106906

[CelticBhoy]

February has arrived at last. An important month for us 'Tic lovers.

Let's hope it is as kind as last February when we saw the demise of

our rivals and the disappearance of 'SuperGers' from our pages.

A thumping of Juve would be just the ticket this year.

[onionluke]

Any folks in Ubon getting together to watch the game on the 12th ? Is the game even on the television ?

[smokie36]

You must be delighted to hang on to Hooper. Best of luck in the CL!

[salty]

Any folks in Ubon getting together to watch the game on the 12th ? Is the game even on the television ?

There are only 2 games on the 12th. Celtic game and Valencia V PSG. I hope I am not being naive but from previous experience 2 games are usually covered on CL nights.

[salty]

February has arrived at last. An important month for us 'Tic lovers.

Let's hope it is as kind as last February when we saw the demise of

our rivals and the disappearance of 'SuperGers' from our pages.

A thumping of Juve would be just the ticket this year.

I would settle for a narrow win preferably 1-0 to give us a chance in the overall tie.