2015-11-21: Celtic 0-0 Kilmarnock, SP

Match Pictures | Matches: 2015 – 2016 | 2015-16 Pictures

Trivia

• First game after the internationals break.
• Dreadful performance and no goals, poor way to set up before another major European match.
• Ex-Celt David Moyes has been sacked as manager of Real Sociedad, possibly the next Celtic manager? Rumours started.
• Ireland overcome Bosnia in playoffs for Euros. Congratulations.
• Sevco: lots of discussion over the issue to strip them of their titles from 2001-2010. Pressure is building.
• Court case between current and former owners of Sevco begins, creating much mirth a they argue over NewCo or unbroken history.
• An Aberdeen man has admitted putting offensive messages on social media, including about a disabled young Celtic fan. Ross Gibson, 20, of Aberdeen, was charged following a Parkhead match between Celtic and Aberdeen in March. Scumbag.
• Terrorist attack in Paris sees scores killed. RIP. French flag flown at Celtic Park in solidarity.
• AGM: Controversial, issues overshadowed by chairman Iain Bankier, who has claimed that fans opposed to the re-election of Mr Livingston to the Celtic board have engaged in 'criminally racist' social media postings.
• The point with the racism is that it was used as a deflection tactic, and it has backfired majorly. Not that anyone has ever seen these posts.
  If there were any racist comments ever made about his background, well I've honestly never seen any, and never even knew his religious background.Any individual cases ever are rare but should be handled appropriately. Raising it at the AGM was the wrong forum as it sadly gave the impression this is a large problem with a sizeable number of people, it's not and has created a mountain out of a molehill. Racists are NOT tolerated at Celtic, and Iain Bankier should make an apology. It was a poor tactic used by him and it's created frustration. He should also move on now, just make an excuse and find another role. Pathetic way for it to end, but he has shown he is incapable of handling the role without resorting to low blows.
• Celtic Trust statemetn:
  "Following the disgraceful remarks made by Ian Bankier, Chairman of Celtic PLC to the Celtic PLC AGM on Friday 20th November, the undersigned organisations feel it necessary to express our anger at these allegations.
  "Mr Bankier's claim that fans opposed to the re-election of Mr Livingston to the Celtic board have engaged in 'criminally racist' social media postings is an unforgivable slur on the Celtic support. For him to then evoke the name of Brother Walfrid to justify his unfounded assertion is utterly shameful.
  "We are now, since the AGM took place, aware that there were some postings on social media which we condemn and we would support the club, and Mr Livingston, should they take action against those individuals.
  "None of this is a justification for the generalised smearing of the Celtic support and, in particular, those of us who voted against Mr Livingston’s re-election. Mr Bankier committed an error of judgement and showed a complete lack of control at the AGM and this is not acceptable in a Celtic Chairman.
  Anadolu AgencyLord Ian Livingston of Parkhead pictured with Turkey's Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci earlier this year
  "We would like to publically condemn his unprofessional behaviour and the subsequent attempts to suggest that his words had been taken out of context, as this patently was not the case.
  "We call on all other members of the PLC board to denounce these comments.
  "Ultimately, we are of the belief that Mr Bankier is no longer able to redeem himself following this attack on the Celtic support, and his failure to retract and apologise immediately afterwards, and we call on him to give serious consideration to his position as Chairman of Celtic PLC."

Review

(columbo of KDS forum)
The team were total mince. – and the manager can go any time.
We do not have the guile , pace or physical presence to break massed defences down
Generally we trundle forward , pass across the pitch and finish by getting a cross nodded away or an attempt blocked before it becomes a threat.
A carbon copy of the second half against Hearts at home
If we don't get in front and draw them out we are in trouble – we can be a good looking side but only if the opposition give us space.

Was only interesting when Forrest ran at his marker.

Armstrong – a straight replacement for Johansen for the worst player in the team – he has been crap for weeks and had a nightmare yesterday.
Couldn't understand bringing GMS on – a player totally out of form – to change the game.
Worse was the decision for GMS to switch wings with Forrest.
I would have brought Tierney on and played him in front of Izzy to see if we could have opened them on both sides. ( and maybe got some decent crosses in )

We looked lost yesterday.

(el salto of KDS)
I think that the two results against Kilmarnock this season just about sums up the absolute mediocrity of this Celtic team.

If Griffiths doesn't score, we aint scoring at all.

There is no creativity in the team nor real motivation, and the manager is increasingly sounding like a man under pressure.

