2015-04-15: Celtic 4-1 Kilmarnock, SP

Match Pictures | Matches: 2014 – 2015 | 2014-15 Pictures

Trivia

• Another midweek game, again not on the tele.
• Easy win we remain well on top on course for title.
• Celtic fans celebrating 150th birthday of founding father Br Walfrid.
• As mark of respect collections of food parcels for food banks are being carried out at the front of Celtic Park. Effort is promoted and supported by joint efforts from the official club and across the Celtic support including online forums and sites. Wonderful gesture.
• John Guidetti offered contract by his prior club Feyenoord.
• Rumours that German clubs after Johansen.
• Later updates state that Guidetti has angered Feyenoord over salary remarks and so looks like the move is in doubt, and Celtic strongly wanting to keep Johansen so to make a great offer.
• Ex-Celt Rab Douglas attacked on the pitch in the match for Forfar v Airdrie. Disgrace.
• Ex-Celt Paul McGowan now at Dundee escapes jail but is tagged after incidents attacking policemen. Needs to sort himself out.
• Dodgy move by SPFL. Hearts are Tier 2/Championship winners, and TheRangers and Hibs fighting for second place. TheRangers 1pt ahead and two goals worse off. All games on the last day should be played at same time else an advantage. So the SPFL decided to change times/day and actually make Hibs on Saturday & TheRangers v Hearts on Sunday, so giving TheRangers an unfair advantage over Hibs. Change was made late, and Hibs & Hearts are raging, as is the rest of Scottish Football.
• The above move was amended after the outrage, and all games to be played on the Saturday at 12.15pm.

Review

(fatboab of KDS)Slow and ponderous for fifty minutes, direct and lethal for forty. What a difference it made having two strikers on the pitch, one of whom actually looking like he wanted to score.
The first fifty minutes were awful, and once again, Forrest on the left was a waste of a jersey, while Commons wide right looked slow and lethargic.
We were also really poor at the back , Izzy excepted, with Matthews having another awful game and our two centre backs looking like they'd only just met.
However, when Kilmarnock scored, it illicited the type of response we seldom see. We upped the pace, changed formation, and ripped them apart. Griffiths was superb, Commons showed why writing him off is usually stupid, and Brown bossed the rest of the game.
Kudos to RD for changing it early and making tactical changes too.
Another step closer, but we need to get about teams early and not let them settle. Hope we haven't shot our bolt in the high tempo , pressing game, but we do look slightly tired.
Onto Sunday, and you'd assume Griffiths will start, but I hope to see Efe at right back too.

Teams

Celtic

Substitutes

• 04 Ambrose Emuobo
• 10 Stokes
• 14 Armstrong
• 16 Mackay-Steven
• 24 Zaluska
• 28 Griffiths
• 42 McGregor

Goals

• Brown 58′ Griffiths 66′, 80′, 85′

Kilmarnock

Substitutes

• 02 Barbour
• 07 McKenzie
• 10 Johnston
• 13 Brennan
• 14 Eccleston
• 20 Eremenko
• 30 Kiltie

Goal

• Westlake 50′

Articles

• Match Report (see end of page below)
• Audio Report: Paradise Report

Pictures

• Match Pictures

Forum

• Pre-match http://kerrydalestreet.co.uk/topic/9232287/
• Match http://kerrydalestreet.co.uk/topic/9232670/
• Post Match http://kerrydalestreet.co.uk/topic/9232697/

MOTM

• Voting Thread http://kerrydalestreet.co.uk/topic/9232698/
• Result Thread
• Winner –

Stats

CelticKilmarnock
Possession
27% 73%
90
mins
Shots
18 2
On target
8 2
Corners
5 1
Fouls
7 11

Articles

Celtic 4-1 Kilmarnock: Griffiths bags hat-trick

http://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/spfl/celtic-4-1-kilmarnock-griffiths-bags-hat-trick-1-3745338

by
ALAN PATTULLO AT CELTIC PARK

updated00:42 Thursday 16 April 2015 published21:37 Wednesday 15 April 2015

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SUBSTITUTE Leigh Griffiths scored the second hat-trick of his Celtic career in little more than half an hour last night to help soothe the fears of the majority inside Parkhead.
Scorers: Celtic – Commons (58), Griffiths (66,80,85); Kilmarnock – Westlake 50
Leigh Griffiths celebrates with John Guidetti. Picture: SNSLeigh Griffiths celebrates with John Guidetti. Picture: SNS
Celtic survived a scare to pull eight points clear of second-placed Aberdeen, as had been the plan and also the expectation of their supporters before kick-off. But Kilmarnock did not prove quite as compliant as hoped when taking the lead through Darryl Westlake five minutes after half-time.
It was hardly surprising that Griffiths got the man-of-the-match award even though he did less than half-a-match’s worth of work. But what he did in this truncated period invariably came up trumps as he took his tally to 15 for the season.

