| Match Pictures | Matches: 1997 – 1998 | 1997-1998 Pictures |
Trivia
- Jansen’s contract situation refused to go away. He stated with confirmation from Brown that all negotiations had been put on hold to the end of the season.
- Morten Wieghorst, who missed the Scottish Cup semi-final against Rangers because of suspension, returned to the side, Alan Stubbs, injured in that match, was missing from central defence with a twisted knee. Jackie McNamara and Stephane Mahe were both still injured. McKinlay came into the squad. Brattbakk was dropped to the bench with Jackson starting.
- Brian McLaughlin was back at the club having dislocated his shoulder whilst out on loan to Airdrie. He was being linked with a move to Carlisle Utd.
Review
Always a tricky venue to go to and a potential banana skin of even greater proportions given how tight it was at the top and the defeat by Rangers in the Cup when the team looked tired. On the night the team played well and the win put Celtic 3 points clear at the top of the table.
Teams
Kilmarnock:
Marshall, MacPherson, Kerr, Montgomerie, Lauchlan, Reilly, Nevin, Holt, Wright (Roberts ,67 ), Henry (Mitchell ,67 ), Burke (Vareille ,67)
Scorer: Burke (40)
Celtic:
Gould , Boyd , Annoni, Donnelly, Rieper , O'Donnell, Larsson , Burley , Jackson, Lambert, Wieghorst
Subs not used: Hannah , Brattbakk, McKinlay
Scorers: Larsson (19), Donnelly (55)
Bookings: Wieghorst (Celtic)
Referee: G. Clyde (Bearsden)
Attendance: 18,076
Articles
- Match Report (see below)
Pictures
Stats
| Kilmarnock | Celtic | |
| Bookings | 0 | 1 |
| Fouls | 9 | 13 |
| Shots on Target | 4 | 4 |
| Corners | ||
| Offside | 1 | 8 |
Celtic find a solution
The Scotsman 09/04/1998
Kilmarnock 1 Burke (40)
Celtic 2 Larsson (19), Donnelly (56)
CELTIC answered some, but not all, of the questions during a searching examination at Rugby Park last night. Those to which they gave positive responses, however, were far more relevant than those left without a solution.
The Parkhead side's will and stamina had been doubted for some weeks and here was an interrogation that could not be ducked. On a rain-sodden pitch that made the going resemble Aintree on National day, only staying power would do.
The fact that they finished as strongly as their opponents -indeed, they could have inflicted much more damage on Kilmarnock in the second half than they did – was convincing enough evidence of their physical fortitude.
Their desire could hardly have been faulted, either, as they took the initiative and scored a fine early goal through Henrik Larsson, lost their advantage to Alex Burke's strike just before the interval and regained and held the edge through Simon Donnelly in the 56th minute.
In between, there was decent football in awful weather and the visitors scorned a handful of chances. But those were forgotten when referee George Clyde's final whistle signalled a win that gave Celtic a three-point lead over Rangers in the championship.
Rugby Park in recent times has become known as the place where Celtic's championship aspirations go to die. The statistics surrounding the Parkhead side's visits in the past few years certainly suggested that they could enter the stadium like men visiting their own grave.
Eight visits had yielded only two victories. In their previous four games at Kilmarnock, Celtic had managed three draws and one defeat, last season's 2-0 reversal effectively ending their chances of preventing Rangers from securing a ninth successive title.
Last night's match promised to be harrowing enough without the biting wind and driving rain. Conditions were, of course, the same for both sides, but Celtic's tendency towards imposing themselves on opponents with a rhythmic fluency and quick passing usually makes them more vulnerable than others when the elements conspire to act like saboteurs.
The promise of characteristically stout resistance from the home side saw Wim Jansen, Celtic's head coach, leave the physically slight Harald Brattbakk out of his starting line-up, replacing him with the more robust Darren Jackson.
In the circumstances, both sides made admirable attempts to move the ball around on the ground. But it was clear in the time before Larsson's goal that Celtic had the better control. The loss of the equaliser was something of a shock. Jansen's side had already put together some promising moves, bringing a certain panic to the Kilmarnock defence. There was a moment when Craig Burley released Jackson on the left that threatened to do the home side some harm, but Jim Lauchlan cleared the striker's dangerous cross.
The passing which brought the goal was precise and the finish deadly. It was Larsson's first goal since 21 February, which probably accounted for the apparent extra volume in the roar that followed.
Paul Lambert began the move by supplying Phil O'Donnell on the left and the midfielder nutmegged Gus MacPherson to create space for the cross. The ball was delivered perfectly to Larsson and the Swede's header from six yards sailed wide of Gordon Marshall.
Celtic ought to have doubled their advantage shortly before Burke's equaliser when Burley played a wonderful pass to Larsson on the right. The forward was deliberate with his cut-back, finding Donnelly coming in to attack the ball.
The shot was too straight, however, and was blocked by Marshall, a fate that also befell Morten Wieghorst's follow-up drive from close range.
Burke's goal was unfortunate for Jonathan Gould, who made a remarkable diving save from Pat Nevin's first drive and seemed to have pushed the ball away to safety. But Burke followed in and, from an acute angle, drove the ball back over the line.
Celtic's assertiveness through much of the second half was even more impressive than it had been in the first and their second goal was not only deserved, but beautifully constructed and finished.
They should have been ahead even before Donnelly's 56th-minute strike, as O'Donnell had been afforded a wonderful opportunity by Larsson.
It was Jackson, helping his defence, who played the ball down the left touchline, inviting Larsson to give chase. The Swede kept the ball in play and then seemed to run forever, carrying it to the edge of the penalty area.
A sudden little reverse pass released O'Donnell and, with only Marshall to beat, the midfielder drove the ball off the goalkeeper's legs and it skidded wide. It seemed, for a moment, the kind of profligacy the visitors could regret. But they were ahead again very soon afterwards, thanks to a manoeuvre that began with some sweet passing among Burley, O'Donnell and Larsson on the left. The ball was played square to Jackson around 20 yards from goal and he flicked it suddenly to his right to Donnelly, who lured Marshall from his goal before beating him with a devilish chip
- Manager Interview
Wim Jansen pre match.
“The problem has not been with the way the team has played, only in their final touch around goal. If we had scored three times in the first half against Rangers, as we could have, nobody would even have brought up the subject.
"As for the tiredness, that comes from chasing the goals. There are times when you have to be patient, to allow goals to come, rather than using up too much power and energy going after them. It's when players are on top and the goals don't come that they press harder.
"The longer it takes to score, the more energy you use looking for that goal. If you look at Henrik Larsson and Harald Brattbakk, there's not much wrong with their general form -they are just having problems with that last touch around the goalmouth. That is something you can practise all day, but in the competitive environment, it's a different thing entirely.
"We talked today in the dressing room about the game on Sunday and we know that if we can play as we did for the first hour of that game, then we shall be all right.
"That is what counts most here for the players. Perhaps we tried to chase a goal when we might have been better trying to be patient. But, then, you have to remember that this can happen in games. When players do not score early then they can lose patience. We cannot afford to do that in any of the games we have left."
Wim Jansen Post match
"I am very pleased with the result.
"I told the players before the game to try to forget the pressure and just go out and play normally. They did so.
"It was an important result because Kilmarnock is not the easiest place for us to visit."
"We scored two very good goals which is the way that matches are won.
"Some players have been doing too much recently and that's been our problem. We lost a goal just before half time but we kept playing the same way and we deserved our win.
"The second goal was excellent because it was a great move involving four or five players.
"We thought that bringing in Darren would give us our best team and all the players gave everything."