1994-12-31: Celtic 2-0 Falkirk. Premier Division.

BYLINE:Ian Paul

THEY didn't do a lap of honour around Hampden. With due respect toFalkirk'shard-won current reputation, beating them at home is not quite the stuff of ritual dance, althoughCeltichad reached the point where victory over anybody was bound to induce some joy.The first league win since September, after a run of 12 games without a victory, entitles any side to a wee celebration but, times being the way they are,Celticare a long distance away from open-top bus parades.
They were not easy winners, even if the 2-0 scoreline suggests a comfortable afternoon. Until they scored the first goal midway in the second half, in fact, they looked a shade odds-on to be the victims. However, they have lost games they should have won often enough in the past and it would be churlish to grudge them the three points this time.

If there were few inspiring moments, no-one could deny the willingness, industry, and urgency in their play. As things stand, that combination may help them to regain some self-belief but looks unlikely to be enough to lift them to trophy territory.Manager Tommy Burns, none the less, was entitled to be a bit happier as the new year beckoned. If he had been leading his team into the Old Firm meeting with a 12-game winless run behind them, injecting any kind of confidence would have been difficult, if not impossible.
For all his awareness of the team's vulnerability — and Burns has not been shy about facing up to the realities — the manager has shown a bit of courage himself by throwing in the young players in the midst of what was to become the longest unsuccessful run of league matches in the club's history. He did not shirk the possibility of outraged criticism, either, when he decided to play with two wingers in the last two games, against Aberdeen andFalkirk.
He earned the reward for his daring with a draw at Pittodrie and a win yesterday. The two young wingers, Chris Hay and Brian McLaughlin, were by no means outstanding but they show enough ability to warrant an extended run.
The best showing of a young Celt this time was by Stuart Gray — son of former Leeds and Scotland star, Eddie — the midfield player who was hauled on to the field as a full back to replace injured Tosh McKinlay after only half an hour. Gray had a splendid game, slotting in comfortably to his defensive role but also using the ball intelligently when he did get forward.
Still, the top man for the Parkhead lot was someone who has been around the scene a while. He may be the centre of much controversy among someCelticfans, who seem to be either loudly for or bullishly against him, but Peter Grant can never be accused of dereliction of duty.
He led by example in the second half, tackling furiously in his own half one moment and racing forward the next.
0 it was his anticipation of what could develop that brought the opening goal. He ran something like 60 yards as a move on the left gathered momentum. Collins fed the ball back to Gray, whose pass to McLaughlin was accurate enough to leave the little winger with space and time to decide his next move.
It was decided for him, however, as by now Grant had completed his long journey and was ready to join the fun. McLaughlin duly obliged with a sweet pass and Grant hit it early to beat Billy Lamont.
The goal came just whenFalkirkseemed to have the upper hand and transformedCelticinto a team who suddenly wondered what all their uncertainty was about. Six minutes later Andy Walker, who had missed an easier chance in the first half, squeezed in the second goal and everything in theCelticgarden was fine.
"That was a game we should never have lost," saidFalkirkgaffer Jim Jefferies. He was right but, as Burns could tell him, it sometimes works that way.