| Match Pictures | Matches: 2019 – 2020 | 2019-20 Pictures |
Trivia
- Midweek league game, first league game of 2020; First league game of the new decade.
- Sevco won their game 1-0 so stay ahead of Celtic
- Frimpong stretchered off. Some real hatchet job players in the Killie team on this plastic pitch. Ref was a disgrace and let them off with so much!
- Bayo plays for Celtic! Very rare occurrence to date.
- Sky Sports Kris Boyd (ex-Rangers players) creates controversy with disgraceful comments on Leigh Griffiths on his commitment training and mental health.
- Hamilton Academical boss Brian Rice has been hit with an SFA charge over alleged breaches of gambling rules. He admits he has a gambling addiction problem. Gambling adverts & that industry has been a constant issue in recent years, esp with its growing strength & dominance in the internet age.
- Celtic will play Fraserburgh FC in a fundraising match later this year to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Fraserburgh lifeboat tragedy. Five men lost their lives on January 21, 1970, when a freak wave overturned a lifeboat as it escorted a Danish fishing vessel to safety.
- Transfers:
- Jack Hendry has signed for Melbourne City (Aussie league) on loan. We wish him the best.
- Celtic will reportedly listen to loan offers for young striker Michael Afolabi. The 20-year-old joined last summer on a free after his Southampton contract expired but he is yet to break into the Hoops first team.
- Celtic have been linked with a move for former Parkhead kid Aaron Hickey – but face competition from Crystal Palace. The 17-year-old Hearts left-back is reportedly keen to rejoin Celtic.
- Celtic have been linked with a surprise move for Motherwell's Liam Donnelly.
- Dundee United boss Robbie Neilson has vowed to hang on to Lawrence Shankland after Celtic scouted the striker at the weekend. The Scotland international bagged his 26th goal in 27 games as the Tannadice outfit drew 2-2 with top-flight Hibs in the Scottish Cup on Sunday.
- Leeds have been linked with a move for Leigh Griffiths, with Elland Road boss Marcelo Bielsa desperate to add firepower to his squad before the window closes. The Championship side are chasing promotion to the English Premier League but have hit a series of obstacles in their quest to bring in attacking reinforcements.
- Celtic have been named in fifth place in the prestigious Club World Ranking awards for 2019. Each year, the respected International Federation of Football History and Statistics publish their list of the 400 most successful teams of the year. The list is based on results in both domestic and international football with each league and competition around the world being ranked by their importance by the Swiss-based football boffins. That put them behind only Liverpool, Barcelona, Manchester City and Flamengo on the list of the most successful teams of the year.
- David Turnbull has spoken about how he had to learn to walk again after the "horrible" injury that scuppered his move from Motherwell to Celtic. The midfielder, 20, was set to join the Scottish champions for a Fir Park record fee of £3.25m in June before failing his medical.As a result, the Scottish Football Writers' young player of the year has been out of action since May following preventative knee surgery.
- SMSM Claims: In 2011, senior Rangers/Celtic figures planned to quit Scottish football and apply to join the English league – with secret emails exchanged between Celtic and Rangers. A confidential document setting out the strategy has been revealed as the clubs eyed the chance to make a splash south of the Border.
- Monty Python’s Terry Jones has died. Legend of entertainment industry. RIP
Review
CU on Twitter: 3 decent penalty claims in two games. Ntcham booked while Power has a player stretchered off. Two terrible refereeing performances in the past two games. Shouldn't be like this.
TCW on Twittter: Power can **** off with his fake apology/explanation. His one role tonight was to take players out.
Neil Lennon: “Leigh was taking some serious abuse and didn’t react in a malicious way at all. He’s not the perpetrator – the abuse was totally uncalled for.”
JM on Twitter: Kris Boyd hammerin is joke. 34 appearances in 135 league games because he stepped away from the game due to mental health issues. NOT because he wasn’t pulling his weight in training. How are players meant to be more open about issues ?
