Two early goals by Gary Hooper and Victor Wanyama were enough to overcome Dundee United at Celtic Park today but a cracking strike by John Rankin early in the second half ensured the table toppers had to fight all the way.
Anthony Stokes had an early opportunity to test Pernis in the United goal with a free kick, as is often the case with Anthony’s free kicks, he struck the defensive wall. United had the best chance of the opening exchanges after 7 minutes but Fraser Forster denied Garry Kenneth at his near post after a goalmouth scramble. The visitors kept the pressure on for the next few minutes but were to concede soon thereafter.
Thomas Rogne cleared his lines with a defensive header which Stokes won with an aerial challenge and reacted first to prod the ball forward to an alert Gary Hooper. Hooper made the most of the space available, opened his body and placed an immaculately measured shot inside the right post to put Celtic ahead.
Five minutes later Georgios Samaras earned hearty applause throughout the stadium for a robust challenge on Willo Flood before forcing Pernis to turn a shot behind. The resulting corner was played short to Izaguirre who through a deep and high cross into the box. Victor Wanyama was first to react and seemed to have jumped early but he somehow managed to hover a millisecond long enough to be level with the ball when he met it before propelling it high into the top left corner of the goal.
Shortly before half time Stokes had another opportunity from a free kick. John Rankin broke early from the wall, raised his arm and blocked inside the penalty box. Referee, Winter, penalised the player for breaking the wall and ordered a retake, not a penalty. Stokes had two opportunities to make the points safe within a minute of the break. He met a Mulgrew corner on the six yards line with a glancing header that went narrowly passed the far post. Pernis then denied an excellent Stokes strike with a fine save.
The Celtic defence had not lost a goal in eight domestic games before today and could do little about the goal that put United back in the contest. John Rankin struck from 26 yards, the ball clipped the inside of Fraser Forster’s right hand post and bounced in. Shortly before the hour mark John Daly had Dundee United’s best chance of the game but Forster was equal to his header.
Georgios Samaras had Celtic’s best two chances of the second half. The first a diving header from a Matthews cross which was saved by Pernis. The second a cross from Matthews which Samaras pulled down with his chest before shooting over.
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What price was Spurs??
PFayr
You’re awrite, you’re minted :-)))
Gordon64
Im good thanks.
How are you doing?
Another important 3 points today mate.
Tin hat on here,i would sign Ian Black from Hearts,hear me out bhoys.I know he is a dirty wee £§£$€%§,but IMO is a very tidy footballer.He was head and shoulders above the rest in Edinburgh derby last week.2nd half today we needed someone to put their foot in and control the game,we were found wanting a wee bit.Hes 26 and maybe a bit like Paul Hartley, a late developer.The midfielders we have will be sold in next 2 years.
SydneyTim says:
14 January, 2012 at 22:11
Celtic won today, Celtic are top of the league – you still seem to be sick.
Celtic should always try to improve.
Again you show your arrogance, categorising Celtic fans is total arrogance on its own, leaving aside you placing yourself in Category 1 and naming other people in stupid categories you put together to somehow try and justify your continual negativity.
Self praise holds no honour.
From your posts on here, you come across as a bitter, twisted sad man. Not one Celtic fan I know doesn’t want us to improve, I have yet to meet one who goes on the way you do. I’ve met thousands of Celtic fans, I must simply have been lucky.
Goodnight CQN.
hh
bjmac
Hamilton Tim
Thanks.
The big man is on. Only a few minutes left.
St
I am 1,2,and 3…
hope that measures up to your criteria of what it is to be a Celtic fan..
SydneyTim says:
14 January, 2012 at 22:19
That is the most ridiculous post I have seen in here for a long time.
The three types of fans is an idiotic simplification.
The allocation of Cqners is an ridiculous attempt to ridicule people in here.
Not sure why I am even commenting on it.
Radio Nacional have just said that previous club Parma want McDMW back this window.
ST not the auld Kaizan debate!
Toyota’s first Chief Engineer Kenya Nakamura has a lot to answer for innit.
I wonder if he was any relation to our Naka?
Vinny
ST
What are you trying to do here ?
The Celtic support is completely united in the support of our team.
B B K
Seems he’s sorted himself out. Only got booked today.
SydneyTim says:
14 January, 2012 at 22:33
Big fella I stood in the jungle for years and then when they put the seats in we moved to the Celtic End but I knew guys whom I’d stood beside who decided to stay. They were still Tims and so was I and so were the new guys we stood beside in the Celtic End.
Mate this is a family, a really special one, enjoy it.
Celtic fans come in all shapes and sizes and come from all over the globe.
We are all the same.
We are no better than each other.
We are all Celtic.
End of!!!
ST sitting at the fitba is for sissies and jessies :¬)
ye canny do the huddle sitting down……..
Vinny
Bada Bing
Your point regards that individual was discussed and dismissed here last week.
