| Match Pictures | Matches: 2008 – 2009 | 2008-2009 Pictures |
_Trivia
- After a long-dry spell, both Jan Venogoor and Samaras finally score goals!
- Celtic gain advantage in the goals difference (Rangers win 1-0 on 5th April), we are 3pts and +1 goals ahead.
- Turmoil in Scotland in the past week as Rangers players Barry Ferguson and goalkeeper McGregor are caught doing the V sign to the fans & journalists. They are banned from Scotland games selection, and Rangers fine them and put them on the transfer list, most likely to be able to get the money for them.
- The official attendance figure is bogus, there were swathes of empty seats at this game which was a shame.
- 7 of the Hamilton players were under 21!
Review
Did well today I thought, nothing spectacular but more than enough to see of a very poor Hamilton side.Having said that their big number 17(can`t think of his name) caused us a few problems throughout the day. The one half chance they did get Boruc dealt with very well.
There seems to be a new attitude in Samaras the last few weeks, basically ever since the cup final the can`t really be bothered has been replaced with something resembling the pre injury Sammy. He played well today, took both his goals well, played a great ball through that Aiden should have scored with and had one good solo run in the second.
Speaking of solo runs Broony nearly had a goal of the season contender had he been able to carry on a bit further.
Delighted for big Jan although most of the credit should go to Hinkel-who played well today- for his run and his cross which the big man couldn`t miss.
The way the team embraced him after his goal says to me that this is a squad very much together and playing for each other.
So yep, no major complaints, decent performance, some good goals, a clean sheet and 6 clear at the top.
More of the same on wednesday please Celtic.
(Joethebaker of KStreet)
Top marks for the side, good result. In truth, we should have scored far more and some of the shooting was woeful.
Teams
Celtic:
(4-4-2)
Boruc.
Hinkel, Caldwell, McManus, O’Dea.
Nakamura (Mizuno 70), Scott Brown, Crosas, McGeady (McCourt 79).
Samaras, McDonald (Vennegoor of Hesselink 71).
Subs Not Used:- Fox, Wilson, Loovens, Ferry.
Goals:- Samaras 5, McGeady 22, Samaras 66, Vennegoor of Hesselink 83.
Hamilton:-
Murdoch, Gibson, McLaughlin, Canning, Easton, Neil, McCarthy, McArthur, Evans (McClenahan 75), Mills (Asamoah 67), Thomas.
Subs Not Used:- Potter, Deuchar, Swailes, Lyle, Quinn.
Booked: McArthur
Att:- 58,961
Ref:- B Winter
Articles
Celtic manager Gordon Strachan: “Hamilton have had two weeks to prepare for this and we got our guys back this morning. “We really stepped it up today and where we got the drive from I just don’t know. That was a better display than the 7-0 win over St Mirren here earlier this season.
“Aiden and Crosas were good and the centre halves did exactly what we expected of them. So, it was good all round.”
Hamilton manager Billy Reid: “Celtic are top of the table and have scored four goals. But the first goal was a bit of a catastrophe for us.
“No complaints; we’ve played a young side here and fielded seven players under the age of 21.
“Six of the players who started came through our academy. So today was a bit of an education for them.”
Pictures
KStreet
Stats
CELTIC v HAMILTON
Possession
| 68% | 32% |
Shots on target
| 11 | 3 |
Shots off target
| 8 | 5 |
Corners
| 5 | 4 |
Fouls
| 9 | 12 |
Samaras’s net gains; Phil Gordon sees the Celtic strikeforce come back refreshed from the international break
06 April 2009
Provided by: The Times
Celtic 4
Samaras 5, 66, Mcgeady 22, Vennegoor of Hesselink 83
Hamilton Academicals 0
Referee B Winter. Attendance 58,961
International breaks can often disrupt a team’s momentum but Celtic appear to thrive on it. Gordon Strachan’s players were scattered to every corner of the world last week, yet they returned to Glasgow with zest and, in the case of one Greek, bearing gifts.
Georgios Samaras left a fortnight ago shorn of confidence and without a goal in three months. The striker stepped back on to native soil, in Samaras’s case his hometown of Heraklion on Crete, and netted the winner for Greece against Israel from the penalty spot.
Perhaps Samaras dipped his toe in some ancient, magical water on the island because it is hard to find anything else to explain his rejuvenation.
The man who could not hit a barn door took just five minutes to find the net against Hamilton Academical and another in the second provided Samaras with his first goals since his double against Dundee United on January 3.
