Celtic did enough in the opening 16 minutes to put this game beyond Dundee United but only managed to score once, an excellent effort from Gary Hooper, before United tightened up and made a contest of the game.
Georgios Samaras sprung past the United defence inside the first 30 seconds and squared the ball across the six yard line but Stokes arrived a split-second late to convert. That signalled a period of relentless Celtic pressure as the home team found it impossible to get out of their own half or hodl any kind of possession.
Gary Hooper controlled a long clearlance inside the centre circle on 12 minutes before knocking the ball square to James Forrest, who had space to exploit. Forrest drove forward before returning the pass to Hooper inside the box. The Celtic striker turned outside Gunning before driving a shot low inside Dusan Pernis’ right had post to open the scoring.
Celtic continued to press forward with Forrest again involved in their most dangerous moves. The young winger threaded a through ball to Anthony Stokes on the edge of the area before racing past the defensive line to meet the return pass on the volley but his shot struck Pernis.
Give-and-go football was proving effective for Celtic and on 41 minutes Cha Du-Ri played a one-two with Forrest but could not convert his shot.
Celtic were so dominant in the first half their only real concern must have been why they were not further ahead but the second half proved to be more of a contest. Dundee United’s passing was poor all afternoon but Celtic slipped to their level, frequently succumbing to unforced errors. The visitors were never in any trouble defensively but Neil Lennon decided to shake things up in midfield, and substituted central defender, Glenn Loovens, pulled Victor Wanyama back and brought Scott Brown into midfield.
The subsequent change, bringing Ki on for Stokes gave Celtic more athleticism and meant that the final few minutes, which are often tense when defending a one goal lead, were contested almost exclusively in the United half. Fraser Forster had a few catches and the odd punch but had a relatively easy afternoon.
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My Uncle just said a bad word on the last page ……. there’s mammy again it never ends this, she’s molly caudlin me :¬)
WSHoT
Re white ribbon campaign.
To be fair ,huns were going to wear it as well,but someone with morals inside ipox
says “whit aboot Gazza?
Thanks to the guy on pie stall in govan stand for no givin huns another showin up.
SHAMELESS R.S.C
Good win today.
St Flannan@s was always the Chapel to us (since the 50’s) and still is. In fact we called it the pineapple or piney in Kirky rhyming slang!
Can I just point out that I have a lot of good friends who come from Drum..church? amd eh Church..hall, and that when I was younger I used to enjoy watching that silent comedy genius Charlie Churchlin!
What about that Welsh singing beauty Charlotte Chapel?
Pleasure as always to be at the game today.
Wonderful goal and the Celtic fans were brilliant.
I love being a part of something so strong.
Hail Hail.
my uncle just text me there, some people say I’m too young to have a moby (young people talk), anyway I made a mistake sorry Uncle BT.
I’ve got a bit of piece at last as mammy is watching x factor, sounds like a cats choir TBH.
WSHoT
Crap game, good result and although I’m too old for it, the Saltmarket bus was a scream. I doubt if you’ll read this lads and lassies, but thanks for the day.
Sheardan
uncle BT is drunk indeed…
unlike uncle vmhan whom I assume is a sober as a judge..
so drunk he can’t even spell your name correctly
Shaedan……
Ron Bacardi says:
4 December, 2011 at 20:05
Ron,
Hate to be pedantic,St Michael’s was next to St Patrick’s High School.St Patrick’s primary school was behind St Patrick’s Church in Dumbarton.Calling Catholic Churches chapels is a throw back to the days in both Scotland and Ireland when we were only allowed to build small churches called chapels no spires and off road out of sigh as we emerged from the penal times.As pointed out there are genuine chapels around anyway,let’s keep going.
Hail Hail.
Keep The Faith.
Ron Bacardi
Not wishing to appear to be a wise guy but the church next to what was once St Patrick’s High in Dumbarton is St.Michael’s.
The primary school that was built on the grounds of the old St Patrick’s is St.Michael’s.
seanbhoy69- Aye the away support were brilliant again today, the home support were open mouthed at the co-ordinted singing in the 2nd half- highlight of their day.
bjmac- Ha ha, that was very funny! Were you behind the goal with the Carluke Shammy flag today? (Didn’t know you had a new job btw- best of luck. Is it the wee venture you were thinking about doing?)
TET
As old as you”ll get but as modern to the minute that description
and so acutely prescient it’s author in disgust his graphic prose the
depiction a club it’s uniquely depraved and corrupt support to this
day held fast in their filthy sub state a legacy of lies promulgated by
bigoted typist types whose business lies in thug words far removed
from the Author…his truthful observance the malfeasance.
HH
or that ol’ tory Winston Chapelhill
BRTH – hope you’re well – any news?
hh
bjmac
Excellent first half today with a workmanlike second half ensuring big Fraser wasn’t troubled.
Forster 6
Cha 7
Loovens 7
Big Dan 7
Mattews 7
Forrest 8
Kayal 8
Wanyama 8
Samaras 7
Stokes 6
Hooper 7
I think the midfield pairing of Big Vic and Biram should be a nailed on partnership away from Celtic Park. I don’t care how well Ki or Brown are playing, they should only start in central midfield away from home if either of those two have been struck down with dreaded man flu.
