Falkirk played some good football at Hampden this afternoon and looked competitive with the bottom half if the Scottish Premier League, but Celtic scored three, hit the woodwork three times and had a good goal incorrectly disallowed for offside, emphasising how comfortable a day’s work it was for the SPL, Scottish Cup and League Cup favourites.
James Forrest reached the goal line and cut back to Scott Brown, whose shot was deflected onto the post before rebounding to Gary Hooper who made no mistake. The nearside linesman did nothing for the reputation of Scotland’s officials by raising his flag despite a second defender being inside the six yard box while the Celtic striker was 8 yards out.
Six minutes later Thomas Rogne got his head onto a Forrest corner but saw the effort rebound from the crossbar. Falkirk maintained parity for 27 minutes before conceding cheaply. Darren Dods, aware of Rogne’s potency at set pieces, hauled the Celtic defender to the ground inside the box from a Mulgrew corner. Scott Brown converted the resultant penalty.
Stokes could have made Celtic comfortable six minutes from half time when he connected with Hooper’s cutback but his shot was blocked. A minute later Falkirk were level. Victor Wanyama misplaced a cross-field pass to Cha in the middle of the field, Emilio Izaguirre had pushed forward while no one dropped back to cover.
Cha and Wanyama both had chances to get tight on breaking Falkirk players but Higgingbotham feigned a shot and rolled the ball into the path of 17-year-old Jay Fulton, who finished clinically.
Within a minute of the break Rogne had a chance to put Celtic ahead again but mistimed his header before Gary Hooper set James Forrest through with Falkirk keeper McGovern to beat but the winger was denied.
Falkirk’s best chance to win the tie arrived six minutes after then break when Fulton drifted in unattended at Celtic’s left but his half-volley from 7 yards flew over.
Thomas Rogne hit the cross bar for the second time with a deflected shot after another Mulgrew corner. A minute later Anthony Stokes put one foot in the final when he lifted a free kick over the Falkirk wall and into the side of the net. It wasn’t the hardest struck free kick but he caught McGovern mid-jump on his line, so the keeper was slow to move to his right.
Falkirk pushed forward whenever they could and Duffy got the better of Joe Ledley to setup Alston but the substitute couldn’t convert. 12 minutes from the end Fraser Forster made an impressive double save after a corner. He stopped the first from Darren Dods and then saved from Stuart Murdoch.
Ledley saw a shot from a Matthews cross deflected over before the Celtic full back cleared at the other end when Weatherston got behind Wanyama to cross.
Gary Hooper secured the win for Celtic when he collected outside the box after 85 minutes, turned his defender and headed for the bye-line. His cross was converted by Stokes with Ledley waiting if needed.
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Gordon64,
You never replied to my post at 22.56?
Why would you want to reward these people with more power while we watch them abuse the power they already have?
Who replaces Salmond as First Minister when his time is up?
Kenny McAskill?
Nicola Sturgeon?
Rosanna Cunningham?
God help us.
I will stand my ground in any and every situation, but why force our childeren to endure the prejudices we have had to endure when we thought there was light appearing at the end of the tunnel? Jack McConnell may not have floated everybody’s boat, but he “got it” – he understood the cancer and was making progress in addressing it. Salmond ripped it up. We are back where McConnell started, or worse.
Ask those Celtic supporters who accompanied Joe O’Rourke and Janette Findlay to Holyrood a few weeks ago if this is a Government who is accountable to all and treats us all equally? Our kids should not have to fight the same fights.
trickeymickey67 :-)
ernie lynch, Celtic are one of four clubs with a representative on the SPL board.
tommytwiststommyturns says:
29 January, 2012 at 23:43
‘What do you expect them to do? Give us immediate access to the EPL? It’s just not going to happen!’
I’d start in the fourth division. I think they’d take us give the money we would bring.
All UEFA would have to do is sanction the move.
That would seriously screw the SPL, which UEFA would want to do as a way of punishing them, and would send out a message to the rest of European football that UEFA are serious about FFP.
Hivtae 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.. Jackie Collins.. wherever You are.
Kojo
Another weekend over, but the Hoops have a cup final to look forward to and a new striker on loan.
Hopefully more farcical Hun transfer news to look forward to this week.
