A late goal by Kilmarnock substitute Dieter van Tornhout was enough to overcome Celtic in the Scottish Communities League Cup Final at Hampden this afternoon. Celtic’s record in League Cup finals since 1970 has been dismal, they have reached 21 finals in that time, winning only seven, and have contrived to lose to rank outsiders, including Partick Thistle, Hibs, Dundee, Aberdeen and Raith Rovers, but few victors will have gone into the final with form as indifferent as Killie’s.
Neil Lennon changed the Celtic formula, brining Kelvin Wilson into central defence and pushing Victor Wanyama into midfield but they never managed to dictate play for a sustained period. Both teams had great chances, Kilmarnock keeper, Cammy Bell, won man of the match, while his opposite number, Fraser Forster, was Celtic’s best performer.
Gary Hooper had a miserable day but was most culpable after intercepting a risky pass by Mahamadou Sissoko across the Kilmarnock box but, unmarked, with the ball at his feet 18 yards from goal, he snatched at his shot and Bell saved.
Kilmarnock looked nervous early on but after Dean Sheils’ shot went narrowly past 20 minutes in they settled and looked the equal of the favourites.
Scott Brown crossed well from the right for Stokes to head from 13 yards but Bell was there to end the danger again. Brown then had a fine shot tipped over by Bell.
Paul Heffernan then brought the best out of Fraser Forster as the Celtic keeper kept his team level.
Sheils looked sure to put Kilmarnock ahead minutes after the break when he fought free inside the box but with the goal opening before him he seemed to panic and could not connect properly with his shot. Sissoko threatened again with a header. The warning signs were there for Celtic.
Neil Lennon realised his formation was not working and decided to hook Thomas Rogne, who was playing well, but the tactical switch allowed Ki to move into midfield while Wanyama dropped back. Ki immediately brought a degree of composure to Celtic’s play but Kilmarnock were no less threatening.
Gary Hooper was eventually subbed for Geogrios Samaras as Celtic again changed the recipe. Samaras played left and James Forrest was asked to play behind Anthony Stokes but the change didn’t have the desired effect.
With seven minutes of the game remaining Lee Johnson got behind the Celtic defence on the left to cross while van Tornout drove towards the back post where he headed into the net to give Kilmarnock the lead.
Celtic chased an equaliser and Bell made an excellent double save to deny Samaras and Kris Commons. Anthony Stokes had a last minute claim for a penalty denied and was booked for his efforts.
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Heading to bed as been a long day,
We had chances and never took them.
I would drop Stokes, Hooper and Forrest next week and bring in Ki, Samaras and Commons.
As I said earlier, I can take the defeat what annoys me is giving the bares something to cheer about after weeks of getting their baws kicked. :(
HH
Highlights now….BBC2
Jinky was my hero on 18 March, 2012 at 22:11 said:
Should post more often mate! :-)
After Ah watched today’s Game…
Ah went up tae Ma Big Pal’s Apartment..
There wur a Few o’ Ma Sportin’ Buddies there.. awe Guid Celtic Men…and . Believe it or No..
Ah wiz the Youngest … in the Room!
So, Ye Don’t Believe,Me??
Suit Yersel!
Anyway, these guys said..
In .. A Chorus…
They ayewiz ,dae that.. Ye hiv tae get used tae it..
“Kojo”… they didnae call me that.. but.. it wull dae fur the sake o’ the story..
“Kojo”.. they.. Chorused..
“Sit doon.. and hae a look at this…”
Na.. it wiznae a Porn Film..
They had a Video,oan the Tele…
And it wiz..of the Celtic vs Inter Match..ye know the wan..
NIneteen Sixty Seven..and awe that…
Ah hid seen it afore.. and Ah wiz aboot tae Tell ’em
When they. Chorused..
“We know that ye hiv seen this Tape.. Many times, afore..
Howevah.. as ye watch it .. wance again..
Jist Listen tae Us.. as we wull point oot a Few, things, aboot. the Differences..in the Celtic Team of the Jock Stein Era.. and the Present Celtic Team of the Neil Lennon , Era.
So Ah watched.. and .. They Pointed oot tae me… a Loat a Differences…. but..
The Primo Difference.
The Wan that wiz stickin oot a Mile.. wiz.. this..
The Celtic Team, that Jock Built..
Could Manage tae Mak that. Final.. SUCCESSFUL
Telling Pass,tae a Colleague… Nine Times oota Ten..
Which is Very Impressive, Ah kin vouch fur that!
and no jist.
Whenever, the Sun ,the Moon and the Earth, wur in Perfect Alignment.. or.. when.. they Goat Lucky..
like oor Present Crop of Celtic Players.. dae.. and. as ye know..
Tae Get a Perfect alignment o the Sun, Moon and The Earth…
disnae Happen. very often..