On a lighter note, Mrs Starry, coming from the land of Naka told me today that Wanyama could translate as the Big Round Mountain!!!
Seems to kinda fit our Bhoy Vic!!
Hx2
SP
hamiltontim
Hail Hail mate.
Tri-coloured Ribbon,
First half was one way traffic for me , and second was a bit more balanced.
Whilst the press will talk about daly’s miss , and what could have been, the same is true of Sammi’s header and shot in second half.
Having been to away games recently at Tannadice, McDiarmud, and East End Park, I think that nervousness in the crowd at CP can translate onto the park, whereas, away from home, I never felt we were in any danger , despite slender margins at places like Tannadice.
Sydney Tim- I suggest you could also have a pot 4- for supporters who think this Celtic squad are cowards and would be “bricking it” at the prospect of playing ICT.
Now who could be in that pot? Hmmm
Step forward- Sydney Tim
PS- we play ICT in a few weeks….. but don’t you get too feart!
offski CQN’ers….. ST be good!
Vinny
Bada bing
I agree.
Many seem to think hes a dirty wee so and so against us only but thats not so.
He kicks everyone and he can play.
It was he who put Jelavic out for most / all of the season – not condoning that but hardly the action of a mad bluenose.
The only problem is that hed get sent off so often for us hed hardly play.
SYDNEY TIM
Stick to your principles please. I hope you don’t think me patronising by saying that people like you are like our conscience.
By that,I mean that maybe we are all surrounded by like people,who have gradually come to accept the way things are.
We meet up,argue,disseminate,and agree-and by agreeing,we water down our origional beliefs in order to attain concensus.
I live 400 miles from Celtic Park,and try my hardest to stick to my principles,you have my advantage by about thirty times in distance.
Keep giving it to them,cos every time I read your posts,it reminds ME to keep giving it to them.
a lot of questioning of PL and board, for those in doubt about our current position. Take a look across this city and see what poor management of funds, side stepping rules and regulations and feeding an obsession brings.
In Lennon we Trust.
Hamilton Tim,
First half hour superb mo chara.
After that literally anything could have happened.
Tactics were wrong.We could have ended up losing that game when we should have had them well and truly dead and buried
SydneyTim says:
14 January, 2012 at 22:19
over generalisation in my opinion, often people move between different levels of feeling/ thoughts
10,000 lost fans, i think this is more about a sense of hopelessness, meaning, belief etc… in what is/ was happening to celtic and of course the economic downturn, lost jobs, fear of job loss etc…
neil has began this process, but i’ll tell you what if celtic win the league and get a coulpe of quality players in over the summer about 5,000 – 10,000 fans will return becuase they will have the belief, faith and hope and will attend, you may call them glory hunters, i call them celtic fans/supporters
i remember going to celtic park as a kid when the darkside were racking up league after league, celtics attendance was very low, then fergus came in and we went to hampden for 1 year and all of a sudden we had 28,000 fans, then we came to celtic park and had 33,000, then 40,000 + then 50,000 +, not always winning but always having hope, then pl and a change a shift a downsizing and then less hope, then hopelessness then a gradual reduction in attendance.
more important than anything else is hope, we cant always have success but we can have hope
Spurs were 2/7 glad I never touched them.
Clashcitybhoy says:
14 January, 2012 at 22:42
Ask Seanbhoy69, he’ll support that.
Seanbhoy
Aye!
Kidding yourselves on bhoys if you think we all think the same
Kojo. Yes Swan vestas indeed :)))
Vhman. Naka. Never knew that bit, explains a few things, his fishbones must be reason for the root cause of his ball placement :))
Wet wet wet here in Sydney and me off for the week, always rains here when I am on holiday and packing the car for a trip
Seanbhoy
Again i find myself agreeing with you pal.
HH
Hamilton
BJmac and I are like family…or so we suspect… ; )
I hate PL but, rght now I’m enjoying the upswing…
I’m in pot 3 of st’s list I’m afraid!
With recent headlines in England I wondered how long it would take them to come up with something similar. Not long I see: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/16563664.stm Can anyone guess which team the culprits will be found to support? I expect leaks and selective disclosure from the police to continue for a long, long time in order to justify that fascist law just passed by our esteemed parliament. It will not surprise me if the SNP play politics with religion in an attempt to win this refurrendum. I wouldn’t put it past them to bail out the Huns in an attempt to win populist support. We live in scary times.
La Real won. I think that’s their first away win of the season.
Bad a Bing
Black is a hun who prospers with the assistance of his brothers in black.
He would be lucky to complete a single game in a Celtic jersey with his hacking approach.
On numerous occasions against us an honest ref would have red carded him.
Kojo
I hope we’ll both be proven right in 2038!
TET
Better an even money shot busts ur coupon than a big odds on wan does. Thats my theory!!