Night folks.
TTTT
Ernie
Blue Square Premier league would do me.
bubblegum
That’s a new one on me.
Lurking on the blog under various guises, well I never, do you lurk differently when we win, when we lose, when we draw, must be hard to lurk under various guises :>)
Kojo
Thats a lot of words but boils down to you making the further assertion that we need a contestant.
Will Hearts not compete against us? Dundee United? Aberdeen? Or does it have to be a close league contest to make Celtic a competitive team. Mind if I examine the evidence for that assertion?
When we were winning 9iar we could legitimately look on Rangers, even though they finished 2nd in 6 of those years, as fairly non-competitive. Nonetheless we experienced our best ever period of European competitiveness.
When Rangers won 9iar, we were even more uncompetitive than they had been during our 9iar, and Rangers fans consider that they were reasonably competitive in Europe (in fact they believe they were cheated out of a European Cup Final appearance)
When Rosenborg dominated Norwegian football, they were regular contenders in the CL group stages. Now the Norwegian title is more competitive, we see little evidence that their champion, whichever team it has been, is capable of reaching CL group stages.
Jock Stein said, in answer to the jibe that our 9iar was making Scottish football uncompetitive and boring, that, and I paraphrase, “a race between two 100 year old men, would be competitive but it would not be as good a standard as that shown by a race run by younger men, however uncompetitive they were”
Now, since an impoverished Rangers would not be very competitive, what do YOU fear in letting them find their competitive level in the 3rd division or juniors?
League division 2 would be great. The SPL is a slow death for us.
Zbyszek
Excellent journalism the other night. I suspect you and Paul67 “talk”.
Paul67 says:
29 January, 2012 at 23:50
‘ernie lynch, Celtic are one of four clubs with a representative on the SPL board.’
Yes, and the point I’ve made several times before is that he, Eric Riley, is not a delegate of Celtic.
He is a member of the SPL board and when he is acting in that capacity, his fiduciary duties are to the SPL, not Celtic.
It may seem an obscure and legalistic point, but it’s crucial.
The treble remains a possibility.
With a team whose average age is 23?
Celtic are finally getting it right.
PS Did anyone ask Raging Steven Pressley if he was raging at Hooper’s “offside” goal?? Or was it just the rugby tackle??
Good night and pleasant dreams.
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anyone have online long highlights of game today ?
Sabre67 says:
29 January, 2012 at 22:39
================
Good post, totally agree.
HH
In 1997 I came out the Star and Garter in Linlithgow and who holds the door open for me but none other than Alex Salmond. As I passed him he farted and I got a whiff of the future of Scotland. Let me tell you its going to be a nasty nasty business.
Sabre67
Sorry pal.
JL Leader of the opposition ?
Can it get any worse.
lovely play
hooper turn and set-up
Margaret McGill says:
30 January, 2012 at 00:02
Do you suspect there is constitutional change in the wind? :-)
Gordon64,
You make my point prefectly.
Good night all.
Hamiltontim (though I think you have gone to bed) – I had already made my mind up to leave – a country that can pass a bill as they have is in serious serious trouble and it says everything about the place. My children (and my wife) dont need it. It will take me a wee while to get out (as I have discovered) – but there has got to be more to life that watching the scottish neo facists pass laws that hiltler would have cringed at.
Snake – as always I respect your opinion – and I sincerely hope and indeed expect that there will be a rejection of the independence vote. However watching the SNP manipulate and bully our media, police etc is extremely concerning. I have said before and will say again I have more in common with many of my friends from England than a lot of the people up here.
I am not degrading Scots in general – just the fact that this nation is profoundly anti catholic. While Uk laws and attitudes have indeed changed scotland was forced to go with it – but as you have seen an attempt to “even things up” has led to the criminalisation of celtic fans – and we can see the police trying to antagonise us on a weekly basis. I dunno about you but my confidence on an indepenent scotland is not great. Like you one of my friends says uch you would just vote out the SNP after the indepenence vote – sorry but I dont trust in that. The SNP will court the hun vote openly at that stage and bingo – we will be a very vulnerable minority. Besides as you can see the SNP will very happily gerymander to get the right result.
bloody sunday movie on TV anywhere ?
