Joe Ledley scored the only goal of the game that saw Celtic leapfrog Rangers at the top of the SPL. Celtic dominated throughout but it was a game full of controversial incidents. Lee Wallace appeared to have opened the scoring for Rangers but Fraser Forster scooped the ball out of the net. In the second half Gary Hooper was sent clean through by Georgios Samaras but was incorrectly flagged for offside.
Referee Willie Collum declined to show a red card to Lee McCulloch, David Healy and Kyle Lafferty despite plenty of provocation but Rangers never looked like forcing an equaliser once they went behind.
Celtic had the ball in the net early on when Rangers’ keeper, Allan McGregor spilled the first of two Gary Hooper shots he failed to keep hold off. Georgios Samaras was on-hand to clip the ball over the keeper but was flagged for offside. Despite Celtic enjoying the majority of possession Rangers had the best two chances of the first half. Wallace’s header which Forster’s alertness kept from hitting the net and then Carlos Bocanegra had a gilt-edged chance from six yards out but made a clumsy connection with his knee and sent the ball over.
Sone Aluko caused Celtic some problems early on when playing wide right but with Celtic dominating central midfield Ally McCoist pulled Aluko into the middle, which didn’t prevent Beram Kayal and Victor Wanyama from controlling midfield but blunted Rangers attacking options.
The gales which blew through Glasgow today faded as the game wore on but they were still strong throughout the first half with Celtic playing into the wind. On a couple of occasions Fraser Forster’s clearances didn’t reach the halfway line, in contrast to the second half, when his clearances repeatedly ran through to McGregor in the opposite goal. As a result, half time was a welcome break for Celtic.
The second half was five minutes old when Charlie Mulgrew got his first opportunity to send in a wind-assisted in-swinging corner. There is something curious about a 6’3” central defender taking corner kicks instead of trying to get on the end of them but Mulgrew’s delivery provided evidence as to why this is.
The corner was fast and direct but dipped five yards from goal at the far post. Four players jumped for the ball but Joe Ledley picked the flight of the ball out of the blustery confusion. All the ball needed was the faintest touch to send it bulleting high into the net.
Adam Matthews dominated the right side of the field. His pace allowed him to recover to inhibit any attack down the Rangers left while his control and passing pegged Rangers back throughout. Rangers played Nikica Jelavic on Thomas Rogne, who was hooked when the pair met at Hampden in March, but the 21-year-old Norwegian was never in trouble this evening. Jelavic was a sorry looking shadow of a football player who is flattered by reported interest in him.
Beram Kayal was taken out of the game by Lee McCulloch, who was red carded on his last appearance against St Mirren, but with Kayal on the deck McCulloch hung a limp ankle in the air while writhing in pain. It looked like a break for the Rangers player but he got up after referee Collum decided against showing a red card.
The league’s poorest player, David Healy, made a late cameo and should have been shown a straight red card for a dangerous lunge at James Forrest. Fellow Irishman, Kyle Lafferty, was also lucky to escape a red when he took Adam Matthews out of the game as Rangers lost their discipline late on.
702 Comments- Pages:
- «
- 1
- ...
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
- 11
- ...
- 19
- »
Cults Bhoy
“I do feel belief is more of a system built on experience rather than a concept like faith.”
See that word “feel” in your last sentence. It undermines all that is stated later e.g. I feel that black is white at times. It is subjective with not a trace of objectivity. Your belief/faith in a league lost in October was just as blind as any other viewpoint.
Loving how many times the Cheeky chappy says “to be Honest wi ya” in his post match interview
Well done to all the supporters who were fortunate enough to be there tonight, the dark side were listening for any ” illicate” chanting so well done for not feeding them.
finally stay safe all who are travelling home.. and loving Neil wishing o good new year to all the fans, tonight is a good night.
Good night
petec
Why not.
We had to sit back and listen to the four king moaning heathens for weeks if not months.
GIRFUT ONE AND ALL.
MWD Will celebrate with them tomorrow.
PS. DON’T FORGET THE PUMILLING THEY GAVE FF TOO. FT tonight.
just in from game n pub – fabbo = thought we were very good :)
hen1rik says:
29 December, 2011 at 01:13
If you’re not a hun you’re up there with the other Uncle Peter’s who are spewing their bile
out there. You’re beliefs are as popular as a pile of poo.
Do one…
SFTB
I’m to drunk to google it but you can if you want, eggheads have proved that your gut thought is “usually” the right one.
You are cornered, you panic and follow your gut, the eggheads worked out that your gut choice was the right one :O)
Feck me, greenockian, speaks for itself,
ha ha, Portonianians bhoy,
the heart and soul of the irish dispora.