CLMAO on Twitter: Well Leigh Griffiths has played 71 (not 34) out of 135 league games, and he had 7 months out with mental health issues. He’s scored 42 goals in that time. Not only is he a ***** pundit, he also can’t count.
(El Salto of KDS)
A great result against a bunch of fecking cluggers
The tackle on Frimpong that led to the lad being stretchered off was vindictive and calculated
Dicker, Power and Bruce were at it all night, persistent fouling, yet somehow Ntcham was the first name in the book
We should have scored six, but settle for three.
The crowd of just over 8,000 is a classic case of a home club cutting their nose off to spite their face, it would have been 3,000 more if they hadn't decided to make the other stand unavailable to Celtic
You just wonder how long they'll continue with with the current set up, although I'd suspect that it won't be too long, money is king.
(MLE of KDS)
When we play with confidence and a coherent plan we win. Both strikers had excellent games (Griff had a better game than he's played for a long time and Eddy doesn't have an equal on the ball), our midfield 3 were compact and, mostly, well disciplined in the press and our defence were solid for 99% of that. Ntcham needs to be on the pitch every game right now for me.
They are hammer throwing cretins taking advantage of a referee who couldn't keep up with play and was reluctant to do anything about fouls when he did happen to be in a good position. Their pitch would make for a better game of Subbuteo than football.
We need to maintain this level of performance which probably means a bit of rotation because the likes of Brown and McGregor will not be able to keep this up over the fixture list we've got this month within that shape. Bring on Soro.
Teams
Kilmarnock
- 24Koprivec
- 2O'Donnell
- 4Bruce· Substituted forDel Fabroat 76'minutes
- · 17Findlay
- · 14Hämäläinen
- · 6Power
- · 8DickerBooked at 60mins
- · 29Burke
- · 15El Makrini· Substituted forBrophyat 63'minutes
- · 11BunnSubstituted forKiltieat 78'minutes
- 27Kabamba
Substitutes
- 5Johnson
- 9Brophy
- 10Kiltie
- 12Branescu
- 20Wilson
- 25St. Clair
- 26Del Fabro
Goals
· Kabamba (66' minutes)
Celtic
- 67Forster
- 5Simunovic
- 2Jullien
- 35Ajer
- 30Frimpong· Substituted for Bauer at 88'minutesBooked at 90mins
- · 21NtchamBooked at 57mins
- · 8Brown
- · 42McGregor
- · 15Hayes
- · 22Edouard· Substituted for Bayoat 90+6'minutes
- · 9Griffiths Substituted for Johnston at 80'minutes
Substitutes
- 1Gordon
- 3Taylor
- 10Bayo
- 11Klimala
- 13Bauer
- 14Arzani
- 19Johnston
Goals
- Edouard (25' minutes),
- Griffiths (51' minutes),
- Jullien (73' minutes)
Referee:
Don Robertson
Attendance:
8,307
Articles
- Match Report (see end of page below)
Pictures
Forum
MOTM
- Voting Thread
- Result Thread
- Winner –
Stats
KilmarnockAway TeamCeltic
Possession
Home43%
Away57%
Shots
Home6
Away17
Shots on Target
Home3
Away6
Corners
Home4
Away8
Fouls
Home13
Away12
Articles
Kilmarnock 1 – 3 Celtic: Griffiths strikes again as Celtic stay top
https://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/celtic/kilmarnock-1-3-celtic-griffiths-strikes-again-as-celtic-stay-top-1-5079369Stephen Halliday
Email
Published: 21:09
Updated: 21:52 Wednesday 22 January 2020
Leigh Griffiths continued his encouraging return to scoring form for Celtic to ensure they hit the ground running as they recommenced their quest for nine-in-a-row.
The striker’s second goal in as many games would have been as heartening for watching Scotland manager Steve Clarke as it was for Celtic boss Neil Lennon as his team maintained their two point lead over Rangers at the top of the Premiership.