Kris Commons scored Celtic’s equaliser two minutes after Kilmarnock had struck. The goal was significant because it also prompted Celtic manager Ronny Deila to introduce Griffiths to the forward line, where he was asked to provide the cutting edge Celtic so obviously lacked in the opening half.
And he certainly managed that. He scored with a header seven minutes later to give Celtic the lead and then almost broke a post with a swerving shot that bashed off the upright and into the net ten minutes before the end.
He completed his hat-trick with five minutes remaining when he latched onto a long through ball from Virgil van Dijk to score Celtic’s fourth goal. All this on a day when the player heard confirmation that he must stand trial later this year in Edinburgh for singing an allegedly offensive song in a bar in the capital before a Hearts v Hibs fixture last season.
But Griffiths looked as though he did not have a care in the world last night as he left the field with the match ball under his arm. Photographers crowded around the player as he celebrated a very satisfactory half-shift for his team, after things had begun to look tricky for the hosts. The match certainly promised little of this subsequent excitement in its opening half.
Inverness manager John Hughes was in the stand, although to describe him as an interested observer might be stretching things considering what unfolded in the first 45 minutes. Few in the crowd were.
Hughes at least had a pressing reason to be here. His side face Celtic at Hampden Park in Sunday’s Scottish Cup semi-final. Paul Hartley was also present in the stadium, with his side Dundee due to host Celtic next Wednesday. But Celtic had to be careful to avoid projecting their thoughts too far ahead. There was a game to be won last night and though they managed this, it was a struggle at first.
Celtic were making heavy weather of trying to break the deadlock. At one point John Guidetti even ran out of the box with the ball after delaying his shot to the point where he ran out of every other option.
Credit has to be given to Kilmarnock, who defended solidly.
Of course, the Rugby Park side had their own reasons for wanting to gain a result here; their relegation fears are far from over. At the start of play, they were only seven points clear of the relegation play-off place and this is where they remain.
Deila rotated his strikers again and started with Guidetti, on the day the Swede celebrated turning 23. Little fell for him in the opening half although he was denied by some good goalkeeping by Craig Samson in the second.
For all their team’s possession, Celtic’s lack of cutting edge was beginning to worry the home supporters. A Nir Bitton flick should have been headed nearer goal by Denayer. The Belgian’s defensive partner Van Dijk was even more at fault when failing to convert another headed opportunity, this time from a Commons corner.
Kilmarnock clearly took great heart from reaching half-time still level with their opponents. While Celtic were expected to race out of the blocks following the interval it didn’t quite pan out like that. Kilmarnock it was who seemed to emerge with a renewed impetus and they were the ones who opened the scoring five minutes into the second-half on one of their admittedly rare forays forward.
Westlake’s shot was helped on its way past Craig Gordon via a deflection off Denayer and Celtic Park was plunged into silence. The Celtic fans knew full well how Aberdeen supporters would be greeting news of this Kilmarnock breakthrough, however. The small band of Kilmarnock followers in the corner were also beside themselves. But their glee did not last long. Samson was doing his best to keep Kilmarnock ahead. While he saved when parrying Guidetti’s deflected effort he could do nothing about Commons’ drive into the top corner, after the midfielder took the ball off the toes of Scott Brown.Griffiths was sent on for the disappointing James Forrest immediately after the goal and what an inspired decision this proved.His first goal after 65 minutes arrived with a header following Commons’ neat chip from the bye-line and his second, 15 minutes later, was a special left-footed effort; Brown set him up and Griffiths swiped an unstoppable shot which hit the post with a thud that echoed round the stadium. Samson could only watch as the ball rebounded into the net behind him. Gordon was called upon to make one of the saves of the season from a deflected Nathan Eccleston effort on 85 minutes. But nothing could take away from it being Griffiths’ night. His hat-trick was completed with five minutes left with another neat finish, this time from a tight angle after Van Dijk’s long ball. The fans’ frustrations were swept all away.

