| Match Pictures | Matches: 1999 – 2000 | 1999-2000 Pictures |
Trivia
- There was a weekend off prior to this game – the game could have been played then but for some reason both sides opted to delay the game.
- Lubo Moravcik finally signed the one year extension to his contract.
- European super-agent Vicenzo Morabita was now touting Viduka around. Confusion appeared to reign with Viduka saying he knew nothing about it – aye, right, Marko. Middlesbrough started to show interest. His English agent said that Morabita was only a broker but failed to deny that he was touting Viduka around Italy. Nor for that matter did Viduka.
- Allan MacDonald attended a meeting in Netherlands of representatives from PSV, Sporting Lisbon, Benfica, Porto, Anderlecht, Feyenoord and Ajax as well as Rangers to discuss proposals for the Atlantic League.
- On the 22/2/00 Tommy Burns rejoined the club to work as assistant first team coach on a short term contract to the end of the season.
- Jonathon Gould announced that on second thoughts he wanted to come off the transfer list and fight for his place.
- Henrik Larsson had his first game since breaking his leg against Lyon in October. He played in a bounce game and then an U21 game against Motherwell on 29/2/00. The club played down his likely return date.
- Petrov was back from international duty with Bulgaria. Rafael Scheidt made his long awaited debut. Berkovic was restored to the bench,. Riseth was away on international duty with Norway. Healy dropped out of the squad.
Review
A welcome return for Tommy Burns and his last signing as a manager, Tommy Johnson saw 5 goals in the first half past a luckless Dundee side who had seen seven past them the previous week when entertaining Rangers.
Teams
Celtic:
Kharine, McNamara, Mahe (Rafael 56), Mjallby, Stubbs, Boyd, Petrov, Wieghorst, Moravcik (Berkovic 62), Viduka, Johnson (Burchill 70).
Subs Not Used: Kerr, Tebily.
Goals: Johnson 18, 31, Viduka 36, Petrov 43, Viduka 45 pen,Johnson 64.
Dundee:
Douglas, Tweed, Raeside, Boyack, Rae, Annand (Bayne 60), Grady, Robertson, Sharp,Van Eijs (Maddison 85), Wilkie.
Subs Not Used: Langfield, Falconer, Mair.
Goals: Robertson 58, Grady 77.
Booked: Stubbs, Mahe (Celtic) Grady, Annand (Dundee)
Referee: S Dougal (Scotland)
Attendance: 56,228
Articles
- Match Report (See below)
Pictures
Stats
| Celtic | Dundee | |
| Bookings | 2 | 2 |
| Red Cards | 0 | 0 |
| Fouls | 10 | 13 |
| Shots on Target | 15 | 2 |
| Corners | 5 | 3 |
| Offside | 2 | 2 |
Forgotten man returns with a hat trick as six-goal Celtic pile on the agony for Dundee;Johnson shoots backThe Herald 02/03/2000
Ken Gallacher
Celtic ……….. 6 Dundee ……….. 2
Dundee suffered for the second time in three days against the might of the Old Firm last night at Celtic Park.
They managed to improve on their dreadful display against Rangers at the weekend when they went to Parkhead last night, but the improvement was merely marginal. Celtic scored six goals, compared to Rangers seven on Sunday, and the struggling Tayside team managed to score twice instead of just once, but the end result was essentially the same.
The gap in class between the Old Firm and the teams fighting for survival at the foot of the Premier League has never been more fully exposed than over the last 72 hours.
While most of the pre-match attention had been focused on the Brazilian defender, Rafael, and his impending debut, the show was stolen from the £4.8m man by Tommy Johnson, one of the lost legion at Parkhead, who emerged from the shadows to help himself to a hat trick in his first full appearance for the club this season. Indeed, watching him score these goals was the man who signed him, Tommy Burns, back in the dug-out and there without the guidance of Kenny Dalglish, who had been laid low with a stomach bug. Johnson was named man of the match and deserved that accolade as he formed a lethal partnership with Mark Viduka up front. The Australian scored two goals himself, one from a penalty, and the Bulgarian internationalist, Stilian Petrov, scored the other Celtic goal. It was an impressive display from the Parkhead team, emphasising once more that they have not given up on their hopes of wresting the championship back from Rangers. Rafael did appear – to a standing ovation – and played for 35 minutes after taking over from Stephan Mahe, allowing Celtic another option as they move into the crucial last stages of the title campaign.
