| Match Pictures | Matches: 2009 – 2010 | 2009-2010 Pictures |
Trivia
- The AGM had taken place on the Friday pre-game and had pretty much gone off without incident. Chairman John Reid didn't miss an opportunity to refer to the consequences of spending what you didn't have with sideswipes at the continuing meltdown and revelations at Ibrox during the week. He was also dismissive, even patronising, of the Celtic Trust's Jeanette Findlay question to the Board, in the manner of a confirmed professional politician.
- Celtic go 3pts in front of Hibs, Rangers are third but have a game in hand following the abandonment of their Sunday away game at Tannadice at half time due to torrential rain.
- Maloney was out with an achilles injury; Fortune returned after injury; McManus was suspended following his straight red for violent conduct in the CIS game midweek; Boruc had undergone minor knee surgery allowing Zaluska a continued run in goal; Scott Brown was further rested in an attempt to overcome the protracted ankle problems he was experiencing, and had done since the start of the season
Review
A decent game with the Bhoys having a hatful of chances, and this time managing to put away some of them; Crosas and N'Guemo looked confident and firm in central midfield; McGeady on one side and McCourt on the other ran at the Kilmarnock defenders with McCourt in particular looking very pleasant on the eye – however it was to be McGeady that opened the scoring; Hinkel behind McGeady, had a wonderful game and is becoming the supplier of assists for the goals this season; up front McDonald continued with his poor run of form but Samaras was energetic, heading the second from a Hinkel cross. McGeady picked up a yellow late in the second half for allegedly diving in the Kilmarnock box; with a little more luck and but for a very good Kilmarnock goal keeper this could have been 6-0 rather than 3-0 but it was good to get back to winning ways at home and for the defense to keep a clean sheet too.
Teams
Celtic
- 24 Zaluska
- 02 Hinkel
- 05 Caldwell
- 11 Fox
- 22 Loovens
- 06 N'Guemo
- 17 Crosas
- 20 McCourt; (McGinn 66)
- 46 McGeady; yellow card; (Zhi 82)
- 07 McDonald; (Fortune 66)
- 09 Samaras
Substitutes
Goals
|
Kilmarnock
- 13 Bell
- 04 Fowler
- 05 Wright yellow card
- 15 O'Leary
- 07 Bryson
- 10 Taouil yellow card
- 11 Invincibile; (Fernandez 46)
- 12 Skelton; (Flannigan 66)
- 23 Hamill
- 16 Kyle
- 18 Sammon; (Hay 45)
Substitutes
- 21 Robinson,
- 03 Hay,
- 08 Pascali,
- 17 Owens,
- 19 Flannigan,
- 22 Kelly,
- 20 Fernandez
Referee: William Collum
Attendance: 46,000
Articles
- Match Report– see below
- Manager Interview – see below
Pictures
Video Highlights
KStreet
MOTM
Stats
Articles
Two sides of Georgios Samaras on display as striker turns the ridiculous and the sublime into an art form in Celtic win
Published on 1 Nov 2009
The Scotsman newspaper
THERe has been much babble of late of performances, performance-related bonuses and performance-obsessed managers.
There has been ?little chatter about performance art on the park.
Georgios Samaras on Saturday produced a 90-minute exposition against Kilmarnock that almost deserved an entry in the Turner prize for its ?dangerous adherence to a form of surreality and its defiant disdain for anything approaching the mundane.
Samaras spanned the arts. Georgios, the opera, demanded?a soundtrack that swelled like an over-ripe pumpkin and had all the inner tragedy of dookin’ for apples in battery fluid.
Georgi Bhoy does the difficult things with a disarming facility. He can swivel away from players as if he is merely rehearsing for Strictly Come Dancing. He can, however, make the easy look difficult. In attempting a cross or applying his napper to a crossed ball, he look as if he is rehearsing for Strictly Come Off It.
For the forgiving aficionados of Georgi Bhoy, or the Good Samarastans as they have become known, events at Celtic Park on a sunny Saturday were a veritable highlight in the striker’s career.
If one pieced together a DVD of Georgi’s great moments, he would be a £25m striker. See him confound the Moscow defence! Watch him blast home in Tel Aviv! Wonder at his pace and finishing at Rugby Park!
Unfortunately for Georgi, and his agent, another DVD could be assembled. It would show a tall man with flowing hair become involved in a series of comic mishaps. ?It would be a sort of hippy ?Mr Bean.
Georgi, bless ’im, gave us both performances on Saturday. There was the tragedy of the misplaced pass across goal. This went down so badly that Georgi, perversely, gave it several encores. There were the moments of heart-breaking futility, such as when our hero challenged for a high ball.
