Celtic moved to within goal difference of securing the Scottish Premier League title by opening up an 18 point lead with six games remaining after a two goal victory over St Johnstone at Celtic Park today. Second half goals from Georgios Samaras and an own goal by Chris Millar settled the game which looked even for long spells.
Samaras has been like a player reborn in recent weeks and continued in the same manner today. From the opening minutes of the game he thundered down the left wing using pace and skill at close quarters to strain the St Johnstone defence.
Gary Hooper could have done better when Anthony Stokes fed him early on but his chip was collected by St Johnstone keeper Allan Mannus. Once play stopped referee Salmond booked Maybury for his foul on Stokes as the Celtic striker played the ball forward for Hooper but despite therefore acknowledging the offence, the ref failed to pull play back after Hooper failed to gain any advantage.
Kris Commons is still looking for his first goal of the season and twice came close today. In the first half Stokes held the ball inside the box until Commons arrives to shoot from 8 yards but he knocked the effort narrowly wide. In the second half a swerving shot was on target for the top right corner of the net before Mannus got a touch.
Liam Craig was St Johnstone’s principle threat and he brought a good save out of Fraser Forster from a free kick midway through the first half. Celtic struggled to create much in the opening period but Michael Lustig crossed from the right wing but found no takers despite running along the six yard line.
Celtic should have taken the lead a minute from the break. Commons sent in a free kick, Samaras missed a header and Mannus blocked but Charlie Mulgrew was on hand the head the rebound, only to see his effort cleared off the line.
Cillian Sheridan and Francisco Sandaza both had good headed efforts to open the scoring early in the second half but neither found the target.
Celtic stepped up the pace just after the hour after Ki and Matthews replaced Stokes and Lustig. Scott Brown saw a shot from inside the D saved.
The opening goal arrived on 66 minutes after Georgios Samaras was involved in a couple of scuffles. The Greek international was grounded inside the box and was then shoved off the ball within seconds of getting back to his feet, again inside the box but the referee didn’t see it. Samaras clearly took exception to this treatment and a moment later shielded the ball using his body until he was dragged to the ground.
It looked like a feisty play by Samaras who was clearly animated. When Kris Commons swung in the resultant free kick Samaras rose and headed back across goal and into the net.
St Johnstone pressed forward looking for an equaliser and might have got one had Adam Matthews not made a last ditch interception to turn the ball behind for a corner. With St Johnstone forward for the set piece Celtic broke quickly. Commons carried the ball forward, and with everyone one else on the field running at full pace, he took a second before sending a 60 yard pass across field to Ki. Ki moved inside before playing the ball out to Samaras on the right. Samaras crossed for Hooper but the ball was turned into the net by Millar.
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=loGZsrN18lk
Great lyrics.
Yo ho ho, off we go
What do you know, it’s nine in a row
Bye bye Rangers
Celtic’s on the ball again, on the way to make it ten
Bye bye Rangers
You can talk about your great defenders
Sing and shout about your No Surrender
But let us give you this wee tip
We’ll be there for the league and the cup
Rangers bye bye
Yo ho ho, off we go
What do you know, it’s nine in a row
Bye bye Rangers
Celtic’s on the ball again, on the way to make it ten
Bye bye Rangers
You can talk about your great defenders
Sing and shout about your No Surrenders
But let us give you this wee tip
We’ll be there for the league and the cup
Rangers bye bye
But let us give you this wee tip
We’ll be there for the league and the cup
Rangers bye bye
ASonOfDan on 1 April, 2012 at 19:58 said:
Game group sold in 3 days of entering administration.
How long have rangers been up for sale?
about 5 years if you ignore some clown buying them for a pound
Just seen the Thai Tims celebrating Sammi goal,brilliant,don’t you wish you were younger so you didn’t need to dissect every moment of a game.Slan
Estadio Nacional on 1 April, 2012 at 20:01 said:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=loGZsrN18lk
Great lyrics.
I agree 100%
I have this on vinyl (google it youngsters) I’ll have to raid the loft to find it!
Yo ho ho of I go ………….
SFTB
Fair comment.
I am maybe getting ahead of myself thinking of the CL.
However i can only see 2 or 3 players in our team who
are good enough at that level.
As i said big changes will be required to take us forward.
REALITY CHECK#1
Have a lousy cold ,bones and joints aching,so I was feeling
pretty miserable making my way into the game today.
Just at the corner of the Lisbon Lion and North stand I spotted
a young Tim in front of me,he had the yellow and black bar
away top, he must have been 11 or 12 , in his hand a wee bag of sweets from the table at the gates.
He also had a crutch under each arm ,because one of
his legs was cut off at the upper thigh.
I salute you wee Mhan ,you have more guts than I will ever have.
So what is the score with Traynor then? Has he been demoted right enough? sacked? on holiday?
Circumstances dictate a lack of blog related time for your truly but, after a mighty speed read catch up just wanted to say : SFTB, bang on sir.