The former Manchester City striker was so overwhelmed by his good fortune that he rushed to the Celtic dugout after his first goal to share a celebration with Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink, whose goal drought was even more severe. The Dutchman had not scored for more than six months, which is why he is currently on the bench, and also explains why Vennegoor of Hesselink was not called up by Holland for last week’s World Cup squad.
Whether Samaras allowed Vennegoor of Hesselink to touch his golden boot, rabbit’s foot or just uttered “good luck” in Greek, it worked. The hoodoo was broken.
Vennegoor of Hesselink finally got the rub of the green, as he came off the bench and contributed Celtic’s fourth goal, his first since scoring against Aberdeen in September. The celebrations that followed underlined what real team bonding is all about.
Vennegoor of Hesselink was mobbed by his colleagues, as they genuinely shared in his relief at finally scoring.
No matter how much Strachan has praised the Dutchman for his other attributes in attack, it is goals that provide a striker with true self-respect.
Ironically, Vennegoor of Hesselink was one of the few members of Strachan’s squad who did not set foot outside of Glasgow. Ten of the starting line-up were on duty for the their countries last week — only Marc Crosas has yet to receive a full cap from Spain — and when they arrived in dribs and drabs at Celtic’s Lennoxtown training complex on Friday, Strachan must have thought he was chairing some sort of breakaway G20 movement.
Scott McDonald arrived back so late from Sydney, where Australia had defeated Uzbekistan, that he missed training altogether. “Scott only came back to us on Saturday morning, so we had to explain to him the shape we were using because he’d missed the team-talk,” the Celtic manager said. “To have players all round the world and deliver a performance that was top class, from start to finish, was a good day’s work.”
Aiden McGeady, who shone for Ireland last weekend against Bulgaria but was forced to sit out the midweek draw with Italy because of an ankle injury, was perhaps the pick of Strachan’s players, inscribing a sublime finish for Celtic’s second goal. The contributions of Shunsuke Nakamura, who had been Japan’s matchwinner last weekend, and Andreas Hinkel — a week in Michael Ballack’s company encouraged the Germany right-back to set up two goals for the champions — were equally compelling.
“We had a lot of lads who went away and had good games for their countries and that really helped us,”
Darren O’Dea, who was called up to the Ireland squad, said. “Jan was one of the lads who had to stay here and go through their paces. Hopefully, he and Georgios can go on now and score goals. They have certainly not been criticised by us.”
It would have been hard to believe that confidence was a fragile commodity for Samaras, as he deftly clipped his finish over Sean Murdoch, the goalkeeper, for his first finish. Nakamura’s stunning reverse-pass opened up Hamilton for the second goal, which McGeady threaded past Murdoch in the 22nd minute.
Samaras provided an angled finish for his second in the 71st minute and then Vennegoor of Hesselink pounced from every striker’s favourite distance — one yard — after Hinkel’s solo run.
Hamilton sent out the youngest team in their history. Seven of Billy Reid’s side were under the age of 21, and teenagers Grant Evans and Stuart Mills enjoyed their first starts.
“Our club is all about bringing young players through,” the Hamilton manager said. “I thought they acquitted themselves well. I am not going to worry about this defeat. We know we are one of the five clubs in the relegation fight but I am convinced that things will not take shape until after the Premier League splits.”
Mills showed plenty of ambition on the left side of midfield. The 18-yearold was not told by Reid that he would be playing until just before kick-off. “I’ve only been training with the first team for a few days and I thought I was just coming here for experience, not to play,” he said. “I was nervous but I had James Mc- Arthur and James McCarthy telling me that I was good player.”
4- 4- 2 A Boruc 6 A Hinkel 8 G Caldwell 7 S McManus 7 D O’Dea 7 S Nakamura 8 S Brown 6 M Crosas 7 A McGeady 9 G Samaras 8 S McDonald 7 Substitutes K Mizuno 5 (for Nakamura, 70min), J Vennegoor 6 (for McDonald, 71),P McCourt (for McGeady, 79). Not used S Fox, M Wilson, G Loovens, S Ferry. Celtic ratings 3-6-1 S Murdoch 7 M Canning 4 A Neil 5 M McLaughlin 5 G Evans 4 S Mills 6 J McArthur 0 5 B Easton 5 J McCarthy 5 J Gibson 7 J Thomas 7 Substitutes D Asamoah 3 (for Mills, 67min), T McLenahan (for Evans, 75). Not used B Potter, K Deuchar, C Swailes, D Lyle, R Quinn. Hamilton ratings
(c) 2009 Times Newspapers Limited. All rights reserved
The Times