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Trivia
- Celtic were linked with a move for Shay Given. Gould had been dropped by Dalglish and had handed in a transfer request.
- The seemingly annual (of late) Celtic Managerial Sweepstakes handicap was underway and the first person to make a showing was Co Adriaanse, then of Willem II. The ex-Ajax youth manager was linked to Celtic partly because of his ‘no-nonsense’ attitude. Next up was Mick McCarthy, then Republic of Ireland manager.
- Celtic let Ian Wright depart for Burnley severing another tie with the Barnes period. There was still a little matter of a charge of bringing the game into disrepute to settle with the SFA following the tunnel fracas at Rugby Park, but this was brushed under the carpet in Wright’s negotiations with Burnley.
- Celtic failed to sell less than half of their 40,000 ticket allocation for the game at Hampden Park, with Kilmarnock only moving around 5,000 briefs.
- Eyal Berkovic was left out of the squad for the game. Dalglish explained this as, "We had two outfield substitutes and they had to be adaptable. Eyal is a great player and he will be fighting his way back into the team. He will have plenty to contribute in the run-in."
Review
A pretty dull game but a final nonetheless to look forward to and salvage something from the season
Teams
Celtic:
Kharine, Mjallby, Boyd, Tebily, Mahe, Moravcik, Stubbs, Riseth, McNamara, Viduka, Burchill (Healy 73).
Subs Not Used: Kerr, Johnson.
Goals: Moravcik 66.
Kilmarnock:
Meldrum, McKinlay, Lauchlan, Dindeleux, MacPherson, Mitchell (Bagan 85), Holt, Durrant (Jeffrey 85), Reilly, Cocard, McCutcheon (Burke 58).
Booked: McNamara (Celtic) Reilly, McKinlay, Cocard (Kilmarnock)
Sent Off: Cocard (72) (Kilmarnock)
Referee: Jim McCluskey (Scotland
Attendance: 22,926
Articles
- Match Report (see below)
Pictures
Moravcik the head man
The Scotsman 17/02/2000
GLENN GIBBONS
Celtic 1 Moravcik (66)
Kilmarnock 0
EVEN Celtic fans flushed with a form of success after the embarrassments of the preceding week are likely to baulk at the idea of their team and Aberdeen producing, on 19 March, a CIS Cup final to match the semi-finals.
The big game next month has much to live down, the Pittodrie side's tedious match against Dundee United on Sunday being followed by this sample of pedestrian, unimaginative football.
Lubomir Moravcik's header for the winning goal was an isolated moment of improvisation nobody else was ever likely to match on a night at Hampden Park when Kilmarnock had Christophe Cocard sent off for a minor confrontation with Jackie McNamara.
Clearly influenced by the success of his first deployment of his new troops, in the 3-0 win at Dens Park last Saturday, Kenny Dalglish once again ensured that Celtic would not be the pushovers in midfield they had been in the matches that brought John Barnes the sack.
With Morten Wieghorst unavailable a defender, Olivier Tebily, was recruited to the place the Dane occupied against Dundee, stiffening an area that already contained Alan Stubbs in front of the back four.
This would obviously deepen Kilmarnock's difficulties on making an impression on Dmitre Kharine, but, following an initial skirmish in which Celtic were unlucky not to score, an over-emphasis on the defensive element for much of the time reduced their own effectiveness around the Kilmarnock goal. Still, there is already a patience about the Parkhead side which was never in evidence under Barnes.
If there are times when it strains the tolerance of supporters who have spent most of their lives expecting flair and verve, it could, in the long term, prove to be much more rewarding than the irresponsible abandonment of care and attention that brought defeats by Hearts and Inverness Caley Thistle.
That early scare for the Rugby Park side would cause their fans to believe that the semi-final was won and lost even before the deep chill of the evening – snow embroidered the pitch – had time to bite.
It was Tebily who started the alarm when he moved forward to receive a pass from Moravcik on the left and, having been challenged by two opponents, showed he was prepared to fight for possession. The ball broke from the African to Mark Burchill, who turned and sent a right-foot drive waist-high to the left of Colin Meldrum, the ball thudding back off the post.