In fact,it is a Rare as Thirty Year Old Virgin.. or..
even .. when Ah think aboot it..
Even…a Sixteen Year Old, wan!
So,oan learning that.. ye kin noo get the idea.. How Many Times..
This Present Celtic Team.. manages tae Get tae Make a Success of Their Final Telling Pass!!
And that is..
Oan Very, Very , Few. Occasions!!
Na..
Honestly,they say that a Picture is worth a Thousand woids..
Well.. if any of You Guys,kin get a Haud of the Celtic vs Milan..Euro Cup Video.
Ye wull be in full agreement wi’ me.. oan whit Ah am aboot tae conclude.. wance ye re-view in , again.. Keepin in mind , whit
Ah am telling you aboot,in this Posting.
And Ma Conclusion .. which Ah arrived at ..oan how Lennie should go aboot.. Shaping his team intae a Team that Wull mak us Euro.. Contenders..
Wid be tae ..
simply..
Teach his Players.. this.
“Fitba, is a TEAM GAME..
but, in order fur a Team tae Play….as… A TEAM
They must learn ..
Tae PLAY the game…. As… a TEAM..
And.. this is Paramount…
They must learn that it is Simply..
Not Cricket.. tae …
GIE THE BALL AWAY, to an opponent….TOO CHEAPLY!
Every Pass, which. any of oor Players shall make..
MUST GO… to a Colleague!
Noo.. how should Lennie, achieve this?
Well, if Ah wur King..
Ah wid Hit these Well Heeled Laddies.. where is Hoits..
the Maist..
Na..No oan thur Beafters!…(Although,many a Time, Ah must Confess.. Ah hiv thought aboot gien them a Fair Boot up. thur… Bahookeys.)
But…
In thur Wallets!!!
And Ah wid.. staun in the Dug oot.. and COONT Every time a Celtic Player..released a Pass ,meant fur a colleague, which didnae reach him.. for WHATEVER REASON.. and was intercepted by an opponent,instead..
Ah wid Fine that Celtic Player.
ONE THOUSAND POUNDS.. for each misplaced Pass.
So,Noo… Ah leave ye wi this question..
If, Lenny , did Implement Ma Suggestion..
How Long dae ye think it wid Tak..
Until..
This Every Single Player in this Present Celtic Team…. Started tae
Mak..
EVERY SINGLE PASS.. Find it’s Chosen Target..
EVERY SINGLE TIME?
“Aboot.. Three weeks.” Did Ah hear ye say?
Ah heartily.. Agree wi’ that, Folks.
Kojo
Still.. Laughin.. Though
Always vexing to lose, especially a cup final.
But thoughts and prayers go out to the Kelly family.
Just in
This result was no great surprise to me
Dreadfull against Aberdeen and very lucky against Dundee utd when they had 11 players.
Love
All the best to the Kelly Family
Green Oak Tree on 18 March, 2012 at 22:35 said:
Highlights now….BBC2
========
I’ll give it a miss.
Keep your eye on Stoksies right leg at the penalty claim…
Was at Hampden today and thought it was a good game , which in terms of cup finals is often the exception. We started great and if Hoops had scored on 4 mins I’m sure we’d have got 3 or 4. As Paul said , Kilmarnock came into it and their patient passing game made for an enjoyable game of football.
I know we’ve better players than them , and if we had fired on all cylinders we’d have won comfortably , but football doesn’t work like that and that’s why we get days like today.
I don’t grudge Kilmarnock and Kenny Shiels their victory at all , and hope they take todays form into their next fixture with Motherwell, although as it’s likely to be “after the Lord Mayors show” I won’t be surprised if they lose.
I saw the paramedics working on Mr Kelly ( I not knowing who he was at that time) and felt sick for the people sat beside him (probably family) who looked inconsolable.
Thoughts and prayers with his family and friends.
The greatest club side in the history of European football.
And that’s that.
reilly1926 on 18 March, 2012 at 22:36 said:
Reilly…Understand where you are comming from…
However penalty claim….
Just read the press release about Liam Kelly’s father.
Oh god……. how sad…. how wrong!!
Hated the result, and yelled all the way through the game.
Had to concede, though, that Killie played really well.
Felt that Bell should be man of the match – not many keepers could have stepped up to the plate like he did……….. even on an ‘off’ day, our ghuys are pretty intimidating! He stood his ground and did his job well.
However, I’ve just read his comments about Liam’s dad – he’s grown even more in my eyes….. what a lovely thing to say – he’d gladly give up his medals & the victory, if only Liam’s dad was ok.
Bloody shame……. they should all be celebrating tonight, and this terrible tragedy has struck.
They’ll know that all the Celtic fans will be with them over this.
HH
Interesting idea Kojo. Is there any team that actually does something along the lines of financial penalties that you are suggesting?