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Stats

Celtic Kilmarnock
Possession
35% 65%
90mins

Shots
20 6

On target
5 3

Corners
10 3

Fouls
10 7

Articles

Celtic 0-0 Kilmarnock: Hoops draw blank against Killie
http://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/competitions/premiership/celtic-0-0-kilmarnock-hoops-draw-blank-against-killie-1-3954970
Andrew Smith

RESOUNDING support from his board one day, a bored support resounding in their disgruntlement a day later.

In the grand scheme of things, Celtic manager Ronny Deila and his club won’t lose any sleep over the slumberfest for his team as Kilmarnock proved defiant with their defensive blanket. Yet it was hardly the perfect lead-in to the Europa League do-or-be-dumped encounter they face against Ajax on Thursday night.
Ronny Deila saw his side fail to score against Kilmarnock today. Picture: SNS
Ronny Deila saw his side fail to score against Kilmarnock today. Picture: SNS

It was a curious case of one door closing and another one shutting in the face of the Scottish champions yesterday. Their – rightly – much-maligned defence could reflect on a first clean sheet in a month while their attack would rue the first blank in Celtic’s “goals for” column in two months.

Often, when visitors play rope-a-dope at Celtic Park, their team configuration is described as two banks of four. Yesterday, Gary Locke’s men regularly sought to repel their hosts with one line of seven. And for all that Celtic struggled to produce any real guile or ingenuity – with Kris Commons out with a combination of a dodgy hamstring and tummy – the Rugby Park side did what they set out to do with admirable resolve.

With captain and centre-back Mark Connolly a study in concentration marshalling his defence, Celtic rarely worked Jamie MacDonald. He saved well from a Leigh Griffiths free-kick just after the break and, at the close, tipped over a header from Dedryck Boyata – who readily admitted his team hardly created a decent opportunity.

Late on, Kilmarnock began to see possibilities as Celtic’s huff and puff threatened to see them blow themselves out. Scott Brown, in his first appearance after missing the previous four, in particular seemed to be running on empty. And it was Greg Kiltie snapping into a challenge with him to win possession that set up the substitute for a 25-yard blooter that forced Craig Gordon to scramble across his goal to beat it away.

Only a superb saving tackle from the impressive Jozo Simunovic prevented Kiltie haring through on goal, and for all that Deila could hardly have been enthralled by his team, the Croatian’s rock-solid display was further indication that the £4.5 million summer buy can bring an otherwise rare assurance to the Celtic defence. Which they will require on Thursday. The Norwegian, though, wasn’t for seeing any European portents in yesterday’s events.

“You can’t compare this game to the Ajax game. They’re a team who’ll want to attack us and have control of the game, so it’ll be a different approach,” he said, the result, coupled with Hearts drawing, allowing Celtic to retain their six-point lead at the top of the table. “The boys had good attitude [against Kilmarnock], they did everything they could but the timing just wasn’t good. That’s maybe been the first time this year, when we talk about the league. We’ve scored a lot of goals but today wasn’t our day. It was disappointing from that point of view but the positive is we had a clean sheet. I felt safe that we would do it, the defending was good.

“I was very pleased [with Jozo] – I think he had a very good match. That was another positive. There are always some positives among the negatives but the end result was not good enough. We had 70 per cent possession but there was a lack of tempo, creativity and timing in the last third of the pitch.”

Commons may not be in place on Thursday to provide such qualities, with James Forrest trying manfully without either support or success. “It’s a possibility,” was as far as Deila would go on the 32-year-old facing Frank de Boer’s side.

“He had an illness but also a feeling in his hamstring so we’ll see come Tuesday.” Equal concern surrounded Brown’s fitness, with the Celtic captain appearing to grimace as he clasped on to his knees in the closing minutes. “I asked him and he said it was just a knock, so I think he’ll be OK,” said the Celtic manager.

Brown was welcomed back into the hurly-burly with some ferocious tackles, Josh Magennis earning a booking for flattening the Scotland captain – and now author – midway through the first period, with Kallum Higginbotham escaping the same punishment for a similarly crunching challenge minutes later… only to earn his caution soon afterwards. Locke denied that Brown had been targeted.

“Obviously he is a very influential player for them and it might look as if we were out to kick him,” he said. “That certainly wasn’t the case. We wanted the boys to compete. If you come in and sit off them they can hurt you. We reiterated to the players go out there and believe in yourselves and they certainly done that.”