Kilmarnock were never likely to bend the knee readily and their diligence and alertness -combined with some slack passing from Celtic – determined that Meldrum's work would be restricted. Even so, the goalkeeper did have to rush from his line on several occasions to save at the feet of McNamara and Burchill, who had been given the opportunity on clever, controlled flicks from Moravcik.
Kilmarnock's problems this season have derived almost exclusively from their shortcomings in and around opponents' penalty areas, possessing the lowest goals total in the Premier League and the fourth lowest in Britain. With young Gary McCutcheon skirmishing largely on his own, there always seemed to be the likelihood that opportunities would not be thick on the ground. In fact, the Ayrshire side spent the entire first half without really bothering Kharine, the big goalkeeper being forced to shake himself only once, when he ran from his line to punch a corner from the right out to the feet of Moravcik. It took Kilmarnock almost 20 minutes to win their first corner kick, an indication of their difficulties in forward areas.
Celtic, in truth, were not much more penetrating for most of the time, the gap that separated their defensive-minded midfielders from foragers such as Burchill, Mark Viduka and Moravcik too often leaving the Parkhead attack force understaffed. When Moravcik, for example, took possession on either flank and shaped to cross, it was clear on most occasions that the outnumbered strikers were likely to take second prize in the air and that there were no auxiliaries lending back-up.
Before the Moravcik goal, the little Slovakian combined with Viduka to demonstrate how to beat the offside trap which Kilmarnock adopted for most of the match, but they were justifiably disgruntled when the standside linesman incorrectly raised a flag. But, almost imperceptibly increasing the pace and the pressure, Celtic had taken a clear advantage on points and with the goal by the time Kilmarnock lost Cocard in the 73rd minute. The Frenchman, cautioned for dissent a little earlier, was shown another yellow, then red, for retaliation on McNamara, who was also booked. Referee Jim McCluskey at first showed the Celtic midfielder a yellow then a red, but remembered in time that McNamara had not been cautioned previously and retrieved a potentially embarrassing situation by allowing the player to remain in the game.
Moravcik had made the difference between the teams with a marvellous header from around 14 yards after McNamara had spun away from Tosh McKinlay on the right and delivered an outswinging cross. Moravcik's header was quite coolly and deliberately placed above the stretching hands of Meldrum, dipping just enough to kiss the underside of the bar and drop over the line.
- Manager Interview
"It is a much better feeling this Wednesday than last Wednesday," .
"The supporters can maybe go into their work tomorrow and give a bit of stick rather than receiving it.
"Slowly but surely we are restoring a bit of pride for the supporters who support this club so well.
"The important thing for us is that, although we never played as well as Saturday [3-0 at Dundee], we didn't want to lose the game. If we don't want to lose the game and we have got players with the talent of Lubomir Moravcik, Mark Burchill and Mark Viduka, we have always got a chance of getting a goal at the other end.
"The performance is unimportant in a semi-final – only the result counts.
"We would have liked to have played better, but we are in the final."
Celtic 1 Kilmarnock 0
By Simon Buckland, PA Sport
Lubomir Moravcik used his head but Christophe Cocard lost his as Celtic found a way past a stubborn Kilmarnock to reach the CIS Cup final at Hampden Park on Wednesday night.
With Kenny Dalglish again in charge of first-team affairs Celtic had to be patient as their game plan, as at Dundee at the weekend, was first and foremost to avoid defeat.
Dalglish packed his side with ball-winners, a total of seven defenders adopting various roles, but left room for Celtic's outstanding ball-player Moravcik who responded in style.
After 66 minutes the Slovakian was picked out by Jackie McNamara and produced a sublime header which looped over goalkeeper Colin Meldrum and that proved enough to seal a Hampden return.
Kilmarnock attempted to fight back but former French international Cocard conspired to be booked twice in the space of a mad minute, first for dissent and then after a needless clash with McNamara.
His 73rd-minute ordering-off denied Kilmarnock the opportunity to generate the momentum required for a comeback and Celtic will play Aberdeen at this same venue in the March 19 final.
The result keeps their season alive with this competition widely recognised as their best hope of silverware due to Rangers' eight-point lead at the Scottish Premier League summit.
