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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Paddy Gallagher
Just got the email mate, Quality!! HH
Did anyone else notice the tag line on the hoardings around the park today.
Respect, Responsibility and Tolerance.
Seems appropriate the ragers were no longer in this competition
EWO
I just felt there was a lot of confusion between the back 4 all day but in the second period it was compounded by everyone moving across one place and it gave Ledley a power of extra work to do.
We were in F3 in the Celtic end and although not normally superstitious I recalled, as we made our way to our seats, that the last time I was in that section was our loss to the huns last season. Glad that’s been exorcised :-)
Bold Ziggy was in good form!!!
Also, not trying to drag the tone down as it’s a great day and the positives far outweigh the negatives but Lenny’s comments on Izzy on radio were interesting:
“Don’t know where my left back was at the goal. Wandering, as he is prone to do.
We’re trying to be patient but he is short of where he was last year”
TJ
Bhoy67 says:
29 January, 2012 at 18:49
Good summary.
I think we are really missing Kayal. Since his injury we have looked rather ruderless and haven’t really convinced in any games, even though we keep winning. I think Victor looks like his misses his presence next to him as well.
Will be difficult to keep the winning form going unless we step up a gear.
Really hope his rehab goes well and we see him before the season ends. His return in the final few weeks could really help us over the finishing line.
Tommy Joad says:
29 January, 2012 at 19:34
Excellent positioning, strong defensively, good in the air.
That’s what you need from your centre halves in Scotland. With Mulgrew beside him we have a good balance, Mulgrew can pass, and defend, but is a bit more erratic than Big Tam. Keep them together and watch them blossom as a partnership.
Tommy Joad says:
29 January, 2012 at 19:34
Agree regards distribution, however he and Charlie complement each other well, all he should do is win the first challenge and pass to Charlie. I watch Rogne in training most weeks and I have to say he is a class act, great balance. Absolutely no worries if Rogne is at the centre of defence until the end of the season, he also has a good habit of causing havoc in the opposition penalty box.
Serge says:
29 January, 2012 at 19:36
Paddy Gallagher
Just got the email mate, Quality!! HH
*********************
Good laugh eh? :-))
I tried to load it on here and it didn’t work, can you stick the photo on for the lads?
A sticky performance on a sticky pitch today. I read the comments about BBC bias during the match and it made me happy that I didn`t rely on the TV or radio today. Good today from Rogne, Brown and Hooper but a better performance may be needed next week.
I see that Everton have sold fringe man Bilyaletdinov to Spartak Moscow for over £4m, so they have resources.
Paddy
Hilarious! Fair play to him. I don’t know how to do it mate.
TJ
I’d agree with Lenny’s summation. Yes Wanyama misplaced the pass and Cha allowed the cross in but Izzy had again gone awandering.
I’ve said before that his pace and strength get him out of sticky situations that are frequently caused by really very poor positioning.
Tin hat on :-)
celtic *o* lennon * KANO 1,000 *
Much obliged
HH
Glad to see I can post again. Wrote an epic length post on Thurs/Fri and it disappeared into the ether about 5 times. Kept getting a message telling me that I posted it already but couldn’t find it anywhere. Great to be back.
Today’s game – average performance, great result. What guff they were talking on BBC 1 Scotland! I never felt that we were going to lose at any time but I did feel that some players needed a kick in the jacksie to get them moving. Our pace was too slow in the first half but Lenny rectified that at half time. I think the Beeb were hoping for a shock. Wishful thinking on their part. Let’s see, we scored three, had a legitimate goal disallowed, hit their bar twice with everybody and their granny beaten and we could have had another penalty. Inside the box we were on fire. I felt that some players were poor today, Victor, James, Joe and Emilio and others. Scott Brown had a great game I felt as did Gary Hooper and Anthony Stokes and Big Fraser kept up his great form of late.
All in all a good day at the office with several new players to look forward to in the weeks and months ahead. Well done Celtic!
View on the game…
never really got the motor running, but deserved the win. Falkirks passing was excellent and belies their current league status.
Starting 11 only
Forster – another good game, lookin more and more confident
Izzy – needin game time, at fault for their goal
Mulgrew – luv this guy, nothin fancy, good honest celtic man and brings a bit of calmness to the defence
Rogne – also another good game, attacks the high balls well and seems to settle beside Chas or Vic
Cha – poor game for me – his passes were all over the place, his speed doesn’t compensate for this
Ledley – decent enough game, couple of lapses, loads of energy, needs to command his area of the park more
Vic – patchy; he’s set himself a high standard for one so young – also culpable for their goal
Broony – good game, he was all over the park and pivotal in a lot of our moves – he’s never goin to be a playmaker, but thought he had a good game today
Forrest – one of his quieter games, though he was well marked, doubled-up on etc. Still put in a few balls that we should really be gettin on the end of
Stokes and Hoops – rated about the same, never hid, were excellent in patches, but like the through balls rather than the crosses. If we’re playing these two, we need to play the balls they like, or coach them better for cross balls. Why is nobody getting in front of a defender for a cross these days?
