| Match Pictures | Matches: 1996 – 1997 | 1996-1997 Pictures |
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Trivia
- Van Hooijdonk was causing more grief by going to the Sunday Mail and doing a splurge job for them the day after the previous loss to Dundee Utd. This endeared him very little to the club and the support were starting to turn against him.
- The saga that was becoming Annoni’s signing continued to drag on. The sticking point appeared to be the length of the contract on offer, Celtic offering two years and Annoni wanting three.
- After interest from Oxford Utd (they watched him play in Peter Grant’s Testimonial Werder Bremen and Freiburg of the Bundesliga expressed an interest in Malky MacKay. West Bromwich Albion and Crystal Pallace were also making enquiries.
- Fergus McCann started to up the ante over Jim Farry’s recent comments in the Press. The matter pertained to the registration of Jorge Cadete. Fergus sent a 3 page letter to the SFA President demanding a review of the case and why delays occurred in the player’s registration. The letter not only challenged Farry’s position but also the very foundations of the SFA.
- For this game Tom Boyd was missing, Brian O’Neil was out with a thigh strain, Stuart Gray was missing, Simon Donnelly was recovering from a hip injury, Andreas Thom was on his way back from a hamstring.
Review
A tight game gave the right result in the end despite yet another good goal being chalked off. The gap to Rangers narrowed to four points. The result also put Raith Rovers four points adrift at the bottom of the table.
Teams
Celtic: Kerr; Stubbs, McKinlay, McNamara, MacKay, O'Donnell, Di Canio, McStay, Van Hooijdonk (Hannah, 65), McLaughlin (Hay, 77), Cadete (Grant, 88).
Scorers: Di Canio (46), Cadete (78)
Raith Rovers: Thomson, Kirk, Millar, V Andersen, Craig, Millen, Twaddle, S Andersen (Duffield, 72), Hallum (McGill, 86), Lennon, Rougier.
Non Used Sub: Kirkwood
Bookings: Stubbs (Celtic) Kirk ,Millar (Raith)
Referee: L Mottram (Forth)
Attendance: 45,233
Articles
- Match Report
Celtic struggle to close gap
The Scotsman 07/02/1997
Celtic 2 Di Canio (47), Cadete (79)
Raith Rovers 0
FRAUGHT moments outnumbered any other kind as Celtic last night reduced Rangers' lead in the Premier Division to four points, with the Ibrox side having a game in hand.
Even after Paulo Di Canio had scored the opening goal at Celtic Park, Raith Rovers hit the side netting, through Kevin Twaddle, and both the Italian and Jorge Cadete contrived to miss in front of goal for Celtic when some of the crowd were already celebrating.
The home supporters had been frustrated by a disallowed goal in the first half and it took until 11 minutes from the end, when Cadete scored from inside the six-yard box after a precise pass from Di Canio, to put them at their ease.
Cadete, who has now scored 32 goals in 33 games, is down for international duty when Celtic play their next match, against Hibs, in the Scottish Cup on Monday night. The Portuguese striker is scheduled to play in a friendly against Greece in Athens two days after the Easter Road tie, but in an audacious attempt to secure his services, Celtic will today offer to fly the player by private jet from Edinburgh to Athens after the cup game. "I think hope is fading fast, but we will ask the Portuguese for their assistance," said manager Tommy Burns.
Last night, Burns denied himself the easy option of leaving out Pierre van Hooijdonk and transferred the pressure on to the Dutchman's shoulders by playing him from the start. Two successive performances away from home, at Dunfermline and Tannadice, had put a question-mark against van Hooijdonk's commitment.
The forward was invited to offer contradictory evidence in front of a remarkably large attendance at a game being shown live on television.
Swirling wind and rain tended to make a mockery of the game, though, and chances were frequently created by accident rather than design.
It was a mistake by the assistant referee, Cammy Melville, which was the main talking point of the first half. Di Canio's pass allowed Cadete to score what he thought was a legitimate goal from close range, but Melville lifted his flag to signal offside. Television evidence suggested a miscarriage of justice.
Raith were not without threat at the other end of the field, and Twaddle proved as much with a shot which went over Stewart Kerr's crossbar.
The Celtic support would have said there was an element of poetic justice about the goal, scored by Di Canio in the 47th minute, which finally eased the strain on their team.
The Italian looked offside when he collected a pass from van Hooijdonk which let him in behind the defence. Di Canio also seemed to have dragged the ball too far wide of Scott Thomson but he retained his composure inside the penalty box and scored from an acute angle. Steve Kirk was booked for his protests to the referee but, on this occasion, television confirmed the referee to have been correct.
The decision to replace van Hooijdonk with David Hannah after 65 minutes found no dissenting voices, and the Dutchman stayed only a few seconds in the dugout before leaving for the warmth of the dressing-room. It was the substitute's pass to Di Canio which set up Celtic's second goal, taken with voracious delight by Cadete
- Manager Interview
Tommy Burns:
"That was a difficult fixture for us but although I am pleased we got the victory, I reckon we should have scored more goals.We'd played 10 games in the last four and a half weeks and I think the players are looking a bit tired.
"Now we have 10 or 11 days in which to let the players get a rest before the Scottish Cup tie.
"It's ridiculous to ask players to play that number of games at such a high standard and I was a bit concerned at 1-0. There's always a warning that if you're not clinical then there's a price to pay."
"We were a bit over-elaborate when sent through on their keeper and we were given a fright when Kevin Twaddle had a chance for Raith when we were just 1-0 up.
"I was a bit concerned at 1-0 as there is always a danger that if you are not clinical there will be a price to pay.
"But the result was the most important thing."
Raith Rovers Manager Iain Munro:
"They weathered the storm well in the first half but played with a wee lack of belief.
"The one good thing is that they never buckled and if we cut out the silly mistakes we will not be far away at the end of the season."
On Cadete's 35th minute disallowed goal:
"The men on Sky TV also said it was not offside and sometimes I think it is too easy for people to put the flag up.
"I looked at the linesman and made the shape of a TV with my hands. It was my way of telling him that if he watched the game afterwards he would see that I was not offside."
Jorge Cadete on the same:
"I have to admit I'm becoming frustrated with this.
"It has happened four times to me now this season – against Alloa, Kilmarnock Rangers and again today.
"The one against Rangers would have made it 2-2 with five minutes to play and was so important.
"But, for me, it is important just to get on and play the game as I did tonight.
"Linesmen are not machines – just as I am not a machine and I suppose they are bound to commit errors."
Pictures
- Match Pictures
- Fans
Stats
| Celtic | RaithRovers | |
| Bookings | 1 | 2 |
| Fouls | 16 | 14 |
| Shots on Target | 9 | 3 |
| Corners | 9 | 5 |
| Offside | 4 | 2 |