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- Partick Thistle made Celtic work hard for their victory at Firhill.
Review
Thistle looked composed and confident in the first quarter of the match and were far from overawed.
Celtic had plenty of possession and as the first half wore on they began to impose themselves more on the game.
Larsson set up Jackie McNamara on the half hour mark with a neat lay-off but the midfielder dragged his shot wide.
Steve Guppy whipped in a cross from the left and again Larsson managed to get himself in front of the Thistle defence but his flashing header was saved at point blank range by Kenneth Arthur.
A lapse in concentration from the Thistle defence allowed Larsson to play a one-two with McNamara on the edge of the box but he uncharacteristically hit the side netting with only the keeper to beat.
The Jags continued to hold Celtic at bay at the start of the second half.
But Chris Sutton found himself clean through on 50 minutes from a Larsson head-flick, however, his first touch let him down and the chance was gone. Another great opportunity fell to Sutton ten minutes later when he connected with Agathe's low cross from the right. This time the striker's first time volley flew over the bar.
Celtic continued to probe and it seemed only a matter of time before they broke the deadlock.
Then just as Thistle were beginning to come back into the game, in an attacking sense, Celtic made the breakthrough on 72 minutes. Sutton played in substitute John Hartson down the left and his lofted cross was chested over the line by Larsson.
Teams
Partick Th:-
Arthur, Lilley (Lennon 80), Archibald, Whyte, Craigan, Paterson, Mitchell (Waddell 84), Buchan, Hardie, Burns, Gibson (Walker 73).
Subs not used:- Budinauckas, Milne.
Celtic:-
Douglas, Balde, Valgaeren, Laursen, McNamara, Guppy, Lambert, Lennon (Hartson 65), Agathe, Sutton (Crainey 84), Larsson.
Subs not used:- Hedman, Fernandez, Maloney.
Goal:- Larsson 72.
Att:- 8,053
Ref:- M McCurry.
Articles
- Match Report (see end of page below)
- Match Report (BBC)
Pictures
Stats
| Partick Th | Celtic | |
| 0 | Shots On Target | 5 |
| 4 | Shots Off Target | 7 |
| 16 | Fouls (Conceded) | 13 |
| 3 | Corners | 4 |
| 0 | Yellow Cards | 0 |
| Red Cards | 0 |
Articles
Larsson breaks Thistle's resistance
Partick Thistle 0-1 Celtic
BBC
Partick Thistle made Celtic work hard for their victory at Firhill.
The home side put up stern resistance for the majority of the match but Henrik Larsson broke the deadlock with a second-half goal from close range.
Larsson opened up the Thistle defence after eight minutes, wrong-footing Scott Paterson with a clever feint just inside the box.
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But the Swedish striker screwed his shot wide at the second attempt after his first effort had broken kindly to him in the area.
At the other end Martin Hardie surged through the middle of the Celtic defence but his pass was lifted over Rab Douglas' crossbar by Jamie Mitchell.
Thistle looked composed and confident in the first quarter of the match and were far from overawed by their Glasgow counterparts.
Celtic had plenty of possession and as the first half wore on they began to impose themselves more on the game, but the Parkhead side were unable to create any clear cut chances.
Celtic's Didier Agathe congratulates Henrik Larsson
The returning Agathe congratulates Larsson
Larsson set up Jackie McNamara on the half hour mark with a neat lay-off but the midfielder dragged his shot wide.
Both teams continued to play attractive passing football which was only let down by the final ball.
Steve Guppy whipped in a cross from the left and again Larsson managed to get himself in front of the Thistle defence but his flashing header was saved at point blank range by Kenneth Arthur.
A lapse in concentration from the home defence allowed Larsson to play a one-two with McNamara on the edge of the box but he uncharacteristically hit the side netting with only the keeper to beat.
The Jags continued to hold Celtic at bay at the start of the second half.
But Chris Sutton found himself clean through on 50 minutes from a Larsson head-flick
However, his first touch let him down and the chance was gone.
Another great opportunity fell to Sutton ten minutes later when he connected with Agathe's low cross from the right.
Bobo Balde(left) forces his way past Partick's Andy Gibson.
Celtic's defence was rarely threatened
This time the striker's first time volley flew over the bar.
The home side were playing a dangerous game of containment, with ten men behind the ball, hoping to hit Celtic on the break.
Celtic continued to probe and it seemed only a matter of time before they broke the deadlock.
Then just as Thistle were beginning to come back into the game, in an attacking sense, Celtic made the breakthrough on 72 minutes.
Sutton played in substitute John Hartson down the left and his lofted cross was chested over the line by Larsson.
Partick: Arthur, Lilley (Lennon 80), Archibald, Whyte, Craigan, Paterson, Mitchell (Waddell 84), Buchan, Hardie, Burns, Gibson (Walker 73).
Subs Not Used: Budinauckas, Milne.
Celtic: Douglas, Balde, Valgaeren, Laursen, McNamara, Guppy, Lambert, Lennon (Hartson 65), Agathe, Sutton (Crainey 84), Larsson.
Subs Not Used: Hedman, Fernandez, Maloney.
Att: 8,053
Ref: M McCurry (Scotland).