Great to see we have agreed terms with the polish fella on the official site.
I know it has been said since yesterday but until it is OFFICIAL i never can relax, there have been too many deals collapse at the last minute but a big Hail Hail and welcome aboard to our FOUR new singings!!!!
Only negative for me is that cha is still getting a game at right back. no offence to the man but i cannot see how he is in the squad never mind in the team! at there goal he could have cut out the bad pass from wanyama (who showed he is human today with a below par performance) before their player got the 1st touch and then should have put in a tackle near the sideline.
Really hope adam matthews is back to full match sharpness soon cos that can be the only reason he hasn’t started the last few games.
Don’t know what was happening at left back either but at we had enough to make up for those shortcomings and could really have scored 4 or 5 with a bit of luck.
Fair play to lenny as the changes made the difference again, although we were never in trouble despite bbc scotland telling us all day that falkirk were the better team!!! they played to their best we had a lot of players below par but still won 3-1, had a perfectly good goal dissalowed AGAIN hid the woodwork 3 times with numerous falkirk handballs going unpunished.
Wonder what they will say when we play to our potential????
Keep it going Bhoys, keep winning
watched today and a bit nervous at times.
but what impressed me most was Scott Brown
fast becoming our “go to man” when it gets tough
always there etc etc.
and don`t forget another wee final day out looms.
hamiltontim says:
29 January, 2012 at 19:37
Fair enough – you were the one with the birdseye view, you dont catch half of what is going on from the box I dont care what anyone says.
Ive convinced myself no professional would leave his post in the manner it appeared Mulgrew had – and if he did then he would be hooked by the management for doing so once, let alone be allowed to do it again and again.
It had to have been on instruction because Ledley wasnt exactly giving him pelters either, nor was Scott Brown.
Im sure you always enjoy the Hampden trips – less chance of bumping into the same people that associate you with Ziggy to the away games!
Getting to the tickly bit for Rangers – the myth of money and how much someone is worth.
But Jelavic has spent a month advertising himself.
DOUBLE FIGURES DOUBLE FIGURES
Oooops! Maybe an amount (6m??) with add ons – there’s yir dinner.
And only days ago I was reading (On SKY) that Ally’s expectations were to play Brozek alongside Jelavic – for that was his intentions.
What a cuckold. What a guy.
U
TheOriginalSadiesBhoy says:
29 January, 2012 at 19:48
Welcome back big bud…
******************
Serge says:
No problems amigo, I just ain’t techie …:-((
29 January, 2012 at 19:44
Izaguirre was caught out at the goal as he was moving upfield while we were in possession. On several occasions we moved up the right and then benefited by switching to him in space on the left in an attacking position. If you play forward thinking full backs then sometimes they will be caught out of you lose possession unexpectedly. That’s what happenend here with Victor’s poor pass to Cha.
I forgot to say that I thought the Falkirk play maker Kallum Higginbottom (?) was outstanding and looked a class act. The Killie manager seemed upset that he was having such a good game as he was hoping to sign him, I think, but he felt that other bigger clubs would now come in for him. I know we have a jillion midfielders but does anyone think that Lenny should go after him.
Paddy Gallagher says:
29 January, 2012 at 19:51
Thanks for the welcome back. I was on the point of a break down thinking that I wouldn’t be able to post until my son who lives in Aberdeen came to visit and fixed my technical problems.
TheOriginalSadiesBhoy says:
29 January, 2012 at 19:52
is he better than McGeoch or does he just get more game time?
Paddy
Be good if one of the guys can help you out posting it, it’s well worth sharing :-)
EWO
I saw Brown twice berating Mulgrew in the second half for doing exactly that mate.
Hate Hampden as a place to view football but hey ho It’s a place where Celtic dreams are made :-)
ulysses mcghee says:
29 January, 2012 at 19:50
It’s squeaky bum time for Rangers. What happens if club(s) interested in Jelavic wait it out until only hours before the transfer deadline and then come in with an offer of only £5million to test the MBB’s resolve. I wonder what Rangers would do then.
