| Match Pictures | Matches: 1998 – 1999 | 1998-1999 Pictures |
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Trivia
- Doctor Josef wasn’t leaving! Well not immediately, anyway. After his comments prior to the previous game against Dundee he had a meeting with Allan MacDonald. The gist of the statements after that meeting seemed to confirm that he would be leaving at the end of the season, but it would be to take up a position upstairs either as Technical Director or as some kind of European consultant. The whole thing was somewhat unsettling both to the fans and more importantly to the team, several of whom came out to state that they were very happy playing for him. There were alleged to be concerns about his health (he had been back to Slovakia twice in recent weeks to consult his physician) but the biggest factor was the appointment of new senior board and executive directors, even though Allan MacDonald stated that he had full confidence in Venglos. Given the recent past history of managerial appointments this was all very worrying.
- Enrico Annoni had done a disappearing act. His presence was required for this game but nobody knew where he was. He was eventually contacted and flew back from Italy for talks and duly played in the game.
- The police caught Regi Blinker the night after the game piddling down a side street after leaving Archaos night club in the centre of Glasgow. He was taken to the police station and cautioned after refusing to give his name.
- Celtic were linked to the £2million rated Czech striker Milan Pasanda who was then with FC Brno.
- For the game Riseth and Mjallby were suspended; Mahe came back in after recovery from injury but failed to last the full 90 minutes; Donnelly was preferred in the squad to Burchill and Brattbakk was dropped; Stewart Kerr had recovered from injury to sit on the bench as backup goalkeeper.
- The game was played at Ibrox due to the final reconstruction work reaching completion at Hampden Park.
Review
Unfortunately played at Snake Mountain; memorable for the lack of Dundee Utd attacks, Regi Blinker having a very good game and the booing of Simon Donnelly.
Teams
Celtic: Gould, Boyd , Mahe (Wieghorst 53), McNamara, Larsson, Burley , Lambert, Annoni, McKinlay, Blinker, Viduka (Donnelly 45).
Subs Not Used: Kerr.
Goals: Blinker 30, Viduka 39.
Dundee Utd: Dykstra, Malpas, Jonsson, Olofsson, Easton, Mathie (Thompson 69), Dodds, Miller, Skoldmark, De Vos, Murray.
Subs Not Used: Patterson, Duffy.
Booked: Viduka (Celtic) Malpas, Jonsson, Dodds (Dundee Utd)
Ref: W Young (Clarkston).
Articles
- Match Report
Tangerine tears as Viduka leaves Celtic ****-a-hoop
Scotland on Sunday 11/04/1999
Celtic 2-0 Dundee United
SHOOTING fish in a barrel may well have become a more taxing pastime than finding fault with our country's top-level football. However, to even describe yesterday's Scottish Cup semi-final at Ibrox as humdrum constitutes being generous in the extreme to 90 minutes that were nothing short of mundane.
The tingle of anticipation, a packed stadium teeming with excitable supporters and two sides going at it hammer and tongs for the honour of bringing the season to a close in the cup showpiece at the national stadium; all will undoubtedly be found in the English version of the cup, which will almost inevitably provide a spectacle of football for those south of the Border today.
All were wholly absent as Celtic put to the sword a Dundee United side which virtually bared its breast in preparation for the cold steel to be plunged.
In the first 45 minutes, during which the Celtic keeper, Jonathan Gould, could easily have sloped off to watch the Grand National without anyone noticing, the Tannadice men utterly failed to compete. They allowed Celtic free rein to burrow deep into their territory at will and before breaking sweat had found themselves with no future in the tournament. As non-existent as the Tayside men were as an attacking force, this was nothing compared to how ineffectual they were in denying time and space to Henrik Larsson and Mark Viduka in and around the penalty area.
The wan figure of United captain Maurice Malpas, who played after shaking off the effects of a groin problem only to spend much of the first period not appearing to know whether it was New York or New Year, was the epitome of a bedraggled Tannadice outfit.
It was the 36-year-old's disorientation that precipitated Celtic's opener, Malpas misjudging the flight of a through ball that dropped over his head and landed at the feet of Jackie McNamara. His cross was knocked out, then returned by Paul Lambert before the ping-pong ended with a Sigi Jonsson clearance which doubled up as a ping-pong pass to Regi Blinker. A dapper shuffle from the little winger and he was able to pick his spot, planting the ball in the corner of the net from 15 yards.
Blinker had assumed the role of chief prompter as Celtic gradually ran over the top of their opponents, demonstrating a bustle and appetite for the fray which has hardly been his calling card but deservedly earned him the Man of the Match award. Twice he set up Larsson for shooting opportunities before the deadlock was broken, with Viduka also coming close with a header that slipped just past the post.
A first goal for Jozef Venglos's side always looked likely to beget a second, and that appeared to have arrived a minute later when Viduka touched home an audacious back heel from Larsson only for a debatable offside decision resulting in it being declared void.
The respite for United was predictably temporary, with Viduka finding the target, this time in legitimate fashion, in the 38th minute. Enrico Annoni, drafted in for his first start in almost six months as a replacement for the suspended duo of Johan Mjallby and Vidar Riseth, was the catalyst prodding the ball through to the Australian, who turned sharply and beat Sieb Dijkstra in the United goal with an effort that bobbled up over Jonsson.
In doing so, Viduka made certain of Celtic's first Scottish Cup final appearance since they ended their six-year trophy drought with success over Airdrie in 1995. What's more, Viduka revealed afterwards that he did so while feeling "tired and lethargic" as the result of the flu bug which led to him being withdrawn at half time.
While he disguised his affliction well, it was very much the under-the-weather United who could not muster a gallop until it was too late. Their first-half display was described as a "disaster" by manager Paul Sturrock. "I couldn't believe my team could not pass the ball in the first period," he confessed. "We will try to take the positives from the second half into the coming league games, and if we do that we will earn enough points to stay up."
What exactly are these positives which Sturrock referred to are difficult to ascertain, because at this moment in time United appear caught in a downward spiral that genuinely threatens their Premier League status. If the second half of yesterday's semi-final was even and saw United battle their corner, it was never going to amount to much against Celtic who, while still in second gear, still managed to create a number of half chances. Certainly more than United, who simply attempted to run off their frustration at being so lacklustre when it really counted.
Three defeats for the Tannadice men on the spin have suddenly transformed them into the team that all others in the Premier relegation battle will look to usurp. That Celtic could so easily dismiss them from the cup in spite of having Annoni and Stephane Mahe playing, two defenders who have been in cold storage in recent times, says everything about United's worrying lack of thrust. Mahe did not manage to see out the 90 minutes and was replaced by Morten Wieghorst, another player who was making his comeback, midway through the second period.
- Manager Interview
Jo Venglos post match:
“We are able to compete with anybody. Obviously we are pleased that we are in the final but it’s a month away and the next game is in the league against Hearts and that’s all we can think about.
“We always have to respect the opposition but after 10 minutes we began to settle well. We had played Dundee Utd three times already this season and we know that they are a good team.
“But when we scored our first goal we controlled the game and in the second half we were inches away from adding a few more.
“We pushed them to defend with more bodies because I had a feeling at the beginning that they were going to play an open game.
“WE have to speak as a team. The players supported each other well and they hald the performance together in a balanced way to a high standard. That is all I can ask for.”
Pictures
Stats
| Celtic | Dundee Utd | |
| Bookings | 0 | 3 |
| Fouls | 10 | 12 |
| Shots on Target | 4 | 0 |
| Corners | 5 | 6 |
| Offside | 5 | 0 |