Oh and I thought Lustig was fine. Not amazing, not awful. Not going to make a judgement on the few minutes he’s played for us. He could be a future captain or a nearly man or a Loovens. Give the bhoy a chance
Tommy Joad on 1 April, 2012 at 18:15 said:
New Neil Lennon tune, brilliant
http://youtu.be/2DTs1P28Juw
thanks or that – pretty good
As a complete aside from our game today, how pleasing it was to see Hibernian FC get 3 points today……
…..only because I want to see rent-a-gob John Yorkston despatched back to the First Division.
Gritty gutsy game from Murray to lead 6-5 in second set.
Almost two hours tennis and both are playing great tennis.
VP
Well said pal.
Have a hot toddy. It cures all ills.
Even your man flu.
Well, well does John Yorkston vote for Newco now or does he just take the ‘honourable’ money and then tell them to feck off???
voguepunter on 1 April, 2012 at 20:07
That bhoy sits in front of me and…. to be honest hes a marvel, he can get up and down the stairs quicker than us…
God bless him and his family ( all singers in section 109)
Estadio Nacional on 1 April, 2012 at 20:01 said:
Great Song. theres a new updated 2012 version, not as good but will make you smile!
http://youtu.be/7ugVw4xhvbU
Love 15 Novac played a careless shot.
15 all great serve Novak down middle
30 15 as Andy overhits second serve
30 all Andy forces Novak to hit net
Voguepunter. We are indeed blessed when you see some of the sad sights around us and yet most of these unfortunate souls could show us abled bodied folk how to enjoy life.His wee poke of sweeties would probably worth more to him than a bag of gold we the other members of the great Celtic family must continue to look out for those less fortunate than ourselves and in the odd times we forget I am certain Tommy Burns will be looking down and keeping a protective eye on them. H.H.
cyrenean on 1 April, 2012 at 18:40
terrific post, gaffer
great to hear from you again
nice one
another good wee read.
http://www.philmacgiollabhain.ie/answering-questions/#more-2363
G64
That’s how bad it is ,I don’t even feel like drink.
*THE KING VIC 67* on 1 April, 2012 at 20:13 said:
Well said mate.
Joe Filippis Haircut on 1 April, 2012 at 20:16 said:
Hear hear pal,I’m away before I start greetin.
Night night all God bless.
Celtic_First on 1 April, 2012 at 19:37 said:
I have to say that was an incredibly insightful observation. I was in agreement with PFAyr and felt that we almost sacrificed Samaras who was having a good game, by switching him left – to try and get Commons into the game.
What you pointed out hadnt dawned on me.
If what you say is the actual reason for the change, then id say fair enough it was worth a go.
Wee posts like yours are why coming onto this blog is a good idea.
40 30 Murray nets after fierce exchange of shots
Deuce Murray forces error on Djokavic forehand
Advantage Djokavic
Deuce as Novak hit long
Ad Dlokavic with serve down middle
Game Djokavic second set tie break
Wonderful match
VP
You must be really no well.
Hope it isn’t catching.
HH pal.
Murray lost a minin break but recovered it on Djokavic serve
2-1 Novak
Top tier tennis from both as Murray wins point with a drop shot 2-2
Double fault Andy to give Djokavic a 3-2 lead
Eirecamper 20:13
Haha, didnt know about that one, cracker.
EN
voguepunter. agree with you and was thinking along similar lines today.
standing waiting on my mate today with my son, daughter and her bhoyfriend when a wee old lady in green hat, coat and Crutches about 80 odds passes going up to turnstyles. She is being helped along by a guy about my age in his 50s. My daughter (19) says she hopes to still be coming to watch the hoops at that age. Makes you proud to be part of the Celtic family.
mick11 traynor has been shunted aside after his recent accusation about PL.
I think this is to try and appease PL so as Celtic do not take the rag to court.
HH
CQN Saturday Naps Competition – Week 34 Results
Wow… what can I say… Meydan yesterday for the Dubai World Cup, what an experience… topped off by my CQN nap romping home (Cityscape @8/1) :o)
The Token Tim finally got off the mark for the season with the Fahey-Hanagan-2yo combo (Woodland Mill @ 5/1)… well done TTT.
Now I’m just waiting for oldtim to nap a 66/1 winner of the Grand National, and jump from last to first in one fell swoop…
+£12.83 fleagle1888 (7)
+£10.00 voguepunter (4)
+£ 9.75 Cathal (8)
+£ 4.58 bobbymurdoch’s winklepickers (7)
+£ 3.00 tommytwisttommyturns (3)
-£ 1.04 Rockon (10)
-£ 4.25 Raymac (5)
-£ 8.25 Eurochamps67 (6)
-£ 8.25 What is the Stars (4)
-£11.00 wolfetonebhoy (4)
-£11.50 twists n turns (3)
-£13.95 Som mes que un club (3)
-£21.00 Che (2)
-£21.25 BULL67 (2)
-£24.50 hunza rugli (2)
-£25.50 PFayr (2)
-£28.00 The Token Tim (1)
-£34.00 oldtim
*No selections from – Eurochamps67, wolfetonebhoy
Cheers, fleagle1888
Djokavic hits screamer and it 4-2 at the change over
just in from the game, delighted to have won even though we weren’t near our best. thought sammy and commons were both excellent!
really concerned with the form of hooper and stokes, both really poor again today
lustig looks fairly average to me, matthews was a vast improvement when he came on
just the draw needed next week though and we will be CHAMPIONS once again!!