BBC•Leigh Griffiths scores second-half hat-trick •Kris Commons cancels out Darryl Westlake opener
•Celtic move eight points clear at top of table
Leigh Griffiths came off the bench to score a hat-trick as Celtic saw off Kilmarnock to move eight points clear at the top of the Scottish Premiership.
Darryl Westlake had shocked Celtic Park with his first goal for Kilmarnock, a thumping shot from outside the box that deflected past Craig Gordon.
Kris Commons soon restored parity before Griffiths headed Celtic in front.
As Kilmarnock's defence opened up, Griffiths added two more late on.
The three points provide another big step towards the league title for Ronny Deila's men, with three more wins guaranteeing the title.
It also boosts hopes of a domestic treble and, with Sunday's Scottish Cup semi-final against Inverness Caledonian Thistle in mind, Deila made four changes.
They did not affect Celtic's fluency in the early stages with relentless pressure, but Kilmarnock goalkeeper Craig Samson was largely untroubled, a wasted John Guidetti free-kick the best the hosts could muster.
Virgil van Dijk rose unchallenged to meet a driven Commons corner in a move straight off the training ground, but Celtic's Dutch defender could not direct his header on target.
Guidetti was guilty of passing up a chance when he tried to be too fancy instead of shooting first time and James Forrest eventually curled the lay-off wide.
Celtic needed to up the pace in the second half, but it was Kilmarnock who hit them with a sucker punch.
Westlake hit a shot from outside the area that took a large deflection off a Celtic defender and looped over Gordon to give the Ayrshire men the lead.
Kilmarnock players celebrate after Darryl Westlake gave them the lead Kilmarnock players celebrate after Darryl Westlake gave them the lead
However, Celtic were soon level. Sammy Clingan could not get the ball cleared and Adam Matthews fed Commons, who fired a left-foot shot into the top corner.
Falling behind at home had woken the hosts up and it was not long until it was 2-1.
Griffiths arrived on the scene at the half-hour mark and he made a stunning impact.
First, Commons got to the bye-line and chipped into the box for Griffiths, who had a simple header past Samson.
Then Griffiths fired a low shot that spun off the post and over the line.
Scotland goalkeeper Gordon still had work to do at then other end, pulling off a great save to deny Nathan Eccleston.
It was at the back where the visitors needed to be strong, however, as their early defensive prowess was being undone.
Griffiths completed his hat-trick after he burst in behind the defence and added a cool finish.
Live Text Commentary
Full time Full Time
Match ends, Celtic 4, Kilmarnock 1.
90:00 +2:10 Full time Full Time
Second Half ends, Celtic 4, Kilmarnock 1.
90:00 +0:13 Foul by Gary Mackay-Steven (Celtic).
90:00 +0:13 Tope Obadeyi (Kilmarnock) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
89:41 Attempt missed. John Guidetti (Celtic) right footed shot from outside the box misses to the left.
88:17 Stuart Armstrong (Celtic) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
88:17 Foul by Mark O'Hara (Kilmarnock).
87:26 Emilio Izaguirre (Celtic) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
87:26 Foul by Rory McKenzie (Kilmarnock).
86:34 Foul by Virgil van Dijk (Celtic).
86:34 Lee Miller (Kilmarnock) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
84:21 Goal scored Goal!
Goal! Celtic 4, Kilmarnock 1. Leigh Griffiths (Celtic) right footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom right corner. Assisted by Virgil van Dijk.
82:17 Corner, Kilmarnock. Conceded by Craig Gordon.
82:02 Attempt saved. Nathan Eccleston (Kilmarnock) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the top centre of the goal.
81:22 Substitution Substitution
Substitution, Celtic. Gary Mackay-Steven replaces Stefan Johansen.
80:56 Substitution Substitution
Substitution, Celtic. Stuart Armstrong replaces Kris Commons.
80:37 Substitution Substitution
Substitution, Kilmarnock. Nathan Eccleston replaces Paul Cairney.
79:37 Goal scored Goal!
Goal! Celtic 3, Kilmarnock 1. Leigh Griffiths (Celtic) left footed shot from outside the box to the bottom left corner. Assisted by Scott Brown.
