Glasgow Celtic

[CelticBhoy]

From today's Record:

Celtic have been handed a massive League Cup Final boost after Virgil van Dijk won his appeal against his Tannadice red card.

The Dutch defender was set to miss out on the first domestic final of the season against Dundee United at Hampden on Sunday.

It came after van Dijk’s dismissal for his part in a melee when he clashed with Calum Butcher on the ground during a bad-tempered Scottish Cup quarter-final tie at Tannadice last weekend.

As he was sent off for violent conduct by referee Craig Thomson, the former Groningen man would automatically have been suspended for the Cup final.

However, van Dijk appealed the decision and after a Hampden hearing has been cleared to take his part in the second of four games against United in three competitions.

[salty]

Celtic 2 Dundee Utd O

Celtic captured the League Cup with a 2-0 win today. Celtic made a bright start and were almost ahead in the 2nd minute but Dillon hoofed a Van Dijk header from a corner off the line. Shortly after Griffiths seized on an underhit back pass rounded Cierzniak but from a very tight angle seemed to panic and put it into the side netting. He should have done better. Ambrose gave away a silly free kick just outside the area but the wall blocked the shot. DU were looking lively in attack and Gordon was smartly off his line to foil Rankin. Dillon had to leave the field injured for about 5 minutes and Celtic took the lead in this period. Stokes cross returned to him and this time a flick by Commons off a defender was saved at full stretch by Cierzniak onto the post. Commons reacted smartly to shoot the rebound in from a tight angle. He almost made it 2-0 in the 34th minute but the goalie made an excellent save. A minute later Celtic survived a penalty claim. Dow burst into the area and Brown with a hand on his back nudged him off the ball which ran wide. It was typical stupidity from the Celtic captain as he was goal side with no need to make a challenge as he was goal side of Dow. As Brown confirmed in midweek he is not the sharpest tool in the box.

.

On the resumption Denayer gave the ball away needlessly and created a scare in the Celtic defense. While Celtic looked the better team DU were still well in it and a one goal lead while welcome was not a guarantee of success. In the 56th minute however Dillon was sent off for a high challenge which caught Izaguirre. Thankfully apart from Bitton who was ushered away by Van Dijk Celtic left the ref deal with it and he flashed the red card. It was a very silly challenge by the DU skipper. Celtic as expected had most of the play after but DU were only 1 behind and an equalizer was not out of the question. With just over 20 minutes to go Guidetti and Forrest replaced Commons and |Griffiths. Denayer headed over from a corner when he had a good chance. Eventually with 12 minutes to go Celtic made it 2-0. A ball forward to Guidetti was missed by the Swede which was fortunate as he was offside. Stokes onside was tackled the ball broke to Johansen whose centre was laid off by Guidetti to Forrest who hammered it in from about 20 yards. Shortly after he was taken down in the box for a penalty. Forrest took the ball amid efforts from Guidetti to take it. It was a very poor effort and easily saved by Cierzniak. It matterd little as Celtic easily saw it out to the end.

So the League Cup has been won but we are facing a replay on Wednesday night in the Cup. Hopefully Celtic will be fully focused as I would be worried if DU went ahead.

[balo]

Congratulations with the cup victory !

Stefan Johansen was today picked for the Norway squad that will meet Croatia in the Euro qualifications in the end of March. Looking forward to see him play. We need all the good players we can get to have any chance to qualify.

[salty]

He is suspended for the cup replay tonight against you know who and he will be badly missed. Just after he provided the superb ball for Griffiths to head the equalizer in the drawn game he was booked for a stupid cynical challenge in midfield. That is one aspect of his game that annoys me. Overall he is far superior IMHO to the overrated Brown and Bitton.

He should be a good addition to the Norwegian squad. I know what you mean about needing as many good players as possible for your National Squad. Welcome to the club.

[salty]

A comfortable 4-0 win over DU in the Cup Replay tonight. Not on TV so just followed the score updates.Denayer,Griffiths, Commons and Van Dijk the scorers. Just watched a minute or so of highlights on Sky Sports News. Stokes sent off in the 87th minute. Apparently for lashing out at Paton due to displeasure at tackle. Par for the course for Stokes. 2 minutes later McGowan lashed out at Henderson and was sent off. Guidetti and Izaguirre saw fit to get involved and were both booked. In fairness to Brown he was quickly in to usher the 2 idiots out of harms way.

http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/football/31826157

A semi final in mid April against ICT awaits.

[CelticBhoy]

That's more like it.

ICT after Songkhran next.

The Treble is in sight.