For Dundee, it was another bleak night, one where they had to suffer yet again and the tally of 13 goals against them in two successive games underlines the plight they are now in at the foot of the table. Jocky Scott's men might have tried to convince themselves that things could not get any worse for them after that 7-1 thrashing from Rangers on Sunday, but when they arrived at Parkhead last night they found that Celtic were not in a charitable mood.
For Celtic, the game was an opportunity to wipe out the memories of their last home match – that disastrous defeat from Inverness Caledonian Thistle in the Scottish Cup. Since then, many things have happened in the East End of Glasgow and one of them is a renewed belief that is shared among the players. That was in evidence from the opening minutes of last night's game and it has extended to those who seemed to have been forgotten as this season has unfolded. Johnson, for example, scored twice in the opening 45 minutes, yet this was his first start of the season.
Indeed, he was the man who opened the scoring after 17 minutes, when Jackie McNamara played a ball low into the Dundee penalty box and the ball found the former Aston Villa man lurking at the far side of the area and able to shoot low into the net beyond the despairing Robert Douglas.
Earlier, Douglas had been injured saving from Morten Wieghorst and, during his seven minutes absence – to have stitches inserted in a head wound – Celtic had been unable to test his deputy, Robbie Raeside.
Douglas had scarcely resumed when that shot was struck past him and, 14 minutes afterwards, he succumbed again to Johnston after Viduka had opened things up for the Englishman. In 36 minutes, Viduka scored himself after Wieghorst released him, but the burly Australian evaded three defenders before finishing the move with a shot. Two minutes before half-time, Petrov accepted a through pass from Lubo Moravcik before drilling the ball beyond Douglas and, as if to confirm that this was not going to be Dundee's week, the Tayside team gave away a penalty right on the interval. Mahe was brought down by Hugh Robertson and Viduka took the kick and, with a little double shuffle as he approached the ball, he deceived Douglas and side-footed the ball into the net.
In the first half, strangely, Celtic had two players booked despite their supremacy – Alan Stubbs for dissent and Mahe for a tackle from behind on Steven Boyack. As the second half started, Eddie Annand was also cautioned for a challenge on Johan Mjallby as Dundee prepared themselves for 45 minutes of further torture.
In the fifty-fifth minute, Rafael made his expected debut for Celtic – but he was on the field for only a minute before Celtic lost a surprise goal. Hugh Robertson picked up the ball 30 yards from goal and fired a left-foot shot that flew into the net past a startled Dimitri Kharine.
Dundee sent on Graham Bayne to replace Eddie Annand, but there was no way they could change the pattern of the game, which had been set in stone during that five-goal first half. Celtic continued to sweep forward and, in 63 minutes, Johnson completed his hat trick. Some bewildering sleight-of-foot by Viduka had the Dundee defence panicking on their own 18-yard line. When he released the ball, Lee Wilkie attempted to play it back to Douglas, but the defender had not seen Johnson, who moved in swiftly and sent a low shot beyond the Dundee goalkeeper.
Eyal Berkovic replaced Moravcik immediately after the goal and then Mark Burchill took over from Johnson – but, astonishingly, it was Dundee who scored again. A cross from Boyack out on the right deceived the Parkhead defence and James Grady appeared on the scene to score his team's second goal of the night.
- Manager Interview
Tommy Burns post match:
"There were so many good things about tonight.
"With the big games coming up, you want your players to be in that sort of form."
On Tommy Johnson – "Maybe people will see now why I bought him. He is a great boy though. I knew he was going to do well tonight because he was flying in training, and he's a good foil for Mark Viduka and Moravcik."
"There were times today when I thought about coming back into the dug-out and I wondered if I had ever been the manager here.
"It was a strange feeling. But Kenny had talked about the team and he had decided on the line-up and how we should play, and all we had to decide when we talked on the phone was the substitute situation.
