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Trivia
- Semi-final played at Hampden Park
- Celtic win 11-10 on penalties! A record for us.
- The penalties went round the clock in the side, a first for Celtic and likely Dundee Utd also.
- We score 10 out of 11 penalties, must be a record for us esp as we’ve had a history of poor penalties.
- Pitch was a dump.
- Boruc took a penalty and scored the best of the lot!
- Ironically, the crucial penalty miss at the end was by Willo Flood who is a signing target for Celtic and expected to sign in coming days. Notably, before any conspiracy theorists come up with any crap on this, this was Willo Flood’s second penalty against Celtic in the shoot-out and he scored the first one.
Review
Wow. What can you say. Both teams played well, but Celtic should have won the game and made it all hard work. Referee could have given us a penalty for a foul on Robson but bottled it.
Neither team was helped by an atrocious pitch, and after 90mins of no goals, there was possibly amongst the best 30 mins of extra time seen since the European Championships in 2008.
Some great stuff, and both sides could have stolen the game. Celtic had a few shots that came off the bard in the last few mins which added to the tension, but to no avail and now down to penalty kicks.
Can’t remember a more consistent set of penalty kicks ever in Scottish Football. We’re generally crap at them, but we converted 10 of our 11 chances. Even the goalies had to take a shot, and Artur scored with possibly the best one of the whole lot.
Cracking evening for all who went, but Hampden is a dump of a stadium and should be put to rest.
Teams
Celtic:
Boruc, Hinkel, Caldwell, Loovens, Naylor, Nakamura, Scott Brown, Crosas, McGeady (Robson 75), McDonald, Vennegoor of Hesselink (Samaras 73)
Subs Not Used: Mark Brown, Hartley, O’Dea.
Booked: Loovens
Dundee Utd:
Zaluska, Dixon, Wilkie, Kenneth, Kovacevic, Flood, Gomis, Buaben (David Robertson 90), Conway, Feeney, Sandaza (Daly 86).
Subs Not Used: McGovern, Dillon, Swanson.
Booked: Buaben, Dixon
Hampden Park
Att: 19,258
Ref: C Murray
Articles
Celtic manager Gordon Strachan:
“I really thought we were terrific and I think the games should have been finished before the shoot-out. “You’ve got to give credit to Dundee United for standing up and being counted. “I thought the best player on the pitch was Marc Crosas – for being out for so long – was terrific, but neither side had too many weaknesses. “I do believe, since I came back here for football, Lee Wilkie’s comeback from injury has been one of the outstanding things I’ve seen. “Like most people, I thought he was dead and buried for being out for three years and I think he’s every right to be involved in player of the year.”
Dundee United manager Craig Levein:
“There’s only three things that can happen in a football match, you can win, lose or draw – we lost. “But there’s a way to lose and I said that last season after the final and I thought we were even better tonight. “We’ll learn from this again and be back here again as quickly as we can. “We only scored three penalties in the final last season, but we got 10 this time, so maybe we need to score 16 or 17 to win. “I can’t fault the players. What can I say? It becomes a lottery, but how many times do you see a team lose a shoot out yet score 10?”
Pictures
KStreet
- Pre-match
- Match
- MOTM
- Result – Nakamura – (Link to MOTM Winners 2008/09)
- Post Match
Stats
| Celtic McDonald 0 (pen) Caldwell 0 (pen) Nakamura 0 (pen) Robson 0 (pen) Samaras 0 (pen) Naylor 0 (pen) Crosas 0 (pen) Brown 0 (pen) Hinkel 0 (pen) Boruc 0 (pen) McDonald 0 (pen) |
0-0 (0-0) |
Dundee Utd Flood 0 (pen) Daly 0 (pen) Feeney 0 (pen) Conway 0 (pen) Dixon 0 (pen) Gomis 0 (pen) Kenneth 0 (pen) Robertson 0 (pen) Kovacevic 0 (pen) Zaluska 0 (pen) |
R |
| Bookings:Loovens 49 | Bookings:Buaben 75 Dixon 81 |
Possession
| 49% | 51% |
Shots on target
| 5 | 2 |
Shots off target
| 9 | 7 |
Corners
| 18 | 5 |
Fouls
| 17 | 15 |
Celtic joy after shoot-out drama; McDonald scores the winner after 24 penalties in cup semi-final
Provided by: The Times
Gordon Strachan praised his Celtic players for holding their nerve last night in the most remarkable penalty duel seen in recent memory, as they advanced to the Co-operative Insurance Cup final to face Rangers after a near-flawless set of kicks.