Serge says:
29 January, 2012 at 19:55
Paddy
Be good if one of the guys can help you out posting it, it’s well worth sharing :-)
share
Blantyretim has the email now, and he is a technical whizz-kid with a diploma in pasting photos :-))
Guys – I don’t think Izzy was near the races in regards to fitness today. Victor had his mostest worsest game everest for Celtic and won (I personally think he was poor against der Hun) – so happy days.
I’m confused about Cha du Ri though – what does he add past goal kicks?
U
Paddy
Excellent! HH
Kayal33 says:
29 January, 2012 at 19:55
TheOriginalSadiesBhoy says:
29 January, 2012 at 19:52
is he better than McGeoch or does he just get more game time?
…………………………………………
That’s a good point. Both look great and both are very skillful. Ithough McGeouch was more of a right sided midfielder/winger whereas Higginbottom seemed to play in the hole behind the strikers and wandered across the field. He was very composed on the ball in what was a big game for Falkirk. He also said after the game that some of them might never get a chance to play in a game like that again but they hoped to get promoted and play in games against us next season. Pressley told them to enjoy the game. I think he has a big future.
The Battered Bunnet says:
29 January, 2012 at 19:24
no worries sir !
HH all
Good result today. We were far from our best with a couple of players well off the pace. I particularly though big Vic had a poor game especially in the 1st half when he played a number of woeful passes. Young JF also seemed off the pace. I was glad to see Falkirk tried to play football against us; something that ICT and Murderwell might pay heed to. Well done Falkirk for having a go and well done NL and Celtic for reaching yet another final. One concluding comment i didn’t think the ref had too bad a game – how many of them would have given us that penalty? The assistant ref got Hoops legit goal so so wrong but on reflection i think most of their calls were right. I am sure a debate will arise over should we have had another pen when Rogne’s net bound shot was deflected onto the bar by a Falkirk players arm – my own opinion is i don’t believe it was intentional and as he was a couple of feet from Rogne when the shot was struck he didn’t know too much about it.
TheOriginalSadiesBhoy says:
29 January, 2012 at 20:02
I think McGeoch’s best position is similar to that Higginbottom played today, as is Ibrahim’s. Celtic tend to play skillful playmaker type players wide rather than through the middle (Naka, Aiden).
Agree with you that I thought he looked very good (as did their right back). I just wish we would give our youngsters more of a chance
hamiltontim says:
29 January, 2012 at 19:55
If you are right – then a spell on the sidelines should be in order.
You just can not, can not do that first of all.
If you do do it, then you can not be allowed to do it without reprisal.
pmarsh22 ,
Could not agree more mate.
We have all waited, for so long, to see if he was the real deal or if he flattered to decieve.
I think the difference now is that Scott sees himself as the captain and takes the responsibility. His positional sense has improved and his passing today was very good.
Delighted to see him take the penalty. What is often forgotten is that he is a technically excellent, skillful with good balance. Dare I say it, some of his pirouettes today were reminiscent of the Maestro, subtle changes of direction to change the shape of the attack. John Collins, a wonderful Celtic midfielder, said Hibs could cope losing Kevin Thomson, but not Brown as he is three players in one.
I hope he lifts all three this year. Lambo and Boyd shared the last treble and as a fan in his thirties I assume it was Big Billy who lifted all the cups last time?
Scott Brown could make himself a legend this year and he is playing like he knows what it means to the fans, the manager and himself. My admiration for him grows by the week. He is only 26.
Could be a legend……
TJ
Good on Michelle Mone……we should all stick together.
…and she gets all my……emmm….support.
HH (size)
Tommy Joad says:
29 January, 2012 at 19:11
Chris Sutton on Pressley:
Felt better about not being part of new regime at Celtic when he realised GS was signing the likes of him
Demeanour and manner was very odd at Hearts, all a front
Would be vocal in the tunnel and shout ridiculous things, a”buffoon”
Sutton witnessed youth team players mocking him as he tried to wind himself up pre match
Loved playing against him, not particularly capable
As I said earlier he is doing a good job at Falkirk but he has delusions of granduer, thought he was a great centre back when he was average at best.
His comments on Shortbread today were an embarressment.
Our manager recieved an unprecedented 6 game ban at Tynecastle last season for protesting Joe Ledleys harsh red card.
I wonder what Elvis will get for twice questioning a referees integrity?
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Wow, is there a link to this???
Today, Celtic held especially contemptible… Elvis his poor Falkirk prematch hun impersonation of Terry’s all Gold.a profane rapper for rankers given their point imbalance.
We skelped them 3-1 with room to spare the extravagant MIB their most peculiarly hun habitudes.
HH