Post by Admin on Apr 21, 2011 8:34:48 GMT
Kilmarnock 0 v Celtic 4
CELTICÂ played their hearts out for Neil Lennon last night and set themselves up perfectly for Sunday's Old Firm showdown.
Goals from Kris Commons, Gary Hooper and Anthony Stokes replicated Rangers' result at Tannadice on Tuesday - but it was all done without penalties and red cards.
This was the systematic dismantling of a Kilmarnock side that conceded a goal early and were still chasing shadows at the end. The winners showboated and the losers capsized.
After Ibrox Celtic could be back at the top of the SPL and that was all Lennon could have wanted out of the night.
A look of deep satisfaction was etched on his face at a ground where big things had previously been expected by Celtic and none were delivered.
Rugby Park was the scene of Robbie Keane's debut for the side last season and intended inspiration turned to disaster in the form of a defeat that came like a hammer blow.
Since it happened on Tony Mowbray's watch, that had nothing to do with Lennon but this one was all about him.
There was the unmistakable whiff of determination among the players that whatever distress Lennon was suffering at the hands of the misguided, they would produce a professional display to gladden any manager's heart.
And there was nothing his opposite number could do about that.
Kilmarnock caretaker Kenny Shiels found himself in an ironic situation at kick-off. Earlier this week he hit out at criticism of Lennon, insisting his only crime was passion for his club.
But last night Shiels' job was to make the life of his fellow-Irishman even more difficult, if that was possible, by winning the match and lengthening the odds against Celtic winning the title.
Even Sunday's Old Firm referee, Craig Thomson, was interested enough in seeing what happened to be among the crowd when the game started.
The match official didn't have long to wait to find that Celtic's response to their manager's troubles was going to be as supportive as they could make it.
Commons put them in front in only four minutes with an accurate finish after Hooper had played him in on the edge of the penalty area.
Celtic scrapped for everything with an obvious determination to rid their minds of uncertainty as quickly as possible and Commons' willingness to shoot at the first sight of goal was equally evident.
The pitch is supposed to be a player's sanctuary and, whatever the effects of the disturbing build-up to the match for Lennon's men, they were eager to express themselves in the area where they felt safest.
Beram Kayal fought for every ball with a tigerish quality in the middle of the park and set a variety of attacks in motion before Charlie Mulgrew almost scored a second.
The central defender, partnered by the returning Daniel Majstorovic, almost repeated his trick from Sunday's Scottish Cup semi against Aberdeen.
A free-kick from distance went through players from both sides until Killie keeper Anssi Jaakkola grabbed it at the last second as it was about to go in at his right-hand post.
The failure to add a second encouraged Kilmarnock to think an equaliser might be a more likely turn of events and Kayal had to take a booking for the team when he hauled David da Silva back as he burst from midfield.
But Fraser Forster still hadn't had a save of note to make half an hour into the game. And that became an even more damaging statistic when Hooper and Commons combined to double the lead.
Ten minutes before the interval the pair cut a swathe through Kilmarnock's defence and Commons' angular strike was a testimony to clinical finishing.
The two players had been brought to Celtic by Lennon's astute eye for a player and when the mind was free to focus on a game of football instead of its sometimes distressing side-effects that was a point worth bearing in mind.
Hooper, who'd had one of those days at Hampden on Sunday, had one of those nights at Rugby Park where he could do no wrong.
He put Celtic three in front after 41 minutes with a drilled delivery that defied intervention.
Two assists and a scoring strike could only have been summed up as a worthy night's work for Hooper and his team-mates swarmed around Kilmarnock's goal as if their appetite hadn't yet been satisfied.
When Celtic were three ahead of Hibs two weeks ago their foot came off the gas in the second half and their opponents were the only side to score after the break.
This time, Celtic had three chances to score in the first two minutes of the second half.
Stokes had the ball taken off his toe almost on the line before the bar denied Commons a hat-trick and the Irishman then had a header saved by Jaakkola.
Even Kilmarnock dangerman Alexei Eremenko had to take a back seat as Celtic peppered his team's goal.
There was no sign of any inclination to drop tempo and conserve energy for what's to come on Sunday.
The only thing that came was a fourth goal after 57 minutes. Mulgrew's well struck pass found Hooper 60 yards up the park and he slipped it to Stokes to crack a shot high into the net and maintain his one-goal lead over the Englishman in the scoring charts.
It was clearly a night to put the needs of the team above individual concerns unless the task was to make the day end in a brighter fashion than it had started for their manager.
images.mirror.co.uk/upl/dailyrecord3/apr2011/1/6/kris-commons-image-2-71761189.jpg[/img]
CELTICÂ played their hearts out for Neil Lennon last night and set themselves up perfectly for Sunday's Old Firm showdown.
