| Match Pictures | Matches: 1998 – 1999 | 1998-1999 Pictures |
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Trivia
- It was reported that Kenny Dalglish was the main candidate for the position of Technical Director (but this was NOTHING whatsoever to do with his friendship with Allan MacDonald) to commence the following season. MacDonald saw this as a crucial position for the future development of the club. Other candidates being touted were Howard Wilkinson, the Romanian, Anghel Iordanescu, who was managing the Greece national side, and Johan Cruyff. This did not go down well with Fergus McCann, though it was known that both majority shareholder Dermot Desmond and Chairman Frank O’Callaghan supported MacDonald.
- Stubbs had been in talks with Allan MacDonald with regard to his position the following season (he was in fact contracted to June ’01 but his wife had returned to Liverpool already, and Stubbs wanted to return south of the border). In the course of an interview he let slip that talking with Fergus McCann had “…. been like talking to a brick wall.”
- Riseth and Mahe were suspended after the Old Firm game. Boyd was still serving a three match suspension. Marshall and Brattbakk both dropped to the bench with O’Donnell returning from injury and Johnson starting his first game of the season after cruciate ligament damage. Liam Keogh was promoted to the squad from the U21’s.
Review
The main talking point was Viduka’s spitting at Miller just before half-time and subsequent dismissal and the response from an angry Doctor Jo.. Good to see a clearly unfit Tommy Johnson back in the starting line up. The loss for Dunfermline confirmed their relegation to Division 1 for season 1999/00.
Teams
Dunfermline: Butler, Shields, Coyle, Tod, Ireland, Miller, Huxford (Britton, 63), Smith, Petrie, Thomson, Dair (Shaw, 69).
Subs Not Used: ,Hay, Ferguson, McGroaty.
Goals: Coyle 83.
Celtic: Kerr, Stubbs (Marshall, 63) , Larsson, O'Donnell (Brattbakk, 46), Wieghorst, Johnson (Burchill, 90), Donnelly, Lambert, Annoni, Healy, Viduka.
Subs Not Used: Keogh, Corr, .
Goals: Johnson 2, 44.
Booked: Shields (Dunfermline) Donnelly, Kerr, Larsson (Celtic)
Sent Off: Viduka (43) (Celtic)
Referee: W Young (Glasgow)
Att: 8,809
Articles
- Match Report
Campbell promises a big push for the return of his weary trenchmen;
Pars' final chance proves a fight too far
The Herald 10/05/1999
Darryl Broadfoot
Dunfermline . 1
Celtic ………. 2
NEVER again will Tommy Johnson play so poorly and come away with a double. Making his first start since the summer of 1997 – an injury induced hiatus – the Geordie spent much of his 89 minutes of action around the half-way line, doubled up in pain with a stitch. Once fit, though, he will be like a new signing for the club and is due a large slice of good fortune after such a long lay-off.
DUNFERMLINE may be down, but the determination they showed in the last 10 minutes at East End Park on Saturday, after having pegged Celtic back to 2-1, suggested that it will not be too long before the Pars are once again the unfashionable team of the Scottish Premier League.
Since they were promoted to the top flight four seasons ago, the Fifers have consistently proved their doubters wrong by churning out enough gutsy performances to avoid dropping back to the surroundings some believe is their natural habitat.
However, it was one war too many for the weary trenchmen this time, and perhaps their trusted sergeant Bert Paton realised as much when he stepped down from his duties in January.
When his former right-hand man Dick Campbell took over at the helm, a quick burst of good results took the club off the basement, placing last year's Scottish Cup winners Hearts in the relegation mire. The Pars could not sustain their spark and, no matter how gallantly they charged for the equaliser that would have kept them alive at least for another week, only four wins in 34 games, and 16 draws, proved terminal.
Players slumped to the ground physically and emotionally sapped upon hearing referee Willie Young's death knell, most notably Jason Dair, who endured the gut-wrenching trauma of relegation with Raith Rovers and who followed Jimmy Nicholl to Millwall, only to see the Londoners teeter close to extinction.