Scott McDonald drilled in the winning penalty to secure a place in the final by the wafer-thin margin of 11-10.
after 120 minutes of taut goalless action in this engrossing semi-final.
Celtic will return to Hampden on March 15 to meet their Old Firm rivals.
Only two players — Glenn Loovens, of Celtic, and Lee Wilkie, of Dundee United — failed to find the net in an unerring display of penalties, until Willo Flood stepped up ahead of McDonald for the twelfth round of kicks. The midfield player, who could yet join Celtic, struck his kick over the bar and McDonald made no mistake.
After the dust had settled, and Celtic celebrated, Strachan’s first act was to go to Wilkie and console the man who also missed when Dundee United lost this trophy in last season’s final to Rangers on penalties.
“Since I have come back to Scotland, the best thing I have seen is Lee Wilkie’s return to top form after being out for three years,” the Celtic manager said. “He deserves to be Scotland’s player of the year for what he’s done for Dundee United.
“It was a terrific penalty shoot-out and I thought we were going to be here all night. Neither side deserved to lose but I am just glad we are in the final.
The pitch, though, was dreadful.
That is the worst I have seen Hampden — we should get it like that when Holland come here for the World Cup qualifying match.
“We should have finished the tie in extra-time when we hit the bar twice but I have to give Dundee United a lot of credit.” While Dundee United’s Hampden Park penalty hoodoo came back to haunt his side again, Craig Levein refused to criticise his side.
“They gave me everything they had,” the United manager said. “I was disappointed when we lost here to Rangers last season because some of our penalties were poor but this time they were almost all perfect.
“We pushed Celtic all the way and rode our luck at times but so did Celtic.” The spot kicks Dundee Utd Celtic Flood scored McDonald scored Daly scored Caldwell scored Feeney scored Nakamura scored Conway scored Robson scored Dixon scored Samaras scored Gomis scored Naylor scored Kenneth scored Crosas scored Robertson scored Brown scored Wilkie saved Loovens saved Kovacevic scored Hinkel scored Zaluska scored Boruc scored Flood missed McDonald scored
(c) 2009 Times Newspapers Limited. All rights reserved
The Times
Celtic 0-0 Dundee U (11-10 pens)
By Clive Lindsay
BBC
Celtic defeated Dundee United on penalty kicks to set up a Co-operative Insurance Cup meeting with Rangers after an incredible semi-final.
Artur Boruc denied United midfielder Willo Flood, while Lukasz Zaluska saved from Scott Brown in an even first half.
United dominated after the break, but Celtic’s Marc Crosas and Georgios Samaras struck the bar in extra time.
Both sides scored 10 of their first 11 penalties, Willo Flood skied his second attempt and Scott McDonald fired home.
It was a nightmare end for Flood, tipped to join Celtic during the January transfer window, as United lost their second penalty shoot-out in 11 months after being pipped by Rangers in last season’s finale.
And the dramatic conclusion to a war of attrition on the paddy field that is Hampden set up the first Old Firm final since 2003 on 15 March.
United manager Craig Levein had shuffled his pack to create a five-man midfield designed to prevent Celtic charging into the kind of 2-0 lead established in the recent league draw between the sides.