But there were also the times where class almost reluctantly shone through, when Georgi spun away from defenders and bore down on goal with a faux menace. There was also the goal. Most Good Samarastans held on to the article of faith that after the performance against Hearts last week that Georgi would never score again, or at least this side of apocalypse.
However, their hero placed his locks on a cross by Andreas Hinkel and the ball flew into the net after 31 minutes. Celtic had scored once before on the day, through Aiden McGeady who shuffled past Craig Bryson with devastating effect to plant the ball past Cameron Bell. They would score once again, with Niall McGinn accepting an excellent Hinkel pass and rifling home in the second half.
But it was Georgi and his goal that seemed to sum up the day and Tony Mowbray’s problems. Samaras, and this is not open to argument, is a world-class Holder of His Head in his Hands. He uses this manoeuvre to greet the awful glimpse of ill fortune, to bid goodbye to another chance, to express the recognition of the gods who conspire against him.
Mowbray must hold his head in perplexity at what he witnesses from his Celtic side. This was a match that should have been won by a scoreline that would have taxed a contestant on Countdown. Yet Kilmarnock could have caused Celtic some angst, again. ?This was a mixture of the ?meetings against Hamilton Academical and Hearts. Against the Accies, Celtic cruised, then lost a goal and wobbled. Against Hearts, they created several excellent chances but spurned them and lost.
The scoreline on Saturday was highly satisfactory for Mowbray and Celtic. His side now sit top of the table by three points and lead Rangers by four. But the Celtic manager will not be fooled by the more benevolent publicity that greets this result.
As against Hearts, Celtic made a series of excellent opportunities. But the finishing?was not top class although some of the build-up play was of the highest order. Some of McGeady’s wing play is irresistible and Patrick McCourt supplied two passes which, frankly if unbelievably, belonged in the final stages ?of the Champions League. Hinkel, too, is a potent attacking weapon with his indefatigable running and his ability to cross the ball with accuracy and pace.
As against Hamilton and Hearts, however, Celtic showed defensive weaknesses.?Mowbray has been right to question his central defence if slightly naive to do so publicly. Kevin Kyle had three free headers on Saturday and should have scored with at least one of them. These chances occurred with the score at 2-0 and a goal for the visitors then may have forced a second performance of the New Douglas Park drama when Lukasz Zaluska was forced to make a great save to ensure his team took away three points.
Celtic, though, managed to stroll to victory as Kyle’s misses were complemented by McGinn making it 3-0. There was a justice in all of this because Kilmarnock were desperately poor on Saturday and Celtic should never have been in any danger of leaking points.
But football matches are not decided solely on what is right and proper. There was the capacity for further trouble for Mowbray on Saturday but it was avoided. That will please him. It will not distract him from a strategy that has suddenly seemed to gain an urgency.
Celtic will bring in another central defender and a striker in the transfer window. The Good Samarastans will pray that Georgi is not left by the roadside.
THERe has been much babble of late of performances, performance-related bonuses and performance-obsessed managers.
There has been ?little chatter about performance art on the park.
Georgios Samaras on Saturday produced a 90-minute exposition against Kilmarnock that almost deserved an entry in the Turner prize for its ?dangerous adherence to a form of surreality and its defiant disdain for anything approaching the mundane.
Samaras spanned the arts. Georgios, the opera, demanded?a soundtrack that swelled like an over-ripe pumpkin and had all the inner tragedy of dookin’ for apples in battery fluid.
Georgi Bhoy does the difficult things with a disarming facility. He can swivel away from players as if he is merely rehearsing for Strictly Come Dancing. He can, however, make the easy look difficult. In attempting a cross or applying his napper to a crossed ball, he look as if he is rehearsing for Strictly Come Off It.
For the forgiving aficionados of Georgi Bhoy, or the Good Samarastans as they have become known, events at Celtic Park on a sunny Saturday were a veritable highlight in the striker’s career.
If one pieced together a DVD of Georgi’s great moments, he would be a £25m striker. See him confound the Moscow defence! Watch him blast home in Tel Aviv! Wonder at his pace and finishing at Rugby Park!
Unfortunately for Georgi, and his agent, another DVD could be assembled. It would show a tall man with flowing hair become involved in a series of comic mishaps. ?It would be a sort of hippy ?Mr Bean.
Georgi, bless ’im, gave us both performances on Saturday. There was the tragedy of the misplaced pass across goal. This went down so badly that Georgi, perversely, gave it several encores. There were the moments of heart-breaking futility, such as when our hero challenged for a high ball.
