Sunday, January 27, 2008

McDonald On Target As Hoops Grind Out Win


Clydesdale Bank Premier League
Sunday, January 27, 2008

Falkirk Stadium, Falkirk


FALKIRK…0

CELTIC…1
(McDonald 45)

FALKIRK (4-5-1) Olejnik; Ross, Barr, Scobbie, Holden (Milne 37); Arfield, Riera, Cregg, McBride (Latapy 81); Moutinho; Barrett (Finnigan 86)
Subs not used: Barclay, Aafjes, Bradley, Stewart

CELTIC (4-4-2) Boruc; Hartley (Caddis 75), Caldwell, McManus, Naylor; Nakamura (Sno 68), Brown, Donati, McGeady; McDonald (Killen 90), Vennegoor of Hesselink
Subs not used: M.Brown, Riordan, Pressley, Zurawski

Celtic ground out a precious 1-0 win against Falkirk to close the gap at the top of the table and stay in the hunt for a third successive SPL title.

Sitting seven points behind leaders Rangers before the match, the Hoops knew that a victory was vital to maintain their championship challenge and they delivered. Scott McDonald, with his 19th goal of the season, gave Celtic a narrow win.

It wasn’t a classic match by any means, but at this stage of the season all that matters is that Celtic picked up three points. The Hoops also recorded a fifth successive clean sheet, which equals the club’s best run since October 1999.

Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink was able to take his place in the Celtic starting line-up after recovering from a head injury suffered against Kilmarnock last week. However, Andreas Hinkel missed out, with Paul Hartley filling in at right-back.

With a heavily-sanded surface and a strong wind blowing, the conditions were far from ideal but both sides started the match in a committed fashion, with players flying into tackles all over the pitch.


(Article)

It wasn't pretty, but three points is three points!

HAIL! HAIL!

TomC

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