Mark Burchill was promoted to the starting line-up with the departure of Ian Wright to Burnley, but there was no place even on the bench for Scottish record signing Eyal Berkovic.
Olivier Tebily earned a surprise recall in a wing-back role, and Alan Stubbs was again employed in midfield to cover Paul Lambert (ankle), while Kilmarnock recalled Gary McCutcheon in attack.
Celtic might have moved ahead after only 52 seconds when a determined burst forward from Tebily saw the ball run into the path of Burchill, whose snap-shot hit a post.
Moravcik was behind the front two and his clever run set up Mark Viduka in the 11th minute only for Frederic Dindeleux to cover the danger with a vital block.
McNamara was next to threaten for Celtic, his driven shot saved at his near post by Meldrum, and the two were to feature again in the Parkhead outfit's next attack.
Meldrum injured his arm when bravely closing down McNamara and the Kilmarnock keeper needed extensive treatment to play on after the accidental collision.
It was an ironic blow for Meldrum as well as a painful one as he was taken off injured with a head knock earlier in the competition when Kilmarnock defeated Hibernian.
Celtic had penalty claims rejected when Burchill fell under challenge from Jim Lauchlan, while Mark Reilly was booked after a foul on Moravcik was followed by another on Stubbs.
Meldrum defied his injury by dashing from his goal again after 40 minutes to gather at Burchill's feet after Stubbs and Viduka had combined well on the left as a dull half wore to a close.
Former Celtic defender Tosh McKinlay was playing like a man with a point to prove on the left, first testing Dmitri Kharine from distance then crossing for Ian Durrant to fire wide.
In bitterly cold conditions neither team looked incisive enough to break the deadlock, though Celtic's share of possession suggested that if a breakthrough came it would be of their making.
After 56 minutes Lauchlan, involved in Wright's sending-off when these clubs last met, was fortunate to escape a booking for a high kick at Moravcik as frustration grew on both sides.
Kilmarnock made a change on 58 minutes with McCutcheon replaced by Alex Burke, but eight minutes later it was Celtic who were at last 1-0 ahead courtesy of a rare headed goal by Moravcik.
McNamara made impressive ground down the right before delivering a quality ball to the far post which was met by Moravcik, whose guided header struck the underside of the bar before netting.
Kilmarnock knew time and the balance of play was against them, Durrant curling a free-kick wide of the mark after 70 minutes as Celtic sought to protect their slim advantage.
Killie's anguish was compounded in a bizarre sequence of play which ended with Cocard being red-carded after collecting two bookings in the space of a minute.
The French forward was booked for dissent after 72 minutes when protesting at his team-mate McKinlay going into the book for upending McNamara on the halfway line.
Moments later it was Cocard himself who appeared to retaliate after becoming tangled up with McNamara and referee Jim McCluskey had no hesitation in dismissing him.
Confusion then arose as McCluskey showed McNamara a straight red card for his involvement in the incident, which was quickly amended to yellow once it emerged the player had not been previously cautioned.
Celtic then brought on an extra midfielder, Colin Healy, for Burchill to close out the win but were caught out by a Durrant run which sadly for Kilmarnock culminated in a tame shot.
Burke had a header saved by Kharine then in the 83rd minute found himself with a one-on-one against the Russian, the Celtic keeper saving but injuring his right knee in the process.
Kilmarnock never gave up but now their attention must turn to the matter of maintaining their SPL status as Dalglish made it two wins out of two on his reluctant return to coaching with Celtic.
Teams
Celtic: Kharine, Mjallby, Boyd, Tebily, Mahe, Moravcik, Stubbs, Riseth, McNamara, Viduka, Burchill (Healy 73).
Subs Not Used: Kerr, Johnson.
Booked: McNamara.
Goals: Moravcik 66.
Kilmarnock: Meldrum, McKinlay, Lauchlan, Dindeleux, MacPherson, Mitchell (Bagan 85), Holt, Durrant (Jeffrey 85), Reilly, Cocard, McCutcheon (Burke 58).
Sent Off: Cocard (72).
Booked: Reilly, McKinlay, Cocard.
Att: 22,926
Ref: Jim McCluskey (Scotland).