[salty]

Another 3 points on Saturday and Aberdeen dropping points strengthens our grip at the head of the table.

[salty]

St Mirren 0 Celtic 2

Celtic moved 8 points clear at the top, of the SPL with victory tonight. As expected they had most of the possession but apart from shots by Commons and Forrest in the 1st half they were well controlled by a strong defensive St Mirren. Celtic were making very little progress and were slow and obvious .

Celtic looked better in the 2nd half and finally made the breakthrough in 64 minutes. A well timed run by Matthews saw him avail of a good ball from Brown. He cut it back and Forrest finished clinically to the corner. Ironically this while Ambrose was waiting to replace the Welshman. Ambrose and Bitton came on for Matthews and Armstrong. Mackay-Steven replaced Commons in the 72nd minute. Celtic clinched it in 79 minutes when a shot from Forrest was handled in the area and Johansen netted with a well placed shot. Celtic were comfortable in the closing stages..

[Bredbury Blue]

How's our 2 Man City players doing for you. What's your opinion of them? They going to be stars or journeymen?

[salty]

Denayer has been excellent. Guidetti after a terrific start has faded. Denayer played for Belgium last week in the European Championship. Almost certainly he will return to MC next season. Guidetti needs the ball in front of him as his ball control is poor. He is not a good player to hold the ball up. The rumour mill has a few clubs interested in signing him.

I would not class either as stars but neither are they journeyman. Denayer is young and could well develop into a star player. Both have been a big asset to Celtic this season.

[CelticBhoy]

Another 3 points in the Glasgow Derby last night.

2-0 against Partick Thistle. Edging towards yet

another treble.

Report on the match, Salty old son?

(I was sleeping at this side of the world!)

[salty]

Not on TV CB, Watching the Big 2 in La Liga and Cup game in England. Our Glasgow rivals seemed to be no pushover especially in the 1st half.

Ecstatic that you had a good nights sleep.

[salty]

Inverness CT 1 Celtic 1

Celtic were unable to force a win against a stubborn ICT and lost the opportunity to open up a 10 point lead. Still with an 8 point lead it is not a disaster. Van Dijk showed worrying signs almost from the off of being half asleep and lost possession carelessly but got back to rob the forward. Then in the 3rd minute Brown passed forward to Griffiths who had the speed to gain possession. It did not look particularly dangerous but as the defender stood slightly off him he fired a very well placed shot from an angle across the goal and in off the post. It was the only place he would have scored. Hardly had the game restarted when Caley leveled. It was dreadful defending by Celtic .Van Dijk headed a cross back into his own goalmouth. Both he and Denayer went back on the line and let the Caley front men unmarked. The first shot was cleared off the line by the Dutchman but straight to Ofere who made no mistake, In the 15th minute there was a long delay when the Caley goalie was injured in clearing from Mackay- Steven and was carried off. He has apparently broken his knee and one wishes him a speedy recovery, He was replaced by Esson who went on to have an excellent match making top drawer saves from Ambrose and Denayer. Despite Celtic having most of the play Caley defended efficiently and frustrated Celtic's attempts to get all 3 points.

The sides meet next Sunday in the Cup semifinal and hopefully this will deflate some of the wildly optimistic forecasts that this will be a stroll for Celtic.

[CelticBhoy]

8 points clear of Aberdeen with 6 games left

after a wonderful 4-1 hammering of Killy.

First half was dreadful, but Commons stuck

one in followed by an LG hat-trick.

Bring on ICT on Sunday

[salty]

Inverness Caley 3 Celtic 2

Celtic lost the semi final to ICT after an eventful game. The result was shrouded in controversy as Celtic 1-0 ahead were denied an absolute stonewall penalty on the stroke of half time despite having an official behind the goal line. As so often in past games these extra officials prove to be useless.

As befitting a team 3rd in the SPL Caley looked dangerous for the off and were forcing the pace. Celtic finally began to wake up and Bitton hit the junction of post with a good effort. Griffith had a strong drive saved by Esson and in the 17th minute Celtic went ahead. Forrest who was very prominent set off on a mazy run but was fouled by Warren outside the area. Van Dijk's freekick just cleared the wall and went in off the inside of the post. Caley were not lying down and they continued to look menacing with their pace up front continually posing problems for Celtic.Ofere had a decent chance but was high and wide.Commons and Johansen had good efforts saved..Just on halftime Esson saved from Johansen Commons headed back and as it was going in Meeking blocked it with his arm. Instead of a penalty and a sending off the referee waved play on to the fury of the Celtic players. At half time it was hard not to feel it could be ominous. Caley were getting more possession and looked to be able to provide plenty of problems for Celtic.