77:14 Attempt missed. Stefan Johansen (Celtic) right footed shot from the left side of the six yard box is close, but misses to the left.
77:00 Attempt saved. Leigh Griffiths (Celtic) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the bottom right corner.
.73:06 Substitution Substitution
Substitution, Kilmarnock. Rory McKenzie replaces Josh Magennis.
72:24 Corner, Celtic. Conceded by David Syme.
72:12 Attempt blocked. Kris Commons (Celtic) right footed shot from long range on the right is blocked.
71:54 Corner, Celtic. Conceded by Darryl Westlake.
71:29 Corner, Celtic. Conceded by Craig Samson.
71:16 Attempt saved. Kris Commons (Celtic) right footed shot from the right side of the box is saved in the bottom left corner.
69:55 Attempt missed. Leigh Griffiths (Celtic) right footed shot from the right side of the box is close, but misses to the right.
68:46 Attempt saved. Leigh Griffiths (Celtic) left footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal.
65:39 Goal scored Goal!
Goal! Celtic 2, Kilmarnock 1. Leigh Griffiths (Celtic) header from the centre of the box to the bottom left corner. Assisted by Kris Commons.
62:07 Attempt missed. Nir Bitton (Celtic) right footed shot from outside the box is too high.
60:18 Substitution Substitution
Substitution, Celtic. Leigh Griffiths replaces James Forrest.
57:28 Goal scored Goal!
Goal! Celtic 1, Kilmarnock 1. Scott Brown (Celtic) left footed shot from outside the box to the top right corner. Assisted by Adam Matthews.
57:10 Attempt blocked. John Guidetti (Celtic) right footed shot from the right side of the box is blocked.
56:28 Scott Brown (Celtic) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
56:28 Foul by Lee Miller (Kilmarnock).
49:15 Goal scored Goal!
Goal! Celtic 0, Kilmarnock 1. Darryl Westlake (Kilmarnock) right footed shot from outside the box to the centre of the goal.
48:35 Foul by Kris Commons (Celtic).
48:35 Sammy Clingan (Kilmarnock) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
46:38 Attempt saved. Scott Brown (Celtic) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the centre of the goal.
45:00 Second Half begins Celtic 0, Kilmarnock 0.
45:00 +0:05 Half time Half Time
First Half ends, Celtic 0, Kilmarnock 0.
38:07 Attempt missed. James Forrest (Celtic) right footed shot from outside the box misses to the right.
35:03 Attempt missed. Virgil van Dijk (Celtic) header from the centre of the box misses to the right.
34:45 Corner, Celtic. Conceded by Mark O'Hara.
33:37 Adam Matthews (Celtic) wins a free kick on the left wing.
33:37 Foul by Tope Obadeyi (Kilmarnock).
32:10 Emilio Izaguirre (Celtic) wins a free kick on the left wing.
32:10 Foul by Josh Magennis (Kilmarnock).
30:44 Foul by Nir Bitton (Celtic).
30:44 Tope Obadeyi (Kilmarnock) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
30:16 Attempt missed. Scott Brown (Celtic) right footed shot from the centre of the box misses to the right.
28:36 Kris Commons (Celtic) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
28:36 Foul by Sammy Clingan (Kilmarnock).
26:21 Foul by John Guidetti (Celtic).
26:21 Paul Cairney (Kilmarnock) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
25:30 John Guidetti (Celtic) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
25:30 Foul by Lee Ashcroft (Kilmarnock).
24:06 Nir Bitton (Celtic) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
24:06 Foul by Paul Cairney (Kilmarnock).
19:23 John Guidetti (Celtic) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
19:23 Foul by David Syme (Kilmarnock).
18:32 Attempt blocked. John Guidetti (Celtic) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
18:00 John Guidetti (Celtic) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
17:59 Foul by David Syme (Kilmarnock).
15:02 Foul by Adam Matthews (Celtic).
15:02 Tope Obadeyi (Kilmarnock) wins a free kick on the right wing.
14:19 Foul by Emilio Izaguirre (Celtic).
14:19 Josh Magennis (Kilmarnock) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
7:22 Corner, Celtic. Conceded by Lee Ashcroft.
1:13 Kris Commons (Celtic) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
1:13 Foul by Darryl Westlake (Kilmarnock).
0:00 First Half begins.
0:00 Lineups are announced and players are warming up.
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