But there were also the times where class almost reluctantly shone through, when Georgi spun away from defenders and bore down on goal with a faux menace. There was also the goal. Most Good Samarastans held on to the article of faith that after the performance against Hearts last week that Georgi would never score again, or at least this side of apocalypse.
However, their hero placed his locks on a cross by Andreas Hinkel and the ball flew into the net after 31 minutes. Celtic had scored once before on the day, through Aiden McGeady who shuffled past Craig Bryson with devastating effect to plant the ball past Cameron Bell. They would score once again, with Niall McGinn accepting an excellent Hinkel pass and rifling home in the second half.
But it was Georgi and his goal that seemed to sum up the day and Tony Mowbray’s problems. Samaras, and this is not open to argument, is a world-class Holder of His Head in his Hands. He uses this manoeuvre to greet the awful glimpse of ill fortune, to bid goodbye to another chance, to express the recognition of the gods who conspire against him.
Mowbray must hold his head in perplexity at what he witnesses from his Celtic side. This was a match that should have been won by a scoreline that would have taxed a contestant on Countdown. Yet Kilmarnock could have caused Celtic some angst, again. ?This was a mixture of the ?meetings against Hamilton Academical and Hearts. Against the Accies, Celtic cruised, then lost a goal and wobbled. Against Hearts, they created several excellent chances but spurned them and lost.
The scoreline on Saturday was highly satisfactory for Mowbray and Celtic. His side now sit top of the table by three points and lead Rangers by four. But the Celtic manager will not be fooled by the more benevolent publicity that greets this result.
As against Hearts, Celtic made a series of excellent opportunities. But the finishing?was not top class although some of the build-up play was of the highest order. Some of McGeady’s wing play is irresistible and Patrick McCourt supplied two passes which, frankly if unbelievably, belonged in the final stages ?of the Champions League. Hinkel, too, is a potent attacking weapon with his indefatigable running and his ability to cross the ball with accuracy and pace.
As against Hamilton and Hearts, however, Celtic showed defensive weaknesses.?Mowbray has been right to question his central defence if slightly naive to do so publicly. Kevin Kyle had three free headers on Saturday and should have scored with at least one of them. These chances occurred with the score at 2-0 and a goal for the visitors then may have forced a second performance of the New Douglas Park drama when Lukasz Zaluska was forced to make a great save to ensure his team took away three points.
Celtic, though, managed to stroll to victory as Kyle’s misses were complemented by McGinn making it 3-0. There was a justice in all of this because Kilmarnock were desperately poor on Saturday and Celtic should never have been in any danger of leaking points.
But football matches are not decided solely on what is right and proper. There was the capacity for further trouble for Mowbray on Saturday but it was avoided. That will please him. It will not distract him from a strategy that has suddenly seemed to gain an urgency.
Celtic will bring in another central defender and a striker in the transfer window. The Good Samarastans will pray that Georgi is not left by the roadside.
Celtic manager Tony Mowbray:
"I though the level of performance was very similar to Wednesday night. I think we controlled the game again – but today a few goals went in.
"Goals cloud people's judgement of matches, and I can understand that.
"I'm delighted for Aiden and that he got his goal. He's a class act and can do things other players can't.
"There have not been many days when I've been disappointed with Aiden – and Shaun – and then we've got Pat and Niall who can come in as well."
Kilmarnock manager Jim Jefferies:
"We said to the players before the game that they were going to come at us.
"Celtic were excellent today. We just couldn't get near them.
"I thought we were better in possession in the second half when we had a go, and Kevin Kyle admitted he should have scored a hat-trick with headers.
"But when Celtic play like that they're difficult to contain, so I must praise our boys for sticking to their task."
- Final Result
- Full Time
- 90:00+2:54 The referee blows for the end of the match.
- 89:51 Centre by Garry Hay, Mehdi Taouil takes a shot. Save made by Lukasz Zaluska.
- 89:11 A cross is delivered by Mehdi Taouil.
- 88:43 James Fowler produces a cross, Gary Caldwell makes a clearance.
- 87:00 Inswinging corner taken from the left by-line by Daniel Fox.
- 86:28 Corner taken by Daniel Fox.
- 86:15 Niall McGinn takes a shot. Save by Cameron Bell.
- 84:02 The referee blows for offside. Glenn Loovens takes the indirect free kick.
- 83:51 Niall McGinn is flagged offside by the assistant referee. Indirect free kick taken by Cameron Bell.
- 83:15 Landry N'Guemo takes a shot. Cameron Bell makes a save.
- 82:26 Corner taken by Marc Crosas, save by Cameron Bell.
- 82:08 Inswinging corner taken from the left by-line by Daniel Fox.