Their pace up front proved to be Celtic's undoing in the 54th minute. A swift break exposed Celtic and Matthews under severe pressure at full stretch just about beat Watkins to make a desperate pass back to Gordon. The goalie dived in when he should have stayed on his feet and caught the forward. A penalty for Caley and Gordon off. Shade of Forster at Ibrox in 2011. Far more sensible to stay on your feet when there is a decent chance of forcing the forward wide and making it difficult for him. Zaluska came on Forrest went off and Caley equalised from the penalty. I was annoyed to see the keeper throwing himself to one side .Stay on your feet and make the forward take a good penalty. The actual kick was very near the centre of the goal. It was now looking ominous for the Hoops as Caley became completely dominant. They were using the extra man to advantage and Celtic with several players looking leaden footed were hanging on. Griifiths in particular was making no impact. He was easily hustled off the ball and Celtic needed an out to take some of the pressure off. Celtic managed to ride the pressure and create some danger themselves. Commons who was labouring was withdrawn on 87 minutes and replaced by Tonev who offered more mobility. A cross in the closing minutes was missed by Griffiths who like many others slipped. Had he stayed on his feet he would have had a decent chance. Zaluska made a good block near the end of 90 minutes..

Guidetti came on for Griffiths at the start of extra time.and straightaway was offering more up front. Caley went ahead 5 minutes into extra time. A high cross cleared the Celtic defence Caley got a fortunate break and Ofere rifled in a terrific shot. He had been a major threat to Celtic all afternoon. That seemed to be that but out of nowhere Celtic levelled. A free kick from Guidetti on target hopped over Esson and in. It was a blunder by the keeper. In the 19th minute Zaluska made a ridiculous charge from goal for an incoming high ball and was lucky not to concede a penalty getting nowhere near it. Celtic forced a corner taken by Tonev. It was dreadful but he got the ball back and just blasted mindlessly across the goal and out for a throw on the far side. It was a maddening waste of an attacking opportunity. But with 5 minutes to go Caley struck for the winner. Denayer coming out was far too slow to clear and was robbed. It may have been a foul but its hard to be sure even after watching several times. Calley got it wide to Shinnie whose cross was turned in from a tight angle by Raven. It was the killer blow even though Celtic tried desperately to come back they did not help themselves as teams do so often in that situation by giving away stupid free kicks which helped Caley to run down the clock.

So Caley are in the final for the 1st time and it will be a huge occasion for them but as Ronnie said after it is hard to take.

[CelticBhoy]

Great report as usual, Salty old son.

I did make the effort to go and see this match, you will be pleased to hear.

I won't be rushing out to do so again anytime soon though. Just watching

highlights on SPFL/Youtube will be suffice. Watching 5 or 6 minutes on there

will do me. The other 80-odd minutes of a live game are woeful. No wonder

you nod-off in front of the fire .

That's the "Treble" kicked into touch, let's just hope the "Double" doesn't follow.

[champers]

Which cup final to watch on 30th May? Falkirk v Inverness, or Aston Villa v Arsenal. Mmmmmm?!? Do Inverness run out onto the pitch to that song: "four & twenty virgins came down from Inverness...."?

[CelticBhoy]

Don't be silly, chumpers. I used to live in

Inverness. There are no virgins left.

[salty]

I can't wait to tell Mrs CB.

[champers]

"..and when the ball was over there were four and twenty less"

[CelticBhoy]

2-1 win over Dundee last night puts us 8 points

clear with only 5 games left this season.

I didn't watch the whole game, just the 5 minutes

of "highlights" on SPFL and it looked dreary.

Would have hated to have seen all 90 minutes of it.

[salty]

That is usually the story with most football matches.So it looks like I will have to provide a report again on Sunday for the Dundee Utd game.

[salty]

A 3-0 win at Tannadice leaves the Bhoys needing just 4 points to wrap up the title. It would have been hard to imagine this outcome after a scoreless 1st half. Celtic with more possession were very poor and hardly threatened. United on the other hand created more danger. Gordon had to make a smart save from Muirhead, McGowan headed just wide after a corner and a dangerous centre flashed across the goalmouth with no one to avail of it. Van Dijk had a close range flick on which was saved by Cierzniak. Apart from that Celtic were making no impression.