Griffiths put Celtic 2-0 in front after Odsonne Edouard’s 18th goal of the season set them on their way. They were worthy winners, albeit they had to respond to Nicke Kabamba pulling a goal back for Kilmarnock midway through the second half.
Celtic’s reaction was emphatic, Christopher Jullien’s goal ensuring they claimed all three points and condemned Killie to a sixth straight league defeat.
If Celtic could have hand-picked a fixture to resume their title defence after the winter break, this one would not have been at the top of their list.
Having lost two of their previous three league visits to Rugby Park, there was clearly the potential for a difficult night for the eight-in-a-row champions.
But Lennon could have no complaints about the eagerness and energy his players brought to the task from the opening moments as they looked to provide the necessary response to that Old Firm defeat at the end of December.
Celtic should have been in front as early as the fourth minute when Griffiths, starting a second consecutive match for the first time in 15 months, raced clear into the penalty area.
The striker did the hard bit by eluding a challenge from Kilmarnock defender Stuart Findlay but then slipped at the crucial moment as a simple shooting chance escaped him.
Celtic’s bright start continued when Jan Koprivec was forced into a magnificent save, Killie’s Slovenian ‘keeper throwing himself to his right to keep out Jozo Simunovic’s header from a Griffiths corner.
The hosts were riding their luck and were certainly fortunate in the 10th minute when Koprivec was not penalised for a clumsy challenge on Griffiths inside the box. The ball broke to Edouard who, with the goal gaping, slid his shot wide.
It was a howler from the normally deadly French striker but he would go on to make amends. But not before Kilmarnock posed their first threat of the evening when Chris Burke’s corner caused confusion in the Celtic defence and Kabamba came agonisingly close to bundling the ball home from close range.
Celtic were soon back on the front foot and passed up another glaring chance when Callum McGregor shot wide of Koprivec’s left hand post after superb hold-up play from Edouard created the opening.
Celtic are closing in on their second signing of the window. Picture: SNS
Celtic near completion of second January signing Ismaila Soro
The breakthrough looked inevitable and it duly arrived in the 25th minute. Jeremie Frimpong was the architect, the young wing-back bursting beyond Killie left-back Niko Hamalainen down Celtic’s right flank.
His low cross was deflected into the feet of Edouard who displayed great strength and poise to shrug off Alan Power’s challenge and drive a close range shot beyond Koprivec.
Celtic appeared fairly comfortable with their lead for the rest of the first half, without seriously threatening to add to it. There was one moment of concern for the visitors five minutes before the break when Hamalainen made a fine surge down the left before delivering a dangerous cross which neither Mohamed El Makrini or Burke could connect with in the six yard box with Fraser Forster flat-footed.
The Celtic ‘keeper was yet to be seriously tested but he was relieved to see Kabamba’s shot deflected just wide of his right hand post two minutes into the second half as Killie looked to respond.
But their hopes of a recovery were dented when Celtic doubled their lead in the 51st minute. Frimpong again caused problems for the home defence with a burst down the right, feeding the ball to McGregor who shuttled it on to Griffiths on the left of the penalty area.
Killie’s appeals for an offside decision fell on deaf ears as Griffiths close range shot beat Koprivec rather cheaply from the ‘keeper’s perspective at his near post.
Edouard twice came close to further extending Celtic’s advantage, seeing one shot bravely blocked by Alex Bruce and another saved by Koprivec, as Lennon’s men looked to be in cruise control.
But they were jolted in the 66th minute when Kilmarnock pulled a goal back, substitute Eamonn Brophy setting up a chance for Alan Power whose shot was smartly headed beyond Forster by Kabamba.
An anxious finale now beckoned for Celtic but they eased the concerns of the travelling support when their two-goal lead was restored seven minutes later. Griffiths added to his satisfying night’s work with an assist, his corner from the left thundered beyond Koprivec by Jullien’s towering header.