Goals from Kris Commons, Gary Hooper and Anthony Stokes replicated Rangers' result at Tannadice on Tuesday - but it was all done without penalties and red cards.
This was the systematic dismantling of a Kilmarnock side that conceded a goal early and were still chasing shadows at the end. The winners showboated and the losers capsized.
After Ibrox Celtic could be back at the top of the SPL and that was all Lennon could have wanted out of the night.
A look of deep satisfaction was etched on his face at a ground where big things had previously been expected by Celtic and none were delivered.
Rugby Park was the scene of Robbie Keane's debut for the side last season and intended inspiration turned to disaster in the form of a defeat that came like a hammer blow.
Since it happened on Tony Mowbray's watch, that had nothing to do with Lennon but this one was all about him.
There was the unmistakable whiff of determination among the players that whatever distress Lennon was suffering at the hands of the misguided, they would produce a professional display to gladden any manager's heart.
And there was nothing his opposite number could do about that.
Kilmarnock caretaker Kenny Shiels found himself in an ironic situation at kick-off. Earlier this week he hit out at criticism of Lennon, insisting his only crime was passion for his club.
But last night Shiels' job was to make the life of his fellow-Irishman even more difficult, if that was possible, by winning the match and lengthening the odds against Celtic winning the title.
Even Sunday's Old Firm referee, Craig Thomson, was interested enough in seeing what happened to be among the crowd when the game started.
The match official didn't have long to wait to find that Celtic's response to their manager's troubles was going to be as supportive as they could make it.
Commons put them in front in only four minutes with an accurate finish after Hooper had played him in on the edge of the penalty area.
Celtic scrapped for everything with an obvious determination to rid their minds of uncertainty as quickly as possible and Commons' willingness to shoot at the first sight of goal was equally evident.
The pitch is supposed to be a player's sanctuary and, whatever the effects of the disturbing build-up to the match for Lennon's men, they were eager to express themselves in the area where they felt safest.
Beram Kayal fought for every ball with a tigerish quality in the middle of the park and set a variety of attacks in motion before Charlie Mulgrew almost scored a second.
The central defender, partnered by the returning Daniel Majstorovic, almost repeated his trick from Sunday's Scottish Cup semi against Aberdeen.
A free-kick from distance went through players from both sides until Killie keeper Anssi Jaakkola grabbed it at the last second as it was about to go in at his right-hand post.
The failure to add a second encouraged Kilmarnock to think an equaliser might be a more likely turn of events and Kayal had to take a booking for the team when he hauled David da Silva back as he burst from midfield.
But Fraser Forster still hadn't had a save of note to make half an hour into the game. And that became an even more damaging statistic when Hooper and Commons combined to double the lead.
Ten minutes before the interval the pair cut a swathe through Kilmarnock's defence and Commons' angular strike was a testimony to clinical finishing.
The two players had been brought to Celtic by Lennon's astute eye for a player and when the mind was free to focus on a game of football instead of its sometimes distressing side-effects that was a point worth bearing in mind.
Hooper, who'd had one of those days at Hampden on Sunday, had one of those nights at Rugby Park where he could do no wrong.
He put Celtic three in front after 41 minutes with a drilled delivery that defied intervention.
Two assists and a scoring strike could only have been summed up as a worthy night's work for Hooper and his team-mates swarmed around Kilmarnock's goal as if their appetite hadn't yet been satisfied.
When Celtic were three ahead of Hibs two weeks ago their foot came off the gas in the second half and their opponents were the only side to score after the break.
This time, Celtic had three chances to score in the first two minutes of the second half.
Stokes had the ball taken off his toe almost on the line before the bar denied Commons a hat-trick and the Irishman then had a header saved by Jaakkola.
Even Kilmarnock dangerman Alexei Eremenko had to take a back seat as Celtic peppered his team's goal.
There was no sign of any inclination to drop tempo and conserve energy for what's to come on Sunday.
The only thing that came was a fourth goal after 57 minutes. Mulgrew's well struck pass found Hooper 60 yards up the park and he slipped it to Stokes to crack a shot high into the net and maintain his one-goal lead over the Englishman in the scoring charts.
It was clearly a night to put the needs of the team above individual concerns unless the task was to make the day end in a brighter fashion than it had started for their manager.
images.mirror.co.uk/upl/dailyrecord3/apr2011/1/6/kris-commons-image-2-71761189.jpg[/img]