Locke was entitled to be chuffed that his tactics paid off – and he was. “We had worked on a game plan all week and it worked a treat. We probably could have nicked it at the end. We had a couple of chances on the counter attack. Could not be happier with the performance.

“Some people might come here and play differently I just felt that, with the players Celtic have got, if you open up against them too much they have players that will hurt you. As a group of players today we were well organised and worked hard. We never switched off for a minute and thoroughly deserved the point. Jamie had one save from the header but that was about it.”

BBC
By Richard Wilson BBC Scotland at Celtic Park

Premiership leaders Celtic dropped points and potentially suffered an injury setback as they failed to break down a resolute Kilmarnock side.

The handful of chances created by the home side were spurned but mostly they were frustrated by the visitors.

Captain Scott Brown returned to the starting XI and was typically dynamic until a late knock left him hobbling.

Celtic rarely fail to score and Kilmarnock rarely keep clean sheets but expectations were overturned.

With Hearts also drawing at home, Ronny Deila's men remain six points clear at the top but that will be reduced to five if Aberdeen win at Hamilton on Sunday.

The nature of the game was evident quickly. In the opening spell, Kilmarnock were deep, narrow and rigidly organised, while there were outbreaks of desperation in defence.

Stoutness was a defining characteristic and the tone was set by the captain Mark Connolly.

The defender was playing his first game since suffering an injury in August but he was alert, strong and grimly determined. In the space of only a matter of seconds, he blocked shots by Stuart Armstrong and James Forrest.

That kind of defiance was Kilmarnock's main purpose, since it was the most likely way that they could dispirit Celtic.

The home side were seldom perturbed, though, since they routinely spent long spells in their opponents' half and must have constantly been reassured that the sheer weight of pressure would eventually tell.

The visitors' full-backs Mark O'Hara and Kevin McHattie could not enjoy a moment's respite but they never wavered.

O'Hara saw off Armstrong and then was similarly capable with his replacement, Gary Mackay-Steven. McHattie had the more difficult task, since Forrest was in the kind of mood to bewilder his marker with a drop of the shoulder or a shuffle of his quick feet.
Dedryk Boyata's late header was touched on to the crossbar

Boyata's late header was touched on to the crossbar as Celtic pressed for a winner

Nonetheless, Celtic did enough to threaten but found the finishing touch was out of reach.

It was typical of Leigh Griffiths' afternoon that an errant touch took the Celtic striker away from goal after darting clear of the Kilmarnock defenders. Later in the first half, he controlled a through ball brilliantly but, from between the two centre backs and at close range, he tamely stabbed the ball straight at Jamie MacDonald.

While Kilmarnock snapped into tackles and were so set on an aggressive tone that flash points inevitably arose, Celtic remained adrift from their decisive nature.

With so many opposition players behind the ball, the league leaders had to probe patiently but alertness was often missing and Griffiths finished weakly again when the ball broke to him just inside the penalty area.

Kilmarnock, who earned a 2-2 draw at home to Celtic in August, tried to stretch play through Josh Magennis and Kallum Higginbotham, who were persistent in their endeavour, but even that waned after the break as the hosts dominated possession.

MacDonald saved smartly from a Griffiths free-kick at the beginning of the first-half and then tipped a thunderous Dedryck Boyata header onto the face of the bar in the closing moments.

In between, Celtic felt they might have had penalties when Brown and Mackay-Steven went down but referee Bobby Madden was unmoved.

In truth, the hosts' play lacked the tempo or the guile to create clear chances and the desperation to score almost cost them at the end.

Craig Gordon had to dive to his left to save from Greg Kiltie and then Tope Obadeyi.

As if to subdue Celtic further, Brown also seemed to injure himself in a challenge and finished the game being unable to run.

Live Text Commentary
Full time

Full Time Match ends, Celtic 0, Kilmarnock 0.
90:00 +3:00 Full time

Full Time Second Half ends, Celtic 0, Kilmarnock 0.
90:00 +1:00

Corner, Celtic. Conceded by Mark Connolly.
90:00 +0:48

Dedryck Boyata (Celtic) hits the bar with a header from the centre of the box.
90:00 +0:31 Booking

Booking Kevin McHattie (Kilmarnock) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
90:00 +0:16

Gary Mackay-Steven (Celtic) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
90:00 +0:16

Foul by Kevin McHattie (Kilmarnock).
88:52

Attempt blocked. Leigh Griffiths (Celtic) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked.
87:58 Substitution

Substitution Substitution, Kilmarnock. Jamie Hamill replaces Kallum Higginbotham.
85:29