It was a different side that came out for the 2nd half and grabbed the lead within 2 minutes. Brown just outside the area rolled it back to Johansen whose pass gave Griffiths time and space at the edge of the area and he drilled it across goal and into the far corner. Cierzniak made a terrific save from a Commons header and excellent stops from Commons and |Johansen as Celtic looked far more convincing. Van Dijk was just wide with a free kick. In the 65th minute Griffiths made it 2 after a Van Dijk header hit the post and was cleared off the line. He was at close hand to prod the ball over the line. Mackay-Steven on as a sub hit the bar with a drive and In the closing moments he waltzed through but was taken down by Rankin.The offence was just outside the box but the ref gave a penalty. The "error" this week in Celtic's favour didn't matter as they were home and dry at this stage. Griffiths completed his hat trick with an assured finish.

[CelticBhoy]

Fine report Salty old son.

Another LG hat-trick. On fire.

I shall now watch the highlights.

Could bag the championship in Aberdeen.

That would be showing them who's boss

[salty]

Thank heavens CB you did not have the "inconvenience" of having to watch the Bhoys again this week. Assuming we beat Dundee Friday night Aberdeen will have to win on Saturday to prevent us winning the title for at least another week.

Thankfully I do not anticipate any sleepless nights for you in the near future.

[salty]

Celtic 5 Dundee 0

Celtic moved to within a point of the title with a scintillating display against Dundee. Aberdeen have to win tomorrow at Tannadice to keep the title race going for another week at least.

From the start Celtic dominated and play was almost entirely in the visitors half. Brown and Griffiths were off target and when Johansen was fouled in the area by Thomson no penalty was given. On the half hour Celtic went ahead when Izaguirre centered after a throw in and Griffiths rising well over a static defender powered a header in. Gordon had hardly a touch of the ball apart from an odd back pass had to get down to make a comfortable save soon after. Celtic made it two in the 37th minute. The ball traveled from Gordon and all the Celtic players touched before Johansen and Commons set up Brown for an excellent goal into the corner.

In the 2nd half Celtic had a 3rd disallowed when Mackay-Stevens had fouled a defender in the lead up. Fisher on as a sub timed his run into the box and was fouled by McGinn. Commons hammered home the penalty for no 3, A lightning break out of defense set up no 4 with Forrest another sub having the pace to hold off a defender and fire home across goal. In the closing minutes Bitton made it 5 with a terrific strike from well outside the area with his instep which glanced off the inside off the post on its way in giving the keeper no chance.

[salty]

Champions again. Aberdeen lose at Dundee Utd,

[salty]

Aberdeen 0 Celtic 1

Celtic won the battle of the 2 top Scottish clubs with a narrow victory. It wasn't a great performance from the Champions but they grabbed a goal early in the 2nd half and held on despite plenty of Aberdeen pressure thereafter. On a very windy day Aberdeen were looking more dangerous early on with a few dangerous centres and a terrific drive from Robson which was just wide. Celtic were regularly going offside and the only real chance came when Johansen was played through but under pressure and from an angle tried to chip the goalie who had a comfortable block.

Celtic struck for the only goal early in the 2nd half. Brown won the ball just outside his area from Robson after an Aberdeen corner and launched a quick break. The ball was played out to Armstrong who beat 2 defenders and rolled it across goal from the end line for Brown to tap in. Aberdeen would not have been happy with the defending. Aberdeen pressed Celtic hard for the remainder of the game but Van Dijk and Denayer played very solidly and cleared some dangerous situations. Celtic should have added to the total on a break or two but made some poor decisions in promising situations. In one break Brown made excellent saves from Johansen and Commons. The best chance for Aberdeen was a diving header from Shankland which went just wide of the post.

[Bredbury Blue]

Denayer has been excellent. Guidetti after a terrific start has faded. Denayer played for Belgium last week in the European Championship. Almost certainly he will return to MC next season. Guidetti needs the ball in front of him as his ball control is poor. He is not a good player to hold the ball up. The rumour mill has a few clubs interested in signing him.

I would not class either as stars but neither are they journeyman. Denayer is young and could well develop into a star player. Both have been a big asset to Celtic this season.

Thanks for that a pleased to hear they've been an asset. Seen them a few times when Celtic have been on truevisions. City seem to rate D but not G.

See you may be in for Boyata. He's not had a lot of chances for us but when he has he's done well. Very composed but sometimes takes it too easy and gets caught out.

[salty]

A 0-0 draw at St Johnstone on Friday night. Not reassuring for CL qualifiers. The home team posed plenty of problems for a much changed Celtic. Zaluska was the man of the match and made several good saves. Celtic had chances but the bulk were created by the home team.