- 81:43 Substitution Zheng Zhi joins the action as a substitute, replacing Aiden McGeady.
- 81:25 Aiden McGeady takes a shot. Save by Cameron Bell.
- 80:50 Inswinging corner taken right-footed by Iain Flannigan from the left by-line to the near post, Lukasz Zaluska makes a save.
- 79:11 Marc-Antoine Fortune takes a shot. Cameron Bell makes a save.
- 77:09 Assist on the goal came from Andreas Hinkel.
- 77:09 GOAL – Niall McGinn:Celtic 3 – 0 Kilmarnock Niall McGinn finds the back of the net with a goal from inside the penalty area to the top left corner of the goal. Celtic 3-0 Kilmarnock.
- 76:39 The referee blows for offside against Kevin Kyle. Indirect free kick taken by Glenn Loovens.
- 75:28 Niall McGinn produces a left-footed shot from just outside the penalty box that misses to the left of the goal.
- 74:47 Foul by Kevin Kyle on Marc-Antoine Fortune, free kick awarded. Daniel Fox takes the free kick.
- 74:10 Jamie Hamill produces a left-footed shot from just outside the box that misses to the right of the target.
- 73:00 Landry N'Guemo takes a shot. Save made by Cameron Bell.
- 72:32 Inswinging corner taken left-footed by Daniel Fox from the right by-line to the near post, clearance by Jamie Hamill.
- 72:21 Niall McGinn takes a shot. Blocked by Ryan O'Leary.
- 71:25 Aiden McGeady takes a shot. Save by Cameron Bell.
- 67:01 Booking Aiden McGeady is booked.
- 65:30 Substitution Iain Flannigan comes on in place of Gavin Skelton.
- 65:14 Lukasz Zaluska takes the direct free kick.
- 65:14 Substitution Niall McGinn replaces Patrick McCourt.
- 65:14 Substitution Scott McDonald goes off and Marc-Antoine Fortune comes on.
- 65:14 Landry N'Guemo fouled by Kevin Kyle, the ref awards a free kick.
- 64:57 Georgios Samaras takes a shot. Save made by Cameron Bell.
- 64:06 Aiden McGeady takes a shot. Save by Cameron Bell.
- 63:17 Effort from deep inside the area by Andreas Hinkel clears the bar.
- 61:58 Free kick awarded for a foul by Ryan O'Leary on Georgios Samaras. Direct free kick taken by Landry N'Guemo.
- 61:32 Effort on goal by Jamie Hamill from just inside the area clears the bar.
- 58:41 Foul by Ryan O'Leary on Georgios Samaras, free kick awarded. Free kick taken by Marc Crosas.
- 58:12 Foul by Kevin Kyle on Landry N'Guemo, free kick awarded. Direct free kick taken by Lukasz Zaluska.
- 55:58 Georgios Samaras takes a shot. Save made by Cameron Bell.
- 54:47 Corner taken right-footed by Patrick McCourt from the left by-line, Kevin Kyle manages to make a clearance.
- 54:42 Patrick McCourt sends in a cross, clearance by Frazer Wright.
- 54:26 Andreas Hinkel sends in a cross, clearance made by James Fowler.
- 53:43 Jamie Hamill delivers the ball, Kevin Kyle has a headed effort from close in and clears the bar.
- 49:19 The ball is crossed by Craig Bryson, Kevin Kyle has a headed effort at goal from deep inside the area missing to the right of the goal.
- 48:37 The assistant referee flags for offside against Daniel Fox. Free kick taken by James Fowler.
- 47:42 Inswinging corner taken right-footed by Jamie Hamill from the left by-line, clearance made by Glenn Loovens.
- 46:44 Shot from deep inside the area by David Fernandez goes over the bar.
- 46:21 Free kick awarded for an unfair challenge on Gavin Skelton by Andreas Hinkel. Garry Hay restarts play with the free kick.
- 45:32 Direct free kick taken by Gary Caldwell.
- 45:32 Booking Frazer Wright goes into the book.
- 45:11 Frazer Wright challenges Marc Crosas unfairly and gives away a free kick.
- 45:01 The second half has started.
- 45:01 Substitution David Fernandez on for Daniele Invincibile.
- Half Time
- 45:00+0:18 The match has reached half-time.
- 45:00 Substitution Conor Sammon leaves the field to be replaced by Garry Hay.
- 44:33 Centre by Mehdi Taouil, save by Lukasz Zaluska.
- 43:44 The ball is delivered by Patrick McCourt, Daniele Invincibile manages to make a clearance.
- 43:17 Short corner worked by Patrick McCourt.