Celtic First
i was annoyed myself
however yesterday decended into farce
i had a major hangover/my son went to mates thereby requiring me to have to leave the house before 9 this morning/wife got fed up waiting on me re a start time and left (no lift)
defo next time …don`t leave it to G to disorganise :¬))
Serves wide and now 5-2 to Djokavic
Novac nets 5-3
First serve winner and it’s 5-4 and Novak serving
3 points Champions elect – Hail Hail
I hope the *ankkers case drags on like a modern day Jarndyce and Jarndyce
Djokavic hits line with a winner. 6-4.
Murray hits long Djokavic wins 7-6
Great game
thomthethim on 1 April, 2012 at 19:17 said:
A special case.?….LOL …….. Their SDM Board should be a special case, fur jail …….. You couldn’t make it up …….. They have cheated SF for at least 15 years and the SFA want to let them back into SPL ……….. Basically, they are all pathetic cheats?…
Anyway, just watched today’s game again ……. Think I must have been a wee bit up-tight at the game today ….. Looked a lot better on TV ….. And we have a few players to come back in …. Glasgow’s Green And Whyte (excuse the pun) …… The bhuns will be subdued tonight…..He He
Gene’s a Bhoys name on 1 April, 2012 at 20:29 said:
Nawwwwwwww …… I’m getting too excited ….. LOL
OK …..off to gloat ……bye fellow tims
Post-Split Fixtures
With the top 6 settled with a game to spare, it is now time for the SPL to decide on the post-split fixtures. These will inevitably create controversy, with at least one team generally having a complaint about having to visit a certain ground 3 times, or about having too few home games. The SPL attempt to prevent these problems by “seeding” the fixtures on the assumption that the top 6 in the previous season will be repeated, but this has never actually happened in practice. This season, St Johnstone finished in the top 6 and Killie in the bottom 6, causing yet another headache for the fixture schedulers.
I am personally a fan of the split despite these quirks – it gives mid-table teams something to play for until close to the end of the season, and also allows the SPL to manipulate the fixture list to create “winner takes all” matches at the end of the season, which is good for creating interest in the league. The SPL was one of the first leagues to introduce a split, but it has since been copied by a number of other European countries.
Top 6
The table on the right shows the number of home games each of the top 6 clubs are due, and also the opponents that each club are supposed to be playing at home. We can see that there are four clubs due 3 home games, and two clubs due 2 homes. Unfortunately, that means that one club will end up with 18 homes and 20 aways.
Generally when this situation arises, the SPL will attempt to cause as little inconvenience as possible to the teams who still have something to play for. In this case, the race for the European places involves all four clubs apart from the Old Firm, while Rangers still have 2nd place to play for. Celtic will probably seal the league title before the split, so fairness would dictate that they are the team who should miss out on the home game.
However, I’m sure all of us know the SPL well enough to know that it is extremely unlikely that this course of action will be taken. Celtic and Rangers tend to hold more sway than any of the other clubs, and have never previously been disadvantaged by the split aside from the inevitability of having to go to certain away grounds 3 times a season. This means that the most likely club to be disadvantaged would be St Johnstone. They have previously had the benefit of the split – with 20 home games and 18 aways in a season, although it was way back in 2001/02. They also have the best away record in the SPL, which may mean that the team would feel less inconvenienced by having an extra away match.
A couple of other adjustments are necessary in order to sort out the fixture list. Rangers are due one extra away match, while Motherwell are due an extra home. This should mean that Rangers will make a 3rd trip to Fir Park after the split. Dundee United are also due an extra away match, and can be sent to either Celtic Park or McDiarmid Park for a 3rd time, depending on who the SPL decide to disadvantage.
Bottom 6
The bottom 6 have the opposite imbalance. Four of the clubs are due just 2 home matches, while only two of them are due 3 homes. That means that one of the bottom 6 will have 20 homes and 18 aways. Again, the priority of the SPL should be to protect the integrity of the relegation battle, which means that neither Hibs nor Dunfermline should be given the extra home game.
That means that either Killie or Aberdeen should be given the extra home match. A look at previous seasons shows that Aberdeen have already had the advantage of 20 homes and 18 aways on three occasions (2005/06, 2007/08 and 2009/10), and have only had 18 homes and 20 aways once (2004/05). On the other hand, Killie have never previously had 20 homes and 18 aways, but have had 18 homes and 20 aways once (2006/07). That would suggest that Killie are due the extra home game more than Aberdeen.
Assuming that Killie are given the extra home game, the only additional adjustment necessary is to send Hibs to Inverness for a 3rd time. That would leave every club except Killie with 19 homes and 19 aways as expected. It would also seem extremely likely that the SPL will attempt to create a relegation decider, which suggests that Hibs will host Dunfermline at Easter Road on the 12th May.