The only sour notes for Celtic came in stoppage time with injuries to Frimpong, who was taken off on a stretcher after lengthy treatment, and top scorer Edouard who limped away in some discomfort.
Celtic boss vows to back Leigh Griffiths if SFA take action over Rugby Park incident
Stephen Halliday
Email
Published: 22:53
Updated: 23:01 Wednesday 22 January 2020
Celtic manager Neil Lennon has vowed to vigorously defend Leigh Griffiths against any potential disciplinary charge after the striker was involved in heated scenes at Rugby Park.
Griffiths scored his second goal in as many appearances as the Scottish champions beat Kilmarnock 3-1 win to maintain their two point lead over Rangers at the top of the Premiership.
Neil Lennon with Leigh Griffiths after the striker was substituted. Picture: SNS
Neil Lennon with Leigh Griffiths after the striker was substituted. Picture: SNS
When the 29-year-old was substituted 10 minutes from time, he responded to what Lennon described as ‘unsavoury abuse’ from among the home support by throwing his sock tape in their direction.
But Lennon insists Griffiths has no case to answer amid speculation he could face a notice of complaint from the Scottish FA compliance officer.
“If there is going to be something made of this, then I will be at the front of the queue backing him up,” said Lennon.
“He was getting a lot of unsavoury abuse which was totally uncalled for. He was backed up by myself and his team-mates on the bench.
“I thought his behaviour tonight was exemplary. He didn’t do anything wrong. People can blow it up but it was nothing.
“He always seems to get controversy surrounding him but I’ll back him to the hilt on this one. His behaviour tonight was top class, as was his performance.
The kid had played well, he hadn’t got himself into any bother on the pitch. He goes and sits down and gets abuse from supporters. In this day and age, we have to accept that and behave in a sanitised way. He did.
“You’re looking for a story that’s just not there. If there is a story, I’ll back him and defend him to the hilt.
"He didn't (throw it at a supporter). He threw a bit of tape on the ground. I don't know how you can say he threw it at somebody or towards somebody. People take off tape and throw it away, so to me there is nothing in it.”
Lennon, who is hopeful right-back Jeremie Frimpong has not sustained a serious injury despite being taken off on a stretcher in stoppage time, was thrilled by his team’s dominant display in their first league game after the winter break.
“It was an outstanding performance,” he added. “It’s a difficult place to come, sometimes the surface can be difficult, but we made easy weather of it tonight.
Hibs winger Martin Boyle, right, in action against Hamilton Accies. Picture: SNS
Jack Ross issues hands-off warning as Celtic scout Hibs star Martin Boyle
“We had three outstanding goals but more importantly the performance was top class. The players’ attitude was top class. I’m absolutely delighted in the context of the season, that’s as good as we’ve played in a while.”
BBC
By Thomas Duncan
BBC Scotland
From the section Scottish Premiership
Highlights – Kilmarnock 1-3 Celtic
Odsonne Edouard and Leigh Griffiths both scored as Celtic maintained a two-point lead at the top of the Scottish Premiership with victory at Kilmarnock.
Edouard superbly slotted home his 14th league goal of the season before the break as strike partner Griffiths added his second in two games.
Despite Celtic's dominance, Kilmarnock threatened to come back after Nicke Kabamba's clever header.
But Christopher Jullien restored the two-goal lead just seven minutes later.
Celtic still lead rivals Rangers by two points, having played a game more than the Ibrox side as the Premiership resumed following a three-week winter break.
The only negative for Celtic was the loss of Jeremie Frimpong to injury in stoppage time as the right-back was carried off on a stretcher.
Griffiths 'the victim' in fan incident
Reaction & as it happened
Edouard-Griffiths partnership menaces for Celtic
Neil Lennon's decision to emerge from the winter hibernation with a new system was perhaps induced by the slight downturn in control and intensity in Celtic's performances – if not results – throughout December, which ended with a painful defeat by rivals Rangers.