"It was an important game for us and we all knew that, because the last time the team played here we lost to Inverness Caley Thistle, and that result hurt every Celtic supporter. So we had to go out to entertain the fans, to give them something to enjoy and to win the game.
"I think we did that. Kenny was insistent that he wanted Viduka's power, Moravcik's craft, and Johnson's industry, becaues he thought that was the right blend – and that's how it turned out. I think Tommy Johnson might be like Joantahan Gould and decide that he wants to stay here – he has to grasp this chance even if it has been a long time coming for him."
Celtic 6 Dundee 2 By Ken Gaunt, PA Sport
Celtic marked Tommy Burns' first match in charge for three years with an emphatic victory.
Burns, dismissed as manager in 1997, took control of team affairs as caretaker-manager Kenny Dalglish was suffering from food poisoning.
Named as first team coach until the end of the season, Burns saw his team narrow the gap on Rangers at the top of the Premier League to eight points.
Tommy Johnson grabbed his first hat-trick for the club and in so doing plunged Dundee into more trouble.
They have now won only once in 12 games and for the second time in a week were hammered by the Old Firm.
Rafael was named on the bench for the first time following his £4.8million move from Gremio at the end of last year.
His appearance had been delayed because of the need for a work permit followed by a spell on the sidelines after suffering from appendicitis.
The Brazilian defender saw his team-mates get off to a flying start thanks to two goals in the space of the first 31 minutes from Johnson.
Johnson should have put Celtic ahead in the first minute but shot tamely into keeper Robert Douglas' arms after being released by Mark Viduka.
Douglas was then forced to leave the field apparently for stitches in a head wound after being caught by Morten Weighorst as the Danish midfielder spooned his shot over the bar.
Robert Raeside took the jersey with Dundee reduced to 10 men for nine minutes.
They held out during that spell but Johnson made the breakthrough in the 18th minute.
Jackie McNamara played the ball in from the right and even though Douglas got a hand to the ball, he was unable to stop it going into the net.
Dundee, thrashed 7-1 by Rangers at the weekend, caved in with Johnson adding his second in the 31st minute, ramming a shot high over Douglas after being set up by Viduka.
Viduka's strength then took him into the heart of Dundee defence for Celtic's third goal five minutes later.
It was becoming a rout and Stilian Petrov added the fourth two minutes before the break when he got on the end of a cross from Lubomir Moravcik.
Dundee's frustration boiled over in injury time when Frank Van Eijs brought down Stephane Mahe. Referee Stuart Dougal gave a penalty without hesitation and Viduka knocked the spot kick beyond Douglas.
The Dundee keeper made a spectacular save from Jackie McNamara six minutes after the break after the ball had been played in by Moravcik.
Rafael came on for the last 32 minutes of the game when he replaced Mahe and was given a rousing reception by the home supporters.
However Dundee pulled a goal back a minute later with a spectacular 25-yard strike from Hugh Robertson which flew beyond Dmitri Kharine.
But the visitors shot themselves in the foot in the 64th minute when Johnson completed his hat-trick.
Frank Van Eijs was woefully short with a back pass and Johnson nipped in to score with referee Dougal rightly ignoring his assistant's raised flag.
Dundee continued to play with no little spirit despite the deficit and scored a second in the 77th minute when James Grady headed home a cross from Steven Boyack.
Teams:
Celtic: Kharine, McNamara, Mahe (Rafael 56), Mjallby, Stubbs, Boyd, Petrov, Wieghorst, Moravcik (Berkovic 62), Viduka,Johnson (Burchill 70).
Subs Not Used: Kerr, Tebily.
Booked: Stubbs, Mahe.
Goals: Johnson 18, 31, Viduka 36, Petrov 43, Viduka 45 pen,Johnson 64.
Dundee: Douglas, Tweed, Raeside, Boyack, Rae, Annand (Bayne 60), Grady, Robertson, Sharp,Van Eijs (Maddison 85), Wilkie.
Subs Not Used: Langfield, Falconer, Mair.
Booked: Grady, Annand.
Goals: Robertson 58, Grady 77.
Att: 56,228
Ref: S Dougal (Scotland)