Interview: Celtic striker Scott McDonald
But there were some nervous moments early on in the United defence as both sides came to terms with a treacherous playing surface that limited them to a series of half-chances during the first half.
Flood belied suggestions that he might be unsettled by Celtic’s admission that they are considering a bid for the midfielder by weaving into the area and forcing goalkeeper Boruc to tip a low shot past his near post.
Shunsuke Nakamura threatened a couple of times for Celtic, Francisco Sandaza squandered a chance for United and headed just wide, while Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink sliced wildly past after some clever play at the other end.
Willo Flood hangs his head after a vital miss
Flood’s miss handed Celtic the upper hand in a dramatic climax
Lukasz Zaluska, who has signed a pre-contract deal with Celtic, foiled his future employers by pushing away Scott Brown’s 20-yard drive.
The United goalkeeper was forced into a fine tip over the crossbar early in the second half after Nakamura whipped in a wicked free-kick that was heading for the far corner of the net.
Glenn Loovens, who had started in place of injured Celtic captain Stephen McManus, was given only a yellow card when he halted Warren Feeney, referee Calum Murray deciding that the defender had not been the last man.
United were starting to dominate possession and Prince Buaben fired a low drive just wide from the edge of the box.
But Celtic had claims for a penalty waved away when substitute Barry Robson went down under pressure from Morgaro Gomis.
Quality of penalties was phenomenal – Strachan
And the Glasgow side began to take control before the tie moved into extra time, with both Samaras and Nakamura firing efforts into the side netting once play had restarted.
Flood almost broke the deadlock when he sped through the Celtic defence and his shot fell the wrong side of the far post from an acute angle, while the unmarked Feeney just failed to connect from six yards out.
Desperate defending denied Celtic in the closing moments, Mihael Kovacevic blocking a McDonald header, a Crosas chip and a Samaras header struck the underside of the crossbar and Garry Kenneth stopped a goal-bound effort from Barry Robson.
The scene was set for an enthralling shoot-out in which both sides converted their first eight penalties.
Lee Wilkie and Glenn Loovens had their efforts saved by goalkeepers who then scored against each other before Flood struck the crossbar to allow McDonald the chance to end a Hampden Park thriller.
Celtic manager Gordon Strachan: “I really thought we were terrific and I think the games should have been finished before the shoot-out.
“You’ve got to give credit to Dundee United for standing up and being counted.
“I thought the best player on the pitch was Marc Crosas – for being out for so long – was terrific, but neither side had too many weaknesses.
“I do believe, since I came back here for football, Lee Wilkie’s comeback from injury has been one of the outstanding things I’ve seen.
“Like most people, I thought he was dead and buried for being out for three years and I think he’s every right to be involved in player of the year.”
Dundee United manager Craig Levein:
Interview: Dundee United manager Craig Levein
“There’s only three things that can happen in a football match, you can win, lose or draw – we lost.
“But there’s a way to lose and I said that last season after the final and I thought we were even better tonight.
“We’ll learn from this again and be back here again as quickly as we can.
“We only scored three penalties in the final last season, but we got 10 this time, so maybe we need to score 16 or 17 to win.
“I can’t fault the players. What can I say? It becomes a lottery, but how many times do you see a team lose a shoot out yet score 10?”
Celtic: Boruc, Hinkel, Caldwell, Loovens, Naylor, Nakamura, Scott Brown, Crosas, McGeady (Robson 75), McDonald, Vennegoor of Hesselink (Samaras 73).
Subs Not Used: Mark Brown, Hartley, O’Dea.
Booked: Loovens.
Dundee Utd: Zaluska, Dixon, Wilkie, Kenneth, Kovacevic, Flood, Gomis, Buaben (David Robertson 90), Conway, Feeney, Sandaza (Daly 86).
Subs Not Used: McGovern, Dillon, Swanson.
Booked: Buaben, Dixon.
Att: 19,258
Ref: C Murray