Attempt saved. Scott Brown (Celtic) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the centre of the goal.
84:14

Corner, Kilmarnock. Conceded by Craig Gordon.
83:59

Attempt saved. Tope Obadeyi (Kilmarnock) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom right corner.
83:46 Substitution

Substitution Substitution, Celtic. Scott Allan replaces Emilio Izaguirre.
83:27

Attempt missed. Nadir Ciftci (Celtic) right footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the right.
82:41

Attempt saved. Josh Magennis (Kilmarnock) header from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal.
82:28

Corner, Kilmarnock. Conceded by Craig Gordon.
82:06

Attempt saved. Greg Kiltie (Kilmarnock) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom right corner.
81:21

Foul by Scott Brown (Celtic).
81:21

Scott Robinson (Kilmarnock) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
80:08

Corner, Celtic. Conceded by Conrad Balatoni.
77:02

Attempt blocked. Nir Bitton (Celtic) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
74:49

Attempt saved. Gary Mackay-Steven (Celtic) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom right corner.
73:29 Booking

Booking Mark O'Hara (Kilmarnock) is shown the yellow card for hand ball.
73:27

Hand ball by Mark O'Hara (Kilmarnock).
71:23

Attempt blocked. Gary Mackay-Steven (Celtic) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
70:19 Substitution

Substitution Substitution, Celtic. Nadir Ciftci replaces Tomas Rogic.
67:25

Corner, Celtic. Conceded by Mark O'Hara.
63:35

Attempt blocked. James Forrest (Celtic) right footed shot from long range on the right is blocked.
60:24

Attempt missed. Leigh Griffiths (Celtic) left footed shot from the centre of the box is too high.
59:12

Attempt blocked. Tomas Rogic (Celtic) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
58:11 Substitution

Substitution Substitution, Celtic. Gary Mackay-Steven replaces Stuart Armstrong.
55:53

Foul by Jozo Simunovic (Celtic).
55:53

Josh Magennis (Kilmarnock) wins a free kick on the left wing.
54:24

Nir Bitton (Celtic) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
54:24

Foul by Greg Kiltie (Kilmarnock).
53:36

Attempt missed. James Forrest (Celtic) right footed shot from outside the box misses to the left.
52:00

Corner, Celtic. Conceded by Mark Connolly.
50:06

Foul by Leigh Griffiths (Celtic).
50:06

Mark O'Hara (Kilmarnock) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
48:13

Corner, Celtic. Conceded by Jamie MacDonald.
47:58

Attempt saved. Leigh Griffiths (Celtic) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the top left corner.
47:20

Foul by Scott Robinson (Kilmarnock).
47:20

Tomas Rogic (Celtic) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
46:23

Attempt missed. Jozo Simunovic (Celtic) left footed shot from outside the box is high and wide to the left.
45:00

Second Half begins Celtic 0, Kilmarnock 0.
45:00 +2:19 Half time

Half Time First Half ends, Celtic 0, Kilmarnock 0.
45:00 +1:35

Attempt blocked. Kevin McHattie (Kilmarnock) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
45:00 +0:47 Booking

Booking Dedryck Boyata (Celtic) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
45:00 +0:43

Tope Obadeyi (Kilmarnock) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
45:00 +0:43

Foul by Dedryck Boyata (Celtic).
40:15 Substitution

Substitution Substitution, Kilmarnock. Greg Kiltie replaces Rory McKenzie because of an injury.
37:05

Foul by Tomas Rogic (Celtic).
37:05

Scott Robinson (Kilmarnock) wins a free kick on the right wing.
35:14

Corner, Celtic. Conceded by Rory McKenzie.
34:25

Corner, Celtic. Conceded by Scott Robinson.
33:18

Attempt saved. Leigh Griffiths (Celtic) left footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the bottom left corner.
31:24

Attempt missed. Stuart Armstrong (Celtic) right footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the left.
29:25 Booking

Booking Kallum Higginbotham (Kilmarnock) is shown the yellow card.
27:21

Foul by Stuart Armstrong (Celtic).
27:21

Mark O'Hara (Kilmarnock) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
26:40

Attempt blocked. James Forrest (Celtic) right footed shot from the right side of the box is blocked.
26:16

Attempt blocked. Tomas Rogic (Celtic) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked.
22:41

Attempt missed. Tomas Rogic (Celtic) right footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the right.
21:45