A 3-5-2 was a formation he used with great success at Hibernian, and when your options up front include the league's current top goalscorer and the top flight's most prolific forward of the last decade, then it's perhaps no surprise the Celtic manager sought to get both on the pitch at the same time.
Despite the assumption that modern strikers prefer to fly solo, Edouard and Griffiths both put in superb performances at Rugby Park that hinted this could be a long-term option and not just a means to compensate for the loss of the prolific Ryan Christie from midfield through suspension.
For the opening goal, Edouard had no right to control Frimpong's cross on the turn given the deflection that would have deceived most, but he stopped it dead. Then, in another cruel flash of his feet, he left Alan Power flat on his back before calmly finishing across goal.
It capped a good opening 24 minutes for Celtic in which Edouard shone – a rare poor finish aside – as he generally caused a nuisance whenever he touched the ball.
There were other opportunities, too, Callum McGregor firing just wide after Edouard had mesmerised four blue shirts to create space for him.
Not to be outdone, Griffiths doubled the lead after the break with a low finish after more good work from Frimpong allowed McGregor to poke the ball towards him in the box.
And the new strike partnership continued to shine, as first Griffiths deftly poked a ball through for Edouard, who was denied by Jan Koprivec, and then the Scotland striker's dummy for his partner allowed him to race clear to force another fine stop from the Kilmarnock goalkeeper.
But despite the pair's menace, Celtic's pile of missed chances – for seven minutes at least – threatened to topple them when Kabamba cleverly diverted Power's shot past Fraser Forster to narrow the lead to a single goal.
That was Kilmarnock's first league goal in six matches, and despite riding their luck they carried a threat in the second half that will give manager Alex Dyer hope, even if Jullien's towering header from Griffiths' pinpoint corner consigned them to a sixth straight league loss.
The injury to Frimpong, involved in the first two goals, clouded an otherwise bright evening in Ayrshire for Celtic, as any long-term absence would leave Moritz Bauer as the only fit first-team right-back given the continued absence of Hatem Abd Elhamed.
Griffiths too may have sullied an otherwise superb evening as he got involved with a Kilmarnock supporter when he was replaced by Mikey Johnston with 10 minutes left.
Killie stat
Man of the match – Callum McGregor
BBC Scotland's John Barnes at Rugby Park
McGregor was at the heart of many of Celtic's offensive moves, particularly in the first half. The Scotland midfielder was always keen to support and link with the two main strikers. On one occasion with neat close skills he shimmied his way through the Kilmarnock defence, but just couldn't find the finish to top off the move.
Full Time
Substitution
Booking
Substitution
Substitution
Substitution
Substitution
Goal!
Goal!
Substitution
Booking
Booking
Goal!
Second Half
Half Time
Goal!
Kick Off
His performance won't have gone unnoticed by the Scotland manager Steve Clarke, who was watching from the main stand, and neither will that of Griffiths. The striker not only scored his second goal in two games but showed his quality from set-pieces with his corner kick delivery for Jullien's goal.
'We could have won by more' – reaction
Kilmarnock manager Alex Dyer: "I thought we did well at times, but mistakes cost us the game. Overall, I'm quite pleased with the way we performed.
"Since we've come back after the break the boys have been good and it's showed so far in the way we've trained and played. Hopefully we can push on and pick up points against the teams around us."
Celtic manager Neil Lennon: "It was a great performance at a difficult venue. I thought we could have won the game by a lot more.
"[Edouard and Griffiths] played well together, I thought their link up play at times was very good."
Celtic boss Neil Lennon responds to Kris Boyd's 'unjust' Leigh Griffiths criticism
Griffiths aimed his goal celebration at TV pundit Boyd who has been critical of the front man.