Campbell was close to tears at the most harrowing of after-match press conferences but his nerve held and his dignity shone.
"The league does not tell lies – we have not scored enough goals and lost too many to stay in the Premier League," he said, eyes fixed to the ceiling.
"I think we have been a credit to the Premier League and we have enjoyed our spell here, but now we have to try to get back up at the first attempt.
"That's the way football is and we shouldn't feel sorry for ourselves because next year it will be someone else who is the loser – you tell me the Premier League is enjoyable and I will give you a stronger argument against it."
Only 8,809 supporters turned up for the match, with many of the home fans having already accepted the inevitable, understandably unwilling to witness the heart-rending final demise.
The flicker of hope that those present had harboured was doused quickly, however, with Tommy Johnson marking his first start since August 1997 with a goal after just 68 seconds.
Henrik Larsson cut the ball back from the bye line and Craig Ireland's slip cleared the way for the Geordie to slot the ball past Lee Butler, his two lost years – a result of cruciate ligament damage – forgotten instantly.
The former Aston Villa striker had only played two under-21 matches before being drafted in by Dr Jozef Venglos, but despite scampering around the field like a schoolboy in the early part of the game, his long period of in-activity soon caught up with him and he spent much of the first half doubled up with a stitch.
None the less, he was on hand to put the result beyond doubt moments after a scunnering spitting incident from Mark Viduka.
The Australian was fouled by Craig Ireland just outside the box three minutes before the break, but rather than accepting the free-kick as ample punishment, he reacted to some verbal tennis from Marc Millar by planting phlegm on the midfielder's head.
Young was positioned perfectly and immediately produced the red card. Viduka trudged off the field as if he had been done an injustice and the normally avuncular Venglos could only shake his head in wonderment at Celtic's third ordering off in two games.
Larsson fed the ball to Johnson from the free kick and the striker belted the ball through the wall and behind the unsighted Butler. Had the match been of any significance for the visitors, Johnson would have been replaced at half-time, but he played for most of the second half, albeit in the stationary position in the middle of the field made famous by former Liverpool midfielder Jan Molby.
Celtic were awarded a penalty within five minutes of the restart when Millar handled a shot from Sheffield Wednesday-bound Simon Donnelly. Larsson stepped up to take it, but he shot straight at the body of Butler.
Celtic continued to dominate, but with six minutes of regulation time remaining Owen Coyle, who had previously squandered three real chances in front of goal, handed Dunfermline a lifeline with his first goal for the club.
Enrico Annoni, who had a fine game, blotted his copybook with a short back pass to Stewart Kerr, who failed to clear properly under pressure from Gerry Britton, and from 10 yards Coyle stroked the ball into an empty net.
The fans who had shuffled down towards the exits galloped back to their seats as a wave of anticipation engulfed the arena. The Houdini act was on once again and Campbell screamed at his players to discard the slow build-up and revert to type.
In Kerr, however, they found an impenetrable custodian. The ball became a magnet and shots raining in on goal simply clung to the man Jonathan Gould will find hard to displace when he returns from injury.
With the clock ticking, Andy Smith hit a shot that many thought had saved the day, but at the last minute Kerr managed to beat the ball away and he admitted afterwards: "When I took off I slipped but still managed to make the save – I know that was the one that relegated Dunfermline."
- Manager Interview
Jo Venglos post match:
“We are not happy about the specifics like Viduka being sent off and the only answer is he must learn to control himself.
“I don’t agree that we have a problem with behaviour at Celtic – some players just lose their temper.
“We approach the game in a sporting manner, but sometimes, after the action is over, we lose concentration and that’s not good.”
“I am delighted with the result and felt the same about the performance.”
Pictures
Stats
| Dunfermline | Celtic | |
| Bookings | 1 | 3 |
| Red Cards | 0 | 1 |
| Fouls | 15 | 7 |
| Shots on Target | 8 | 5 |
| Corners | 7 | 4 |
| Offside | 1 | 10 |