In early November, our manager was referred to as “Lennon”, ‘Lemon””, “The wee ned”, on here.
Our CEO as Liewell, and peter the liar, not from interlopers, who are easy to spot, but from so called “good tims”.
We haven’t won the league yet, but this one will be very sweet, not just to giru them, but some of our own lily livered so called supporters.
Some amazing comments on here tonight … some amazingly dumb ones too.
To the Celtic fans who tonight want to rub other Celtic fan’s faces in it … what are you ABOUT?
Get a grip, for God’s sake. This is a Good Night, or didn’t you hear?
Seriously, is this what we’ve come to? Noising up each other on a night when there are Huns hurting? Don’t you KNOW any huns you can call or text or Facebook or go visit with a New Year bottle?
Let me tell you … I doubted Lenny Bhoy. I said at the end of the Killie game his time was up. I said as a man I respected him more than any other, but as a manager he would not do. His performance, the performance of the team, was awful beyond belief. Tonight we are top of the league. Do you think I am spending my time weeping at how I got it wrong? Do you think your smug superiority makes me feel BAD?
It will take more than that to make me feel bad. Why? Cause I was wrong. Cause the manager proved me wrong. The players proved me wrong. They rose to the standard I expect from Celtic, and that pleases me perhaps even more than it does some of those who “always had faith.”
Tonight, I love all my brothers and sisters in the Family Celtic. Yes, even hen1rk who is talking guff when he says Elbows should not have been sent off. In my view, he should have been banished to the universe’s outer darkness where he and his manager belong.
(After that cynical display tonight, I defy anyone to try and sell me the Cheeky Chappie Nice Guy Ally line ever again. That is a Hun, pure and simple, and those tactics in the last 20 minutes were the Seek & Destroy stratagem of the Uber Hun.)
This has been a good day. Let’s NOT ruin it arguing over who is the better fan. I like to think that however much nonsense is written on here, amidst the spellbinding sense and inspirational stuff, it all flows from our universal love of Celtic. Right or wrong, it’s all about that.
Let’s try and keep it civil good people. And tonight, we’re all good people.
starry plough says:
29 December, 2011 at 01:15
hen1rik says:
29 December, 2011 at 01:05
I wasn’t at the game no were you and that is why you saw the tackle from a better view than the TV??
Alright Mate keep taking the medicine..
share
Correct I seen it from tv whereas you are like the rest shouting like a fkn clown when you aint seen it properly bawbag.
Some final Tweets before bed:
celticrumours Celtic Underground
The average age of the Celtic team tonight was 22.7. Oldest player was 26 ( samaras and brown).
@TomEnglishSport
Tom English Cetlic full value for the win. A 17-point turnaround in seven weeks. Great feat of management from NL. Rangers’ play and discipline wretched
muireannf Muireann Fanning
WATP – Where’s All The Points?
videocelts Joe McHugh
Why would you put Sone Aluko on the post at a corner? He ducked out the way of Ledley’s rocket
@Gally_7
Paul Gallagher Low lie the fields of athenry , where once we watched the small free birds fly !! Come on the hoops
(Of Leicester and b4 that Blackburn)
No mention for Adam Matthews’ pass with the outside of his foot to Scott Brown in the second half?
Lordy goodness.
I thought it at the time, but thought I’d better watch it again, which I’ve just done on the amazing thing that is Celtic TV, before saying this, but it’s the living image of Paul McStay’s pass to Chris Morris when Bill Stark scored against Rangers at Celtic Park.
What a peach.
petec says:
29 December, 2011 at 00:45
Very good point. When you look back on the martin o’neill side, almost all of the players in that team could be captains. The team just now are maturing into great players and leaders!
Hail Hail
Owen
I’ve always wondered about you, and many others, no offence of course I wish i was like you. I’m a natural realist, I can accept our defeats and lower my expectations, but still when I see us massive favourites and still balls up then I get a tad annoyed.
FANTASTICO!
Nightmare offline christmas with my dismal attempts to set up a home wireless network in advance of Santa’s pressie to the eldest (here you are love, laptop with no internet access) culminating in losing all our saved passwords and horror of horrors Mrs Tarrant having no facebook access…grim.
But all up and running again, mostly, so a HUGE happy Christmas and a very merry new year to all our faithful readers, GTF to the lurking loyal, and nae luck to Edward Ursus, good to see you posting this afternoon Ed; but ad victorem honoris
Not a great game but a good performance. Very happy with Scott Brown, kept his discipline well and got involved when he needed to. Kayal I thought was a bit wasteful in possession but showed the balls that have sometimes been missing, the irony being he has previously been bollocked for shirking the sort of challenge that did for him tonight (and to me that was a genuine 50/50, one you expect your player to go for; very unlucky that both players collided on the ball; McCulloch’s a curty dunt and no mistake, but I don’t call that tackle as malice. Laffery and Healy on the other hand…karma will come calling one day, as it did for Naismith)
I thought that Lenny might have dropped James Forrest tonight, possibly to accommodate Ki, but I was glad he didn’t and so were the rest of us. Great and brave shift tonight, espesh as he took a few heavy tackles early on. Could maybe look for an earlier pass, but we all said that same about Aiden at the same age.
