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Trivia
- Dunfermline Chairman Yorkston, caused a row when he stated that Bobo Balde caused more injuries to players than the plastic pitch at East End Park.
- Stephen Henchoz made his Celtic debut.
- Celtic eased into the last eight of the Scottish Cup with a more than comfortable victory.
- Ex-Celt Simon Donnelly was a sub for Dunfermline but didn't come on.
Review
Celtic survived an early scare after 20 seconds when keeper Rab Douglas came charging out of his box only to miss his kick, but Dunfermline failed to capitalise. Celtic ended the game as a contest with two goals in the opening ten minutes.
The Dunfermline defence looked half-asleep as Sutton squared the ball for Hartson to score the simplest of tap-ins.
Hartson returned the compliment a few minutes later when he volleyed against the bar from his strike-partner's flick on, and Sutton himself was on hand to head the rebound into the empty net.
Dunfermline seemed to have steadied the ship as half-time approached, but they were to lose a third goal before the interval arrived. A long ball came off the heads of both Scott Wilson and Andrius Skerla before falling nicely for Hartson to fire low past Stillie from just inside the area.
Stillie kept out a Stilian Petrov effort but then produced a magnificent reflex save to touch a Sutton header off the bar after good work on the left by substitute Ross Wallace.
Teams
Dunfermline:-
Stillie, Darren Young (Hunt 45), Scott Wilson (Hristov 54), Skerla, Scott Thomson, Nicholson, Mason, Makel, Ross, Christiansen, Tod.
Subs Not Used:- Langfield, Donnelly, Campbell.
Booked:- Ross.
Celtic:-
Douglas, Henchoz, Balde, Varga, Laursen, Petrov (Lambert 77), Lennon, Thompson (Juninho Paulista 57), McGeady, Sutton, Hartson (Wallace 75).
Subs Not Used:- Marshall, McManus.
Goals:- Hartson 8, Sutton 10, Hartson 43.
Booked:- Balde, Hartson.
Att:- 8,014
Ref:- C Richmond.
Articles
- Match Report (see end of page below)
Pictures
Articles
Dunfermline 0-3 Celtic
BBC
Celtic eased into the last eight of the Scottish Cup with a more than comfortable victory over Dunfermline.
John Hartson had them in front after just eight minutes, when he side-footed into the net from close range after Chris Sutton picked him out.
Sutton scored the second two minutes later when he headed into the net after Hartson had hit the bar.
The Welshman added a third before half time when he fired past Derek Stillie from 16 yards.
The visitors survived an early scare after 20 seconds when keeper Rab Douglas came charging out of his box only to miss his kick, but Dunfermline failed to capitalise.
Celtic ended the game as a contest with those two goals in the opening ten minutes.
The Dunfermline defence looked half-asleep as Sutton squared the ball for Hartson to score the simplest of tap-ins.
Hartson returned the compliment a few minutes later when he volleyed against the bar from his strike-partner's flick on, and Sutton himself was on hand to head the rebound into the empty net.
Derek Stillie dived to his left to keep an Alan Thompson free kick out as Celtic sought to put the game even further beyond their hosts.
The keeper denied Thompson again after half-an-hour, blocking the midfielder's low drive with his feet.
Dunfermline seemed to have steadied the ship as half-time approached, but they were to lose a third goal before the interval arrived.
A long ball came off the heads of both Scott Wilson and Andrius Skerla before falling nicely for Hartson to fire low past Stillie from just inside the area.
The second half was not a great spectacle but Skerla brought out a good save from Douglas with a header after 70 minutes that the keeper did well to claw away.
Stillie kept out a Stilian Petrov effort but then produced a magnificent reflex save to touch a Sutton header off the bar after good work on the left by substitute Ross Wallace.
Dunfermline finally beat Douglas with five minutes remaining, but unfortunately for Noel Hunt, his header came back off the bar and was cleared to safety.
Dunfermline: Stillie, Darren Young (Hunt 45), Scott Wilson (Hristov 54), Skerla, Scott Thomson, Nicholson, Mason, Makel, Ross, Christiansen, Tod.
Subs Not Used: Langfield, Donnelly, Campbell.
Booked: Ross.
Celtic: Douglas, Henchoz, Balde, Varga, Laursen, Petrov (Lambert 77), Lennon, Thompson (Juninho Paulista 57), McGeady, Sutton, Hartson (Wallace 75).
Subs Not Used: Marshall, McManus.
Booked: Balde, Hartson.
Goals: Hartson 8, Sutton 10, Hartson 43.
Att: 8,014
Ref: C Richmond
SFA investigates Yorkston remarks
BBC
Dunfermline chairman John Yorkston has been asked by the SFA to explain comments, described as "disgraceful" by Celtic manager Martin O'Neill.
Yorkston, stung by further criticism of Dunfermline's artificial pitch, said Celtic defender Bobo Balde probably caused more injuries than the pitch.
An SFA spokesperson said: "There are a number of issues here so we have written to Mr Yorkston.
"We will await his comments prior to the meeting on 17 February."
Yorkston insisted afterwards that his comments had been light-hearted, but stopped short of apologising.
"It was meant as a joke and everybody who heard the interview would have taken it as a joke," he said.
"Bobo Balde just happened to be passing when I was doing the interview. It could have been any player."
On Monday, Yorkston again stressed that his remarks had been tongue-in-cheek.
Bobo Balde's probably caused more injuries this season than our pitch
John Yorkston
"I spoke to (Celtic director) Eric Riley in the boardroom after the game and have spoken to our manager and their manager," he added.
"I hope that this is cleared up quickly and I will fully co-operate with the SFA."
In the BBC Radio Scotland interview, it was put to Yorkston that O'Neill had been critical of the East End Park pitch again.
He replied: "We've not had any injuries because of the pitch and as far as I'm aware no opposition teams have either," he said before the game.
"In fact Bobo Balde's probably caused more injuries this season than our pitch."
O'Neill, who had decided not to give Craig Bellamy his debut at East End Park for fear of aggravating previous knee injuries on the much-maligned artificial surface. was furious when told of Yorkston's comments.
"For a chairman to say that is in pretty poor taste. He should be hauled up for that," said the Celtic manager.
"Those are disgraceful comments for a chairman to make.
"The surface is poor. It's not just me that's saying it. Alex McLeish and all other visiting managers have said it. You can't play football on it."