Foul by Kallum Higginbotham (Kilmarnock).
21:45

Scott Brown (Celtic) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
20:41 Booking

Booking Josh Magennis (Kilmarnock) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
20:37

Foul by Josh Magennis (Kilmarnock).
20:37

Scott Brown (Celtic) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
17:49

Attempt missed. Josh Magennis (Kilmarnock) header from the centre of the box is close, but misses to the right.
16:32

Attempt saved. Leigh Griffiths (Celtic) left footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the bottom right corner.
15:33

Corner, Celtic. Conceded by Mark Connolly.
12:59

Corner, Celtic. Conceded by Kevin McHattie.
12:19

Attempt missed. Conrad Balatoni (Kilmarnock) right footed shot from the centre of the box is close, but misses to the right following a corner.
11:52

Corner, Kilmarnock. Conceded by Jozo Simunovic.
11:19

Foul by Scott Brown (Celtic).
11:19

Kallum Higginbotham (Kilmarnock) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
10:47

Foul by Dedryck Boyata (Celtic).
10:47

Scott Robinson (Kilmarnock) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
10:08

Corner, Celtic. Conceded by Rory McKenzie.
7:51

Conrad Balatoni (Kilmarnock) wins a free kick on the right wing.
7:51

Foul by Tomas Rogic (Celtic).
3:41

Foul by Mark Connolly (Kilmarnock).
3:41

James Forrest (Celtic) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
3:02

Attempt blocked. Stuart Armstrong (Celtic) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
0:35

Foul by Dedryck Boyata (Celtic).
0:35

Kevin McHattie (Kilmarnock) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
0:00

First Half begins.
0:00

Lineups are announced and players are warming up.

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BBC

Celtic fans groups call for Ian Bankier removal as chairman
By Alasdair Lamont BBC Scotland

Celtic supporters' groups have issued a joint statement calling on Ian Bankier to consider his position as chairman of the Scottish Premiership club.

The Celtic Trust, the Affiliation of Registered Celtic Supporters' Clubs and The Green Brigade accuse him of "an unforgivable slur on Celtic's support".

He had suggested that some social media attacks on fellow board Lord Livingston had been "criminally racist".

But Celtic and Bankier stress he was only referring to a small number.

The row followed the decision by Tory peer Ian Livingston, whose title is Baron Livingston of Parkhead, to vote in favour of cuts to tax credits in the House of Lords.

An online petition attracted nearly 10,000 signatures calling for his removal from the Celtic board, saying his actions were against the club's ethos.

Bankier backed Livingston at the club's annual meeting and later issued a statement in which he said: "I have not branded our supporters racist and it is outrageous to suggest that I would ever do that.

"I was only referring to a small number of specific comments which have been made on social media, which I believe are unacceptable, and I know Celtic supporters would agree with me."

However, three supporters groups have expressed their "anger" at what they describe as "disgraceful remarks" by Bankier.

"Mr Bankier's claim that fans opposed to the re-election of Mr Livingston to the Celtic board have engaged in 'criminally racist' social media postings is an unforgivable slur on the Celtic support," they state.

"We are now, since the AGM took place, aware that there were some postings on social media which we condemn and we would support the club, and Mr Livingston, should they take action against those individuals.
Ian Livingston

Ian Livingston is a former chief executive of BT Group.

"None of this is a justification for the generalised smearing of the Celtic support and, in particular, those of us who voted against Mr Livingston's re-election."

Despite a ballot being called, Livingston is expected to be re-elected.

"Mr Bankier committed an error of judgement and showed a complete lack of control at the AGM and this is not acceptable in a Celtic chairman," the groups added.

"We would like to publically condemn his unprofessional behaviour and the subsequent attempts to suggest that his words had been taken out of context as this patently was not the case.

"We call on all other members of the PLC board to denounce these comments.

"Ultimately, we are of the belief that Mr Bankier is no longer able to redeem himself following this attack on the Celtic support and his failure to retract and apologise immediately afterwards, and we call on him to give serious consideration to his position as Chairman of Celtic PLC."

Celtic responded to the fans' statement by defending Bankier further.

"Ian made his position absolutely clear on Friday when he thanked, praised and commended Celtic supporters and shareholders and clarified that he had not branded our supporters as some had suggested," they said in a statement.

"Ian was simply referring to those individuals that the Trust in their statement have also condemned, so we seem to be in agreement.

"We are surprised and disappointed that a public statement has been made without any dialogue on the matter with the club, but as always we will be happy to meet any of our fans groups to discuss."