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Trivia
- Celtic maintained their lead in the Scottish Premier League.
- Roy Keane was given his home debut in a defensive role.
Review
Kilmarnock had been forced to replace the injured Gordon Greer with Gary McDonald and the new defensive formation was breached after just two minutes. Nakamura stepped up to curl a superb left foot effort past the hand of Alan Combe and into the top corner of the net.
Celtic doubled their advantage when James Fowler felled Petrov in the area and Maloney coolly sent Combe the wrong way.
Zurawski fired straight at the goalkeeper and Killie made him pay for that miss when McManus brought down Nish and Naismith scored from the penalty spot.
Kilmarnock equalised after the break when Invincibile headed home a cross from Hay after Keane had lost possession.
But their joy lasted just two minutes as McManus fired Celtic back into the lead from six yards after a Keane drive was blocked following a corner.
Celtic went further ahead when Zurawski was found by a Ross Wallace cross and the referee's assistant ruled that the ball had crossed the line as Combe palmed clear after the striker's effort came off the underside of the bar.
Teams
Celtic:-
Boruc, Telfer, Keane, McManus, Wallace, Lennon, Petrov, Nakamura, Maloney, Zurawski (McGeady 80), Hartson.
Subs not used:- Marshall, Virgo, Lawson, Thompson, Pearson, Camara.
Goals:- Nakamura 3, Maloney 16 pen, McManus 53, Zurawski 67.
Booked:- McManus.
Kilmarnock:-
Combe, Fowler, Lilley (Invincibile 38), Ford, Hay, Johnston, McDonald, Naismith, Wright, Nish (Di Giacomo 72), Wales (Murray 72).
Subs not used:- Bell, Dodds, Campbell, Jamie Adams.
Goals:- Naismith 24 pen, Invincibile 51.
Att:- 59,995
Ref:- C Murray
Articles
- Match Report (see end of page below)
- Match Report (BBC)
- Strachan concern about defending. (BBC)
Pictures
Articles
Celtic 4-2 Kilmarnock
BBC
Celtic maintained their lead in the Scottish Premier League despite squandering a two-goal lead against a committed Kilmarnock.
A Shunsuke Nakamura free-kick and a Shaun Maloney penalty, after the striker was pulled down by James Fowler, put Celtic two goals ahead.
But Stephen Naismith, pulled down by Stephen McManus, replied from the spot before Danny Invincibile headed home.
McManus headed Celtic ahead again and Maciej Zurawski fired the fourth.
Zurawski and Stilian Petrov had replaced Du Wei and Stephen Pearson as Celtic aimed to recover from the embarrassing Scottish Cup exit to Clyde last week.
It meant that Roy Keane was given his home debut in a defensive role.
Kilmarnock had been forced to replace the injured Gordon Greer with Gary McDonald and the new defensive formation was breached after just two minutes.
Nakamura stepped up to curl a superb left foot effort past the hand of Alan Combe and into the top corner of the net.
Kilmarnock threatened to equalise, but Artur Boruc saved Steven's Naismith's 20-yard strike.
And the Polish goalkeeper pulled off a great, one-handed stop to deny Nish after a Naismith through ball.
But Celtic doubled their advantage when James Fowler felled Petrov in the area and Maloney coolly sent Combe the wrong way.
Zurawski fired straight at the goalkeeper and Killie made him pay for that miss when McManus brought down Nish and Naismith scored from the penalty spot.
Combe came to Kilmarnock's rescue with a great save to deny John Hartson.
Killie boss Jefferies was forced to make a change with David Lilley replaced with Invincibile, but Kilmarnock continued to threaten.
Keane had to block Hay's goal-bound strike before Nish headed straight at the Celtic goalkeeper from six yards.
Kilmarnock eventually equalised after the break when Invincibile headed home a cross from Hay after Keane had lost possession.
But their joy lasted just two minutes as McManus fired Celtic back into the lead from six yards after a Keane drive was blocked following a corner.
Celtic went further ahead when Zurawski was found by a Ross Wallace cross and the referee's assistant ruled that the ball had crossed the line as Combe palmed clear after the striker's effort came off the underside of the bar.
Celtic: Boruc, Telfer, Keane, McManus, Wallace, Lennon, Petrov, Nakamura, Maloney, Zurawski (McGeady 80), Hartson.
Subs Not Used: Marshall, Virgo, Lawson, Thompson, Pearson, Camara.
Booked: McManus.
Goals: Nakamura 3, Maloney 16 pen, McManus 53, Zurawski 67.
Kilmarnock: Combe, Fowler, Lilley (Invincibile 38), Ford, Hay, Johnston, McDonald, Naismith, Wright, Nish (Di Giacomo 72), Wales (Murray 72).
Subs Not Used: Bell, Dodds, Campbell, Jamie Adams.
Goals: Naismith 24 pen, Invincibile 51.
Att: 59,995
Ref: C Murray
Strachan concern about defending
BBC
Gordon Strachan was delighted by his side's 4-2 win over Kilmarnock but concerned about Celtic's defending.
"The crowd were anxious after last week's defeat by Clyde in the cup and we were anxious," said the manager.
"We shouldn't have to score three goals to win a game of football and we have to sort it out. Individual errors are killing us at the moment.
"But, while there can be question marks about the defending, there can be none about our commitment and general play."