Good night folks, it’s been a good day.
Enjoyed the match today, never felt confortable until we scored our third.
Most of the post match analysis has allready been done, so no need for my tuppence worth.
But we will need to up our gane for the next two difficult fixtures.
On a another note I was digusted where we were told to park today. We came off the M74 and were turned down Polmadie road instead of allowed to go up.
Ended up about 100 yards away from Hutchenstown Bowling club. A lot of elder members found it a long hard walk, def over one mile.
Our elderly bus driver had to leave 15 mins before the end.
For a national stadium this is shocking and needs to be addressed by CFC officials, as it will be only our fans who will have to endure it.
HH
jqb
embrace your fear was intended as a wind up…one for which i’m now feeling a wee bit daft…however, if you don’t believe that change (even forgetting the independence stuff) might improve a given situation…what can you believe in?
tet
i can say this…my support of all that is celtic (win, lose or draw etc.) has never wavered during my time spent on this blog…samster is one previous guise for which i cannot now remember the password
sleep well…bbg
Test…
Paddy Gallagher says:
30 January, 2012 at 00:04
Yes. It will be gust dusting
Sabre 67
Good night pal.
It is being rebuilt and renamed ‘ The Tsars a Farter’. :=)
Sorry! Definitely off now.
Paddy Gallagher says:
30 January, 2012 at 00:17
Now that is funny!
Have not been on for a couple of days and apart from the Celts winning have had a sh1t weekend.
Positives: We looked really secure from set-pieces, particularly with young Thomas and Fraser. The nervousness that used to accompany a high ball being launched into our box was not there today and hasn’t been there for a few games if I’m honest.
Negatives: Most of out goals lately seem to have come about through set-pieces (see Thomas above). This is a good thing but I worry that this may not be sustainable given the awful officiating in Scotland, that somehow always tends to be to our detriment.
I think we are missing Beram, but cannot complain as the above summary sounds very like a Martin O’Neill team.
Árd Macha
Neganon2
Fair enough pal but I don’t agree 100%
The 1979 Devolution vote was gerrymandered. So much for democracy.
The SNP will have done something that that mob cannot abide – they’d have broken the Union they love so much so they’d be as likely to vote another way and that’s before you bring in the North and East of Scotland’s vote.
The best thing is the quintessentially British club lose the Butcher’s apron as like them it becomes an anachronism of a forgotten age and as newco they’ve no claim to any of that tripe. Salmond keeps the Queen to keep them sweet and that’s enough. I personally don’t care about that but they keep that token they need. Still no more Union Jacks sounds good to me.
Evening/morning Bhoys
Great result yesterday & good news re signing our new striker. Anyone know if The Mail have it right re a bid for United’s Johnny Russell..?? He looks a good talent, but where would he fit in the team? Unless Lenny thinks it’s better to get him in now before any Championship vultures come circling….
Daily Mail – Brozek signing & Russell £500K bid….
Hail, hail
LzB
Árd Macha says:
30 January, 2012 at 00:20
Maybe. Dont think MON would have Forster or Rogne in the team. What are the bookies saying about MON and Sunderland? What’s most likely? MON quitting or being fired?
Usual scattergun ramblings on here tonight aint it..
Thoughts on the game..totally merited it..lets stop the usual dissection of the performance like its going to make a difference..we won end of story though you suspect that fact may annoy a few on here..
Broznek..maybe a world beater then again may not be..not sure what he brings to the table that Rasmussen doesnt, bearing in mind that Lenny hasnt seen him..
As for the SNP..who walked through the lobby with the Tories in 79 to bring down Sunny Jim??
As for Michelle Mone can I send her on her way..she may not enjoy it but I would try my best…
Btw lazyboy..
Russell in a minute..would be a smash playing with us in time if the billy big time attitude doesnt take over.
Margaret McGill says:
30 January, 2012 at 00:31,
Without being cheeky I could not care less what MON thinks. He’s gone and fair play to him and his OBE.
The analogy I was trying badly to make is our improvement in both boxes and the fact that we’re continuing to win without playing well.
Apologies but I’m not in good form tonight.
Árd Macha
8 million for jelavic?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0ttGFEwhPE