That was a defo penalty….end of. How can anyone think differently?!
Wilson and others switched off at the Killie goal.
Shiels was very respectful about our young team when interviewed by the Beeb.
T4
celticghirlanew on 18 March, 2012 at 22:42 said:
Well said
HH
Bad day, same old league cup performance, least said. Still a bit of work to do with these players but the future is looking good. I thought Kilmarnock were worth their win despite the majority of chances falling our way but the ruthless streak is not quite a feature of this current Celtic squad.
Hooper can take a leaf from the half time Celtic youngsters who had no such problem beating a goalie from 18 yards!
The journey home is over, I’m feeling a bit grumpy and annoyed but not shocked. After all, its great to see a competetive Scottish game eh?
Just seen the penalty on TV and confirmed what I thought at the game …. A Stonewaller , no debate. Just realised I’ve been at 20 league cup finals and only won 7 . Still, we’ll be champs next week or the week after.
Tragedy for the Kelly family and puts feeling distraught over a game of football into perspective.
Of course our disappointment is as nothing compared to the loss of a loved one
However I fear that sometimes we are a bit too forgiving of our team
If we were paying our players and management the same level of wages as Killie – I would agree that there was very little difference between the teams and that we should not expect to win all the time
This is the second League Cup final in two years that we have just not turned up for
I had hoped that the win against Murderwell had broken that issue but it seems not!
We were second best in many areas from dugout to the field
Lenny like many managers seems to have his favourites who play week in week out no matter form
I hope that JF is not badly injured but he has been off form for weeks and could have done with a rest long before now – especially as we have a large squad
Looking ahead to next week I would cram the team with guys who are prepared for what we will find at the hundome
The one gamble I would take would be to give PB a run
He is only on loan and we need to find out what he has about him
With respect we wont find that out against the also rans once the league is won
Tell him on Monday that he will get 60-70 minutes at least to see how he does
If Izzy isn’t fit I would go with
FF
CHA TR CM AM
KC SB VW JL GS
PB
Be prepared to go head to head with the huns and run them in to the ground!
Onwards to the Championship!
HH
Disappointed by Wilson’s lack of awareness at the goal…. but even more disappointed about his lack of reaction after the ball went in the net.
Seemed to be a “didn’t care” attitude.
Was Rogne injured? Would have preferred to keep him on and take Wilson off.
I know that Stokes and Hooper have 40 goals between them but how many of these have came when they were both on the pitch together?
Anyway, the league is the main one!
Neil Lennon’s the man. Up until we lost today,and since the 3-3 draw with Killie,not one of us had a bad word to say about him. Even with the 10 pt. deduction we have the league won comfortably. Today’s result was a statistical probability,and we were under par.
And?…..
Like so many have said,we don’t have a sense of entitlement; leave that to the muppets @ the midden. We are a club and a community. No matter what,I know where I’d rather be.
Bundoran bhoy…
I’m really upset by the news.
Feel for Killie…… this should be their night, but I doubt if there’ll be any celebrations amongst the team.
Another poster was there and saw the paramedics working on Mr Kelly. He said the people sitting around him (probably his family) were distraught.
Would it be too disloyal to say I’m happy for Kille to have had that victory in light of that sad news, if it meant the last thing that Liam’s father felt were joy and pride, seeing his son win?
We can win other titles….. Liam’s dad may not have had the chance to see any others!
HH
Jon Daly will be a better player for us than Hooper will ever be.
Just logged on before my night-shift.
It seems some of us don’t take defeat too well-nothing wrong with that!
A bit concerned about the odd occasion where deserved criticism has trned to abuse,but I’m sure we’ll ALL get some perspectie over the next few days.
Well done,Kilmarnock-that’s your season done. Congratulations.
As for Neil and the Bhoys-come on lads,we have a double to collect!!!!!!!!!!!
celticghirlanew on 18 March, 2012 at 22:50 said:
Totally agree, puts things into perspective.
Maybe not thing to say at this time but…. glad Jack Kelly got to see his son win the cup
HH
jude2005 is Neil Lennon \o/ on 18 March, 2012 at 22:51 said:
Jon Daly will be a better player for us than Hooper will ever be.
What do you mean, Jon Daly ?
Green Oak Tree
I ended up watching it there for the reason you stated. Snake Plisken posted a view of the penalty earlier on tonight and I felt it wasn’t a penalty. But after looking at it there it looked a stonewaller.
God Bless Liam Kelly and his Family. RIP Mr Kelly.
Forced myself to watch again.
Bottom line Hooper looked like a junior at the early chance,no compusure,plenty of space could have rounded the keeper.
Wilson was culpable in two of the early Killie chances,failed to clear a chance they had 15 mins to go,then lost the sub and did not attempt a jump at the cross,even worse as the ball hit the net he turned away,no emotion,could not care less.