Shout out for Anto Stokes, who must be finding it hard on the bench yet came on and made himself a prick on the park when that was what we needed. We are weak at closing out a game (last Sat one of many examples); a 40 yard passback to the keeper is ok when you have a lead to protect and just 5 mins to protect it. Part of the naivetes Neil needs to hammer out of the team so that we can drive this league over the line. It wasn’t won tonight, but now it’s ours to lose.
Big Packie’s Accent says:
29 December, 2011 at 01:19
Feck me, greenockian, speaks for itself,
ha ha, Portonianians bhoy,
the heart and soul of the irish dispora.
share
Port onions never start the party lol
Themole,
Cool mo chara.
Tonight,everything feels good.
La la loving it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irvKvyh9SVk
SWEETFANTASTICcsc
The Matthews outside of the boot pass was sublime, any watching prem manager wouldve noticed and added another mill to the bill
James Forrest
I was brought up to never give up on the hoops.
I have earned the right to rub yours and every other manic Tims face in it after listening to yees for months bemoaning everything about Celtic.
Earned it!
BTW. Did you see big Sammi on Saturday. Going off the park to a standing ovation. Totally ignored the 2 faced Tims who booed him onto the park against Rennes. Quit four king right too.
GIRFUT.
MWD will be back to normal after a sleep.
James Forrest is Lennon says:
29 December, 2011 at 01:19
Some amazing comments on here tonight … some amazingly dumb ones too.
To the Celtic fans who tonight want to rub other Celtic fan’s faces in it … what are you ABOUT?
Get a grip, for God’s sake. This is a Good Night, or didn’t you hear?
Seriously, is this what we’ve come to? Noising up each other on a night when there are Huns hurting? Don’t you KNOW any huns you can call or text or Facebook or go visit with a New Year bottle?
Let me tell you … I doubted Lenny Bhoy. I said at the end of the Killie game his time was up. I said as a man I respected him more than any other, but as a manager he would not do. His performance, the performance of the team, was awful beyond belief. Tonight we are top of the league. Do you think I am spending my time weeping at how I got it wrong? Do you think your smug superiority makes me feel BAD?
It will take more than that to make me feel bad. Why? Cause I was wrong. Cause the manager proved me wrong. The players proved me wrong. They rose to the standard I expect from Celtic, and that pleases me perhaps even more than it does some of those who “always had faith.”
Tonight, I love all my brothers and sisters in the Family Celtic. Yes, even hen1rk who is talking guff when he says Elbows should not have been sent off. In my view, he should have been banished to the universe’s outer darkness where he and his manager belong.
(After that cynical display tonight, I defy anyone to try and sell me the Cheeky Chappie Nice Guy Ally line ever again. That is a Hun, pure and simple, and those tactics in the last 20 minutes were the Seek & Destroy stratagem of the Uber Hun.)
This has been a good day. Let’s NOT ruin it arguing over who is the better fan. I like to think that however much nonsense is written on here, amidst the spellbinding sense and inspirational stuff, it all flows from our universal love of Celtic. Right or wrong, it’s all about that.
Let’s try and keep it civil good people. And tonight, we’re all good people.
why should we not want to rub your face and snake in the grass’s face donegall leprechaun face and neg anon face in it you and your ilk have ridiculed our mangaer our board and our players and now its pay back time apologise like a man and we may forgive you.
Patrick27, cheers.
larssonse7en, Marry Christmas to you too.
Algarvian, we can hope for better times but we always have to call it as it is. Back in October and November we WERE in a fight for second place with Motherwell – and were losing that fight for a while. The turnaround has been remarkable but only because of the starting position.
Had I reported that everything was on plan back then I’d be seriously misguided, as I’m sure even Neil didn’t think that was the case. We were off plan, playing poorly and needed a remarkable upturn in performances. I had to report this.
Paul McC, Prof Brady was remarkably foresighted.
tarrant says:
29 December, 2011 at 01:22
Thank you matey 50/50 a lot of idiots on here dint have a basic.
Goto the game don’t see a perfect view and come on giving Celtic fans a bad name.
It’s packers like this that give us the paranoid tag.
Moonbeams WD. Kano 1000 \o/ Supporting Neil Lennon 100%. says:
29 December, 2011 at 01:17
Neil has to Work with Everyone.