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ByMichael Gannon Daily Record
06:00, 23 JAN 2020
Sport
(Image: SNS Group)
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Neil Lennon insists he’ll back Leigh Griffiths to the hilt after the Celtic striker was involved in a flare up with Killie fans.
The Hoops hitman pounced in the 3-1 win at Rugby Park to make it two goals in two games since coming back from the winter break.
But Griffiths was involved in a flare with supporters when he was substituted late on – and was clocked chucking tape in the direction of a punter after taking stick from the stands.
Lennon is adamant his front man shouldn’t have a case to answer after being on the end of a stream of abuse from the stands.
(Image: SNS Group)
The Celtic boss – who lost Jeremie Frimpong to injury late on – said: “He threw a bit of tape on the ground. I don’t know how you can say he threw it at somebody or towards somebody. People take off tape and throw it away so to me there is nothing in it.
“I asked him if anything went on and he said no and he was backed up by his team-mates. If there is going to be something made of this then I will be at the front of the queue backing him up.
“He was getting a lot of unsavoury abuse which was totally uncalled for.
“Leigh was taking some serious abuse and he didn’t react in a malicious way at all. He’s not the perpetrator – the abuse was totally uncalled for.
“I thought his behaviour was exemplary. He didn’t do anything wrong. People can blow it up but it was nothing.
Read More
Kris Boyd responds to Leigh Griffiths gesture as Celtic star is told to focus on himself
“He always seems to get controversy surrounding him but I’ll back him to the hilt on this one.
“I wouldn’t say it overstepped the mark but it was abuse which was uncalled for. The kid had played well, he hadn’t got himself into any bother on the pitch.
“He goes and sits down and gets abuse from supporters. In this day and age, we have to accept that and behave in a sanitised way. He did.
“You’re looking for a story that’s just not there.”
(Image: SNS Group)
Griffiths also aimed his goal celebration at TV pundit Kris Boyd who has been critical of the front man.
Lennon said: “I think a lot of players get unjustly criticised and a lot of managers get unjustly criticised. It is part of modern day football.
“Leigh has had a long time out and he has taken a bit of time to get back to where we want him to be and he still has a little time before he will get to where we want him to be but I was really pleased with what I saw of him in Dubai and tonight.”
Lennon backed his man and hailed his side for coming through a stiff test in Ayrshire. Odsonne Edouard and Griffiths fired Celts in front before Christopher Jullien added the killer third after Nicke Kabamba pulled one back for Killie.
He said: “Leigh is not the whole story here. Edouard was brilliant, Olivier Ntcham was brilliant and Scott Brown and Callum McGregor have been outstanding. Chris Jullien scored a marvellous header.
It was an outstanding performance. It’s a difficult place to come, sometimes the surface can be difficult, but we made easy weather of it tonight.
(Image: SNS Group)
“We had three outstanding goals but more importantly the performance was top class. The players’ attitude was top class. I’m absolutely delighted in the context of the season, that’s as good as we’ve played in a while.”
Frimpong was stretchered off after a late challenge by Alan Power but Lennon said: “We don’t think it’s a fracture. He’s up and about walking on it. We’ll have to wait and see the severity of the bruising on it.”
Killie boss Alex Dyer refused to be down beat despite his side sliding to six league defeats on the spin.
Read More
Celtic striker Leigh Griffiths sparks angry scenes as star appears to throw object towards Kilmarnock fans
He said: “We lost the game but we came up a very good side. We played some good football at times but you get punished when you make individual mistakes.
“It was good to see Kabamba scoring and nice to have two up front.
“The boys are working hard. It’s a bonus if you beat teams like Celtic or Rangers but we need to be winning against teams around us.” Celtic boss Neil Lennon responds to Kris Boyd's 'unjust' Leigh Griffiths criticism
Griffiths aimed his goal celebration at TV pundit Boyd who has been critical of the front man.
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ByMichael Gannon
06:00, 23 JAN 2020
Sport
(Image: SNS Group)
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