I thought Loovens looked the most confident I have seen him since he came to Celtic. Although I still wait for him to do something calamitous!
Good win Celtic, good 3 points and the wagon rolls along to the next game.
Hail Hail. And that’s just the weather.
ElDiegoBhoy says:
4 December, 2011 at 20:19
Apologies re sis-in-laws email re holiday, hope she has explained it to you. :-(
Goldstar10
A shame re Spiers.
He told me a couple of years ago that he tought the parochial (my paraphrase) scottish old media days were numbered and Herald / Scotsman / Record etc might not have much of a future….He felt safer working within a wider UK context…..
Looks like he got it wrong…….. unfortunately. I dont always agree with him but he is more balanced than most.
When compared to agenda ridden ‘rump’ of hacks we have, he is in a different league…..Hopefully he will be on the phone ins or whatever a bit more, or even bring objectivity to BBC radio.
goldstar10 says:
4 December, 2011 at 20:22
Hi mate, hope you’re well.
Yes, but it was 2 of my brothers holding it.
We had great seats for 1st half, right behinf the nets – Row E.
Were you there or was it on TV ?
hh
bjmac
Celtic_First
Not long back in from Dundee and having a quick look back. What a lovely post of yours at 15.44.
RF
Superb :>)
frankiebhoy says:
4 December, 2011 at 20:11
It was always ‘the Chapel’ in Coatbridge. Only the Masons clled it ‘the pineapple’.
Great 3 points today.
Victor looking better by the week.
Kayal getting back to form of last season.
goldstar10
Awesome support as always mate.
3 points after a midweek European tie is always good.
Brilliant 3 points today this Celtic team will win the league and how good will it be to know that all of Scotland is watching Neil Francis Lennon lifting the league championship trophy above his head.
BTW what a find big Victor is!!!
hamiltontim
Hail Hail mate.
As good a gambling tip that you will ever be lucky enough to receive :-)
Kilbowie Kelt says:
4 December, 2011 at 15:45
Lenny’s Lions are still available at 11/10 to win the title.
Considering the number of catastrophes that lie in wait for our stricken neighbours, this really is Opportunity Knocks time for serious punters.
There has probably NEVER been a better odds-against bet in the history of gambling.
IT’S COMING HOME.
The M90 was closed from junction 5 today so I had to use the local roads. “Do you no where you are going” Miss Prestonpans asked. Nope not a clue but I following the truck with a Dundee number on it. Thankfully after I rambled thorough various Fife/Kinross towns I ended up at the other side of the M90.
“What if that truck was not going to Dundee” asked Miss P, well you would be watching the game in some Fife pub!!
Shaedan,you are welcome in the Coors household over here in ‘Derry’ anytime..Hope santa is very good to you.xxx
Paddy Gallagher
Haven’t spoken to her recently so I’ve not caught on to the gist of the e.mail exchange.
Fair play, I will leave it to her :-)
Seanbhoy69
This team of ours is on a roll mate, time to enjoy the ride!!
Chapel end of!!!!
I think the wee fella’s finally rolled off to sleep Coorslad.
sorry for calling you a hun earlier, but if ye act like a hun i.e. posting from Londonderry then you’ll be treated like one :¬)
V
HH to ye!
Burnley78 – understand your opinion on “Britney”, but for me any credability he had disappeared with his performance on Snyde on the Monday evening after Dougiegate. He was either complicit with the liar Dallas or was taken in way too easily.
That and his increasingly desperate tweets show how far his star has fallen over the last few years.
HH
TTTT
Burnley78 says:
4 December, 2011 at 20:24
I have to totally disagree with you regarding Graham Spiers.
I always thought that he was an objective journalist and was one of the very few to criticise Rangers FC when it was due.
However after the ” Shame Game” at Celtic Park last season when we beat Rangers FC 1-0 in the cup, in my mind he was the most culpable of all Scottish hacks in apportioning the blame on Neil Lennon. I’ll never forget his performance on the Clyde Phone-in when he started with ” What on earth got into Neil Lennon”. He apportioned no blame whatsoever to Ally McCoist and kept up his attack on Neil throughout the programme. He was a disgrace. I now dislike him intensely and wouldn’t trust him as far as I could throw him. I believe many Scottish hacks took their lead from the previously ‘objective’ Graham Spiers. He previously reffered to his friendship to Neil Lennon and how neil had obtained tickets for an OF game for his father who was a Baptist Minister and how Neil had made his father happy.
DO NOT TRUST GRAHAM SPIERS!
Burnley78- I heard the new CE of News Int was in Glasgow last week, maybe delivering the bad news?
The UK nationals are gradually downsizing their Scottish input- the Scottish Mirror has no editorial input from Scotland. At less than 20,000 sales per day maybe the Times is moving in the same direction? I hope Spiers gets fixed up somewhere else but I fear he has upset Rangers/\Rangers supporters too much- i.e. he is now toxic material.
BJmac- yes I was there today bud, in the Jerry Kerr stand, when Kayal booted the ball into the TV gantry it came down and nearly hit me on the face!
You can’t pick and choose when and when-not to support ‘Celtic’ that is for sure, but sometimes they have you bursting with pride!!