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Trivia
- Celtic strolled to victory over Livingston at Parkhead but rarely moved out of first gear after the disappointment of their Champions' League exit in midweek.
- Some of the Celtic supporters seemed to have been affected by the midweek result in Switzerland with many seats empty.
Review
The Livingston defence had to be on their toes right from the start and Marvin Andrews had to make vital interceptions to stop Fernandez and Larsson within the first five minutes.
Agathe wasted a good chance in the ninth minute as he blazed wide from 10 yards with the goal at his mercy and Larsson shaved the post with a free kick.
Celtic went ahead in the 26th minute as the impressive Guppy whipped in a great ball to the back post and Larsson rose to head past Javier Sanchez Broto from six yards.
Larsson almost notched his second of the game on the half-hour when he curled another free-kick on target, but Broto turned it over the crossbar.
Four minutes before the interval Guppy again caused panic in the Livingston penalty area with a free-kick which resulted in Andrews' clearance bouncing off Balde's shins and ended up in the back of the net.
Celtic were content to cruise through the second half and were almost caught out on a couple of occasions.
Eugene Dadi somehow scooped a shot over the bar from just three yards out when connecting with a Bingham cross and the latter went close with a chipped shot in the 75th minute.
Celtic's Alan Thompson returned from injury to replace Fernandez and his arrival almost had the desired effect when John Hartson invited him to shoot, but his effort flew just inches past the upright.
Teams
Celtic:-
Hedman, Balde, Valgaeren, Laursen, Agathe, McNamara, Fernandez (Thompson 80), Petrov, Guppy, Larsson (Maloney 68), Sutton (Hartson 69).
Subs not used:- Douglas, Crainey.
Goals:- Larsson 26, Balde 41.
Livingston:-
Broto, Andrews, Rubio, Dorado (Varate 61), Brinquin (Bollan 66), Makel, Lovell (Toure-Maman 60), Quino, Bahoken, Dadi, Bingham.
Subs not used:- McEwan, Steven Whalen.
Booked:- Lovell.
Att:- 56,988
Ref:- A Freeland.
Articles
- Match Report (BBC) (see end of page below)
Pictures
Stats
| Celtic | Livingston | |
| 8 | Shots On Target | 0 |
| 10 | Shots Off target | 6 |
| 16 | Fouls (Conceded) | 15 |
| 14 | Corners | 1 |
| 0 | Yellow Cards | 1 |
| 0 | Red Cards | 0 |
Articles
Celtic 2-0 Livingston
BBC
Celtic strolled to victory over Livingston at Parkhead but rarely moved out of first gear after the disappointment of their Champions' League exit in midweek.
Goals from Henrik Larsson and Bobo Balde were just reward for a dominant first half display but the home side failed to spark in the second period.
Photo Gallery: SPL action in pictures
The West Lothian side put up a plucky fight in the second 45 minutes and carved out a couple of excellent chances.
Some of the Celtic supporters seemed to have been affected by the midweek result in Switzerland with many seats empty.
David Fernandez his full competitive debut against his former club while Magnus Hedman, Jackie McNamara, Didier Agathe and Steve Guppy also came into the side.
David Bingham was lively for Livingston
David Bingham was lively for Livingston
The Irishman also decided to abandon the disastrous four-man defence which failed miserably during the first half against FC Basle in Switzerland as Johan Mjallby joined Robert Douglas, Momo Sylla, Paul Lambert and Neil Lennon on the sidelines.
The Livingston defence had to be on their toes right from the start and Marvin Andrews had to make vital interceptions to stop Fernandez and Larsson within the first five minutes.
Agathe wasted a good chance in the ninth minute as he blazed wide from 10 yards with the goal at his mercy and Larsson shaved the post with a free kick.
Celtic went ahead in the 26th minute as the impressive Guppy whipped in a great ball to the back post and Larsson rose to head past Javier Sanchez Broto from six yards.
Larsson almost notched his second of the game on the half-hour when he curled another free-kick on target, but Broto turned it over the crossbar.
Stuart Lovell batles with Chris Sutton
Four minutes before the interval Guppy again caused panic in the Livingston penalty area with a free-kick which resulted in Andrews' clearance bouncing off Balde's shins and ended up in the back of the net.
David Bingham produced Livingston's best effort on goal six minutes into the second half but his back post header drifted wide of the target.
Celtic were content to cruise through the second half and were almost caught out on a couple of occasions.
Eugene Dadi somehow scooped a shot over the bar from just three yards out when connecting with a Bingham cross and the latter went close with a chipped shot in the 75th minute.
Celtic's Alan Thompson returned from injury to replace Fernandez and his arrival almost had the desired effect when John Hartson invited him to shoot, but his effort flew just inches past the upright.
Celtic: Hedman, Balde, Valgaeren, Laursen, Agathe, McNamara, Fernandez (Thompson 80), Petrov, Guppy, Larsson (Maloney 68), Sutton (Hartson 69).
Subs Not Used: Douglas, Crainey.
Livingston: Broto, Andrews, Rubio, Dorado (Varate 61), Brinquin (Bollan 66), Makel, Lovell (Toure-Maman 60), Quino, Bahoken, Dadi, Bingham.
Subs Not Used: McEwan, Steven Whalen.
Booked: Lovell.
Attendance: 56,988
Referee: A Freeland (Aberdeen).
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