This guy for his nonchalont attitude alone should never pull on the jersey again,to think good Celtic men like McManus were villified.
Jude2005,
what do you base your last comment on?
The WeegreenMan
Well.. If thur isnae.. a Team that Diz..
Exactly, whith Ah suggest…
Then..
There
Damn Well ..
‘
Should Be!
All kidding,aside..jist fur the Moment..
I am sure that some form of My Suggestion has bin Implemented, by .. many Clubs.. at one time or another
Mebbe, the Amount of the fine ,would have been Much Smaller. than amount of ther fine ,which I suggested..
Which was…Wan Thoosand Pounds.. of course.
Yes, pal..
I am quite sure that.. THAT.. whit Ma Auld Uncle Ebeneezer.. the
Gold Miner.. wid Dae tae Every New .. Mule which he Acquired..and wiz “Breaking In” ..as the sayin goes..
Which was this…
He would foist o’ all… Smack the Poor Creature over the Heid wi’ a Two By Four.. or.. better ,yet.. with a Four By Two,(if ,he could find wan!)
When Ah enquired ,
“Why dae ye dae that, Uncle Eb??”
“Foist, son”.. he replied..wi a Twinkle in his Eye..
“Ye hivtae Get .. The Mule’s .. ATTENTION!”
And Ah am very sure..
If a Celtic Player fun oot that he wid be Fined so Heavily, fur a Misplaced Pass of his.
Then..
Ah am sure that The Thought of receiving that Kinda Punishment
wid.
INDEED. Get His Attention… alright!
Nice chatting..
Kojo
Yer pal.. who l ikes ye ,already.
Bundoran,
Not disloyal at all, I felt that myself when I heard.
I just hope the man enjoyed a proud moment prior to falling ill. His son and his teammates earned the victory.
PS Penalty was a stonewaller,question would Killie,Naisy,or Ally have got it.?? No doubt at all.
Thanks for the couple of comments on posting, just one last observation I would like to make. Young James has come in for a bit of stick on the forum today, please remember he has just turned 20 years old, he probably needs a rest to be honest. We will reap the benefit in years to come as he has the skill set to be a real star, it is easy to support when things are great and we are winning, the real supporter gives encourgement and support when things are so bright.
My prayers once again for the Kelly family at this sad time.
God Bless
tommytwiststommyturns on 18 March, 2012 at 22:43 said:
I will take your word for it now sir.
Stated previously that Stokesy tripped himself up,but now i am thinking back to his reaction – he looked hard done by,to say the least.
It doesn’t matter now though,on balance,the game was 50/50.
Let them have their day in the sun.
Not so long ago,we were 15 points behind the skintos,now we are in with a good shout of winning the double.The league was always the priority.
Europe next season is our aim.It’s only a mickey mouse cup anyway.
Perspective.
Better go before i get maself barred.
KTF.
jude2005
Hooper should have scored but goalie made a good save.
Where is his credit for setting up Ledleys miss?
He was hampered by playing with a partner who has no concept of team play which is the reason he had to come deep for possession.
Perhaps the cautious system we had did more to cause defeat than individuals.
Like last season the closer to the prize we get the more cautious our play becomes.
We
bundoran Bhoy….
My thoughts exactly.
Bet there are many Celtic fans who are now quietly content.
We didn’t play particularly well today, and the wee killie guys were brave and fair. Ok the penalty remains a contentious issue, but that was down to the ref, not our opponents.
Me? I’m happy to see a game well played,and if we lost….. we lost fair and square :-(
However, I’m happy that Mr Jack Kelly saw his son’s team win silverware they’d only ever dreamed about. I hope that – in some small way – that helps Liam and his family cope with that loss.
Now, we’ve all felt the loss recently with Paul’s untimely death…. we know how that feels, and we empathise with the killie players, Liam and his family
HH…….. and how great the Celtic posters are!!!
BCW
Hooper is one of the laziest players ive seen in a Celtic strip. Jon Daly is twice the player Hooper is. Big strong player can head a ball and puts in a shift.
Gotta Go..
Good Night Scotland
Good Night Ireland
Good Night Wales
Good Night England
Good Night Canada
Good Night New Zealand
Good Night Australia
and
Good Night, Kevin Barry, wherever You are.
Sorry,def last post.
Kojo on 18 March, 2012 at 22:35 said:
Kojo – that is the problem chief,we keep trying to aspire to be like Jock Stein’s teams – that’s the benchmark – but it’s never going to happen in our life times,no matter what.
Stein and his teams were unique,especially the 67 team.
The greatest club side in the history of European football,and i don’t just mean that from a Celtic perspective,im taking about every club in Europe.Their feat cannot be matched,nor equalled.
Could go on forever sir,but seriously,all born within a 20 mile radius of Glasgow team,Jock spent a pittance.
Better go now.
Slan.