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Trivia
- Man U next! Champions League game.
- Crosas off injured, Caldwell off injured; Jan and Samaras out today already!!!
- A minutes silence was held for Dundee United chirman Eddie Thomson.
Review
Terrible game to watch and we made it difficult for ourselves against a poor Inv Caley side. Little good to say for this game, but the first goal came in the second half with a good cross from Naylor for Brown to tuck away in the corner of the goals (don't say that often do we?). Another goal came with a cross by Robson and header by Loovens which was the highlight of the game. Stupidly we let Inv Caley come back in with a late goal, and the last ten mins became an overly nervous affair. A surprisingly not easy place to come away with a big win, but that's a poor excuse.
Anyhow, we won and that's that. Onto Man U on Tuesday and we simply have to hope we get a point at Old Trafford.
Teams
Inverness CT:-
Fraser, Tokely, McGuire (Duff 54), Munro, Hastings, Cowie, Duncan, Black (Rooney 66), Imrie, McBain (Wilson 75), Wood.
Subs Not Used:- Esson, Djebi-Zadi, Sutherland, Vigurs.
Booked:- Black, Imrie, Tokely.
Goal:- Wood 69.
Celtic:-
Boruc, Caldwell (Wilson 64), McManus, Loovens, Naylor, McGeady, Scott Brown, Crosas (Hartley 90), Robson, McDonald (Sheridan 64), Maloney.
Subs Not Used:- Mark Brown, McCourt, Nakamura, O'Dea.
Booked:- Crosas, Scott Brown, McGeady.
Goals:- Scott Brown 48, Loovens 65.
Att:- 7,143
Ref:- I Brines
Articles
- Match Report (see end of page below)
Pictures
KStreet
Stats
INVERNESS CT v CELTIC
Possession
| 42% | 58% |
Shots on target
| 3 | 8 |
Shots off target
| 4 | 1 |
Corners
| 3 | 8 |
Fouls
| 14 | 12 |
Articles
Inverness CT 1-2 Celtic
By Thomas McGuigan
BBC
Scott Brown scored his first league goal since December as Celtic moved three points clear at the top of the table with victory over Inverness.
Goalkeeper Artur Boruc denied Dougie Imrie and Garry Wood in a first half dominated by the hosts.
But Celtic sparked into life after the break and took the lead when Brown converted Lee Naylor's low cross.
Glenn Loovens headed home Celtic's second before Wood scored from close range to set up a tense finish.
There was a minute's applause before the match in memory of the Dundee United chairman Eddie Thompson, who died last week.
Both sides were without their leading goalscorers, with Andy Barrowman and Georgios Samaras missing through injury.
Loovens was a surprise inclusion for Celtic at right-back ahead of Mark Wilson, while Shunsuke Nakamura had to settle for a place on the bench, with Marc Crosas getting a start in the centre of midfield.
Inverness midfielder Don Cowie had the first real effort on goal after 11 minutes, but his shot from the edge of the area spun off Naylor and behind for a corner.
Richard Hastings then panicked when given space in the Celtic box and shot wide as the hosts pressed for the opener.
Aiden McGeady forced goalkeeper Michael Fraser into a save low to his right seven minutes later in Celtic's first tangible effort.
MY SPORT: DEBATE
Give your thoughts on the result at the Caledonian Stadium
Imrie was inches away from the opening goal after 33 minutes when Boruc brilliantly tipped his 20-yard free-kick over the bar.
The Polish international denied Wood moments later after the midfielder collected Cowie's beautiful cross and fired in a shot from close range.
But Boruc blocked with his left foot and the danger was cleared.
Celtic took the lead three minutes after the break when Naylor's low cross was steered home by Brown, low to Fraser's right.
The visitors doubled their lead with 25 minutes remaining with a goal of stunning simplicity.
Robson collected the ball wide on the right and his cross was headed powerfully home by Loovens at the back post.
Wood deservedly brought Inverness back into the game after 70 minutes when Ross Tokely's cross was headed towards goal by Adam Rooney, and the midfielder followed up to score.
The hosts pressed for an equaliser as Celtic's defence looked far from convincing, after Loovens moved to the centre of defence, when Gary Caldwell was taken off injured. But they lacked a cutting edge up front to secure a point.
Celtic substitute Cillian Sheridan spurned a great chance to grab a third when he shot straight at Fraser.
Inverness CT manager Craig Brewster:
"I thought we were excellent in the first half. I just thought we were slow to react at the start of the second half. We didn't close Celtic players down quick enough and then we lose the goal by doing that.
"Then we lost a goal from a cross that we didn't deal with – great header from the boy (Glenn Loovens) but we've got to do better than that. Apart from that I thought we did really well.
"Garry Wood had a great chance, nice interchange between him and Cowie, but Boruc has done well with his foot. You don't get many good chances like that against Celtic.
"We had lots of near things in and around their box and I just told the boys at the end that they deserved a lot of credit for the way they played but it was just that 10 minutes at the start of the second half when we were slow to respond."
Celtic manager Gordon Strachan:
"It was a poor game. The first half wasn't very good. The second half improved to average.
"But when did you see a real good Celtic-Inverness game here? I've not seen one yet. I've seen exciting finishes, strange goals, silly tackles, sendings off, near sendings off. I've seen everything but good football.
"Why? There's some mysteries in this world that can't be solved. We've just got to deal with them.
"The reason we started with one up front is obvious – we've lost three terrific strikers. The guy we've got playing up front (Scott McDonald) got off a plane last night, so it's not easy to travel round the world and then play right away. He wouldn't have played if we had our other strikers fit."