- 42:41 The ball is sent over by Gavin Skelton, Kevin Kyle has a headed effort at goal from close in which goes wide of the left-hand upright.
- 42:17 Inswinging corner taken left-footed by Gavin Skelton from the right by-line, save by Lukasz Zaluska.
- 42:10 Mehdi Taouil produces a cross, Glenn Loovens makes a clearance.
- 39:54 Booking Mehdi Taouil goes into the referee's book for unsporting behaviour.
- 38:24 Georgios Samaras fouled by Frazer Wright, the ref awards a free kick. Gary Caldwell restarts play with the free kick.
- 33:54 Gavin Skelton delivers the ball, clearance made by Gary Caldwell.
- 33:23 Mehdi Taouil fouled by Aiden McGeady, the ref awards a free kick. Free kick taken by Gavin Skelton.
- 32:37 Georgios Samaras fouled by Frazer Wright, the ref awards a free kick. Gary Caldwell takes the free kick.
- 31:15 The assist for the goal came from Andreas Hinkel.
- 31:15 GOAL – Georgios Samaras:Celtic 2 – 0 Kilmarnock Georgios Samaras finds the net with a headed goal from close in. Celtic 2-0 Kilmarnock.
- 29:24 Centre by Mehdi Taouil.
- 28:51 Centre by Georgios Samaras, Jamie Hamill manages to make a clearance.
- 27:39 Kevin Kyle is flagged offside by the assistant referee. Gary Caldwell takes the free kick.
- 27:15 Handball by Kevin Kyle. Marc Crosas takes the direct free kick.
- 26:57 Patrick McCourt sends in a cross.
- 25:27 Georgios Samaras delivers the ball, Scott McDonald takes a shot. Save made by Cameron Bell.
- 25:11 Craig Bryson delivers the ball, Gary Caldwell makes a clearance.
- 24:59 The assistant referee flags for offside against Georgios Samaras. Indirect free kick taken by Jamie Hamill.
- 24:15 Andreas Hinkel produces a cross.
- 23:27 Jamie Hamill sends in a cross.
- 22:34 The ball is crossed by Aiden McGeady, Craig Bryson manages to make a clearance.
- 21:51 Effort from the edge of the area by Patrick McCourt goes wide of the left-hand upright.
- 19:59 Conor Sammon sends in a cross, Daniel Fox manages to make a clearance.
- 19:36 Andreas Hinkel sends in a cross, clearance made by James Fowler.
- 15:50 Patrick McCourt takes a shot. Save by Cameron Bell.
- 15:26 Free kick awarded for an unfair challenge on Gary Caldwell by Kevin Kyle. Free kick taken by Gary Caldwell.
- 12:39 GOAL – Aiden McGeady:Celtic 1 – 0 Kilmarnock Aiden McGeady finds the back of the net with a goal from close in to the top left corner of the goal. Celtic 1-0 Kilmarnock.
- 12:00 Daniel Fox takes the inswinging corner, clearance by Kevin Kyle.
- 11:54 The ball is crossed by Andreas Hinkel, blocked by Conor Sammon.
- 11:06 Kevin Kyle is caught offside. Indirect free kick taken by Lukasz Zaluska.
- 10:29 Free kick awarded for a foul by Gary Caldwell on Kevin Kyle. Jamie Hamill takes the direct free kick.
- 9:54 The referee blows for offside. Cameron Bell takes the indirect free kick.
- 7:50 Centre by Andreas Hinkel, save by Cameron Bell.
- 6:50 Scott McDonald is ruled offside. Cameron Bell restarts play with the free kick.
- 6:26 Ryan O'Leary is ruled offside. Lukasz Zaluska takes the free kick.
- 5:10 Patrick McCourt challenges Frazer Wright unfairly and gives away a free kick. Direct free kick taken by Cameron Bell.
- 4:47 Daniel Fox takes a outswinging corner from the left by-line to the near post, Frazer Wright manages to make a clearance.
- 4:17 Patrick McCourt decides to take the corner short.
- 4:10 The ball is swung over by Scott McDonald, blocked by Ryan O'Leary.
- 2:02 Corner taken right-footed by Patrick McCourt from the left by-line, Kevin Kyle manages to make a clearance.
- 1:54 Centre by Daniel Fox, Ryan O'Leary manages to make a clearance.
- 1:21 A cross is delivered by Georgios Samaras, Frazer Wright gets a block in.
- 0:53 Scott McDonald takes a shot. Save by Cameron Bell.
- 0:08 Foul by Jamie Hamill on Scott McDonald, free kick awarded. Free kick taken by Marc Crosas.
- 0:00 The ref blows the whistle to begin the match.
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