I think he is an Example to all of us.
Neil has taken so much stick and even had Bombs and Bullets sent to him Because of influential hacks who Interrogate him Religiously.
These hacks manipulate minds but they could Not Break Neil Lennon.
Ki lost possession once after he came on. Other than that, he was magnificent.
Remember ledleys tackle against hearts?
Straight red???
Well how the he’ll was that poor excuse of a player Healys not a straight red?
the_huddle
“I’m to drunk to google it but you can if you want, eggheads have proved that your gut thought is “usually” the right one.
You are cornered, you panic and follow your gut, the eggheads worked out that your gut choice was the right one :O) ”
I do not need to google it. I know nonsense when I see it. I know a fair bit about the difference between instinct and reason. Each has a place but one of the tenets of evolution is that our reasoning brain has developed later so the main evidence of the eggheads is that lower species are over-reliant on instinct.
When you sober up, I look forward to your counter evidence :-)
Look I’ll tell you what go watch it and come back to me.
Yes Mculloch is a scumbag but if any of you watch it again I’m telling you now it was not a sending off so stop taking pish.
hen1rik says:
29 December, 2011 at 01:05
Thanks mate for out yourself…
And having watched the second half again, the Healy assault gets more shocking.
James Forrest’s kneecap could’ve wound up in Janefield Street.
A total and utter red card for a total and utter hun.
I should also have given praise earlier to big Fraser who scooped a certain goal off the line.
He had the one thing to do and he did it perfect. Hats off. Hail hail and all that……
And how come Stokes got a booking for his first , slightly crap, tackle………
Mmmmmmm…
pigalle
A better question then.
WHY DO YOU FEEL THE NEED TO DO IT? ARE YOU DEMENTED?
You actually derive pleasure from slagging fellow Celtic supporters? It makes you feel good?
I feel sorry for you. Seriously. Something is WRONG with that.
Celtic_First says:
29 December, 2011 at 01:21
It was Exquisite and very Maestro like.
petec says:
29 December, 2011 at 01:12
NEIL LENNON
THE MAN himself wants to UNIFY All Celtic Supporters.
So Tonight, especially Tonight.
Resist the usual crap of casting up he said this, she said that.
FFS
UNIFY
Good shout petec – told you I;d shout you a cyberpint tonight – here it is, hope it’s to your taste…
unity
I was outraged by Healy’s assault on wee Jamesy. He was so late he didn’t even manage to catch the foot with which Forrest played the ball (right), but his standing foot instead. He literally kicked the wee ghuy up in the air. I’m glad there were no cameras on me at that point.
Howevah, maybe we should hold fire on pressing for the Stuart Regan Review Panel Show to take it into consideration.
That way, maybe he’ll play in more games for Rangers in the weeks ahead.
James Forrest is Lennon says:
I usually think you post good stuff but if you think
mcullochs was a red then you go down on my estimations.
Celtic_First says:
29 December, 2011 at 01:21
Just watching it now (83mins 20 secs):Commentator “Matthews-looks a really good player-some ball that for Brown too”.
He was definitely spot on on both counts!
Brilliant pass but not quite as good as The Maestro’s to Chris Morris !
You know the way it is in the bar after a feed of drink; “I love you,” “No, I love you,” “But I love you more.”
Well, I’ve had a feed of drink and I Love Celtic. I really do.
I love walking up the Gallowgate, I love the atmosphere outside the ground, where the buses from everywhere
and God no’s where gather. Where Chip vans and scarf/badge sellers do there business.
I love entering this famous stadium, built on the foundations of the dreams of the poorest of us, the Irish.
A spot where our ancestors could feel a centre, a home. Something to make us proud, a goal.
When I get the chance to get over, I savor the moment when I walk up the steps and look out over the pitch.
The hair still rises on my head when I see the huddle. I love Celtic.
Tonight we beat the hun.
Deservedly so.
Yes, the ball may have crossed the line, so what?
We were far superior.
It would take a hundred miscalls to make up for the deliberate cheating we have had to endure.
I’m a bit pissed, and eating a kebab with one eye closed, so I don’t eat the wrong one.
You know what I think ?
This team is so young !!!!
That’s what I think.
Neil Lennon NO1
Never any doubt
We will be champions
hen1rik,
I’m also a GREENock bhoy,alas i now reside in ra Port.To quote Groucho,
“I’ve built myself up from nothing to a state of extreme poverty.”
Anywho,to get to the point,i get exactly where you’re coming from about McClugger’s tackle,and,i agree.
But so whit,we’ve just beat the Mrs of Uncle Football and went TOP OF THE LEAGUE.
Just enjoy the moment mo chara.
FOREVERANDEVER!!!