Inverness CT: Fraser, Tokely, McGuire (Duff 54), Munro, Hastings, Cowie, Duncan, Black (Rooney 66), Imrie, McBain (Wilson 75), Wood. Subs Not Used: Esson, Djebi-Zadi, Sutherland, Vigurs.
Booked: Black, Imrie, Tokely.
Goals: Wood 69.
Celtic: Boruc, Caldwell (Wilson 64), McManus, Loovens, Naylor, McGeady, Scott Brown, Crosas (Hartley 90), Robson, McDonald (Sheridan 64), Maloney. Subs Not Used: Mark Brown, McCourt, Nakamura, O'Dea.
Booked: Crosas, Scott Brown, McGeady.
Goals: Scott Brown 48, Loovens 65.
Att: 7,143
Ref: I Brines
Celtic manager Gordon Strachan:
"It was a poor game. The first half wasn't very good. The second half improved to average.
"But when did you see a real good Celtic-Inverness game here? I've not seen one yet. I've seen exciting finishes, strange goals, silly tackles, sendings off, near sendings off. I've seen everything but good football.
"Why? There's some mysteries in this world that can't be solved. We've just got to deal with them.
"The reason we started with one up front is obvious – we've lost three terrific strikers. The guy we've got playing up front (Scott McDonald) got off a plane last night, so it's not easy to travel round the world and then play right away. He wouldn't have played if we had our other strikers fit."
Bhoys scrape tense win over Inverness
18 October 2008 Provided by: The Irish Examiner
Inverness 1 Celtic 2
Celtic managed to extend their lead at the top of the Clydesdale Bank Premier League with a tense win at Inverness. Second-half goals from Scott Brown and Glenn Loovens gave the champions a comfortable advantage. However, youngster Garry Wood, who had earlier spurned a great opportunity, forced a goal back for the home side to make for an interesting finish. Celtic’s top scorer Georgios Samaras was not in the squad for today’s trip after being ruled out injured. With Samaras and Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink missing, Celtic looked to Shaun Maloney and Scott McDonald to provide the attacking threat. The hosts made a positive start when Wood released Don Cowie, who raced down the right. But his cross was too far in front of the onrushing Roy McBain. When the ball eventually fell back to Cowie, his effort was deflected wide for a fruitless corner. The home side had a great chance to take the lead when Richard Hastings found himself free at the back post but the Canadian lashed his shot high and wide. Celtic began to look more dangerous and Michael Fraser had to be at his best to save a Aiden McGeady strike from the edge of the box. The Inverness keeper did well to gather the resulting corner in a crowded penalty area. Ian Black picked up the first yellow card of the day after 28 minutes for scything down McGeady, who was heading towards the Inverness box at pace. A terrible pass from Loovens gifted Dougie Imrie a chance to run at the Celtic defence and Stephen McManus had no option but to bring down the Caley midfielder 30 yards from goal. Imrie dusted himself down before firing a well-struck free-kick inches over Artur Boruc’s goal. Wood should have given Inverness the lead after linking up well with Cowie but the young striker’s shot straight at a thankful Boruc. As half-time, approached Crosas was booked for impeding Cowie. Black was then very fortunate to remain on the park after fouling McGeady but referee Iain Brines kept his cards in his pocket. Brown was booked for a late tackle on Imrie as the game began to get increasingly scrappy. Maloney had another chance from a free-kick just before the end of the first half but Grant Munro did well to head the ball away from danger. Celtic had the first chance of the second half but Maloney wasted another free-kick after Robson had been fouled by Imrie. However, the vocal travelling support did not have to wait too long to see the opening goal. Robson found Lee Naylor in space and the Englishman delivered a pinpoint ball for Brown, who gave Fraser in the Caley goal no chance with an excellent finish. Inverness defender Phil McGuire was stretchered off with a serious-looking ankle injury and replaced by Jamie Duff after 53 minutes. Black had an opportunity to get his side back on level terms after good work by Ross Tokely and Wood but the midfielder’s effort was tame. Celtic made a double substitution, with Wilson and Cillian Sheridan replacing Gary Caldwell and the tiring McDonald, who had travelled to Australia in midweek. The change had an immediate impact when Loovens ventured forward to head home his second goal for Celtic from a Robson cross. Craig Brewster responded by changing to a two-man strikeforce, bringing on Adam Rooney for Black. But it was Celtic who could have had a third when McGeady exploded down the right before firing a menacing ball across the face of goal that Robson was only inches away from connecting with. With the visitors still lamenting that miss, Inverness went up the park and scored to make for an interesting finish. Tokely’s cross was well won by Rooney for Wood, who forced the ball past Boruc. Imrie picked up a booking for an aggressive tackle on Brown before Barry Wilson came on for Roy McBain after 75 minutes. The omnipresent Imrie had a rasping volley well saved by Boruc as the home side mounted a series of attack on the Celtic goal. The travelling supporters appealed for a penalty when Loovens fell in the box as he attempted to get on the end of a Maloney corner but Brines waved play on. McGeady was booked for dissent as the game drew to a close. Duff was forced to concede a corner after an intelligent ball from Robson but Maloney’s delivery found no takers. Substitute Sheridan and then Maloney had chances to win the game for the visitors but neither could find a way past Fraser. Inverness continued to search for an equaliser and Boruc was relieved to gather the ball when he had initially dropped a Wilson cross under pressure. Tokely was booked for a late tackle on former teammate Robson. Deep into injury-time, Crosas was carried off the park with a hamstring injury and the Spaniard looks unlikely to be fit for Celtic’s Champions League match against Manchester United on Tuesday. © Irish Examiner, 2008. Thomas Crosbie Media, TCH The Irish Examiner