Celtic 2 Saints 0 League Table Here
Team ::
Main,McQuillan,Preston,Attila,Griffin,McCluskey,O'Halloran,ONeil,Grant,Dasovic,Jenk
Subs :: Scott,Georgio,Kane
Match report courtesy of Gary at
The unbeaten away record held so proudly by Saints in the first quarter of this season was finally lost on a disappointing afternoon in Glasgow. There was little Saints could do to stop Wim Jansen's on form Celtic side from snatching all 3 points to go top of the table; to make things worse, The Forces of Evil are now undefeated ever since they knocked Saints out of the Coca-Cola Cup back in August.
It's results like this that make you wonder whether Saints will ever get a lucky break over the Old Firm again. Recent matches between Paul Sturrock's team and either half of the 'big two' have proven that even when we completely outplay them, things just don't go our way. Of course, those circumstances didn't apply on this occasion. In the cup match, Perth fans were able to come away from the ground saying that Saints were the better team, who were beaten by severely dodgy refereeing rather than a particularly brilliant opposition. This time though, there can be no excuses; quite simply, Saints were beaten by the better side.
Had the match carried on in the way it did in the opening stages, such a gloomy outcome might not have been the case. Saints pressed forward and earned four corners in the first ten minutes or so, but were unable to get that all important opening goal. Then, in the fourteenth minute, Attila Sekerlioglu fired a header towards goal, only to see it brilliantly tipped over by Jonathon Gould. The big Austrian managed to get onto the end of the resultant corner, but could only fire his effort his effort past the post.
Missed chances can be expensive when facing a team like Celtic, and this was to prove no exception. Once the home team got control of the game, they never really gave it away again, and it was just after the half hour mark that Saints found themselves in the difficult situation of having to chase the game. A mistake from Nick Dasovic, who was starting his first match of the season, gave possession away to the ever-dangerous Henrik Larsson, and the Swedish hitman nipped between Dasovic and Alan Main to strike home with his left foot.
As if being down 1-0 isn't bad enough, there was only a three minute wait until Saints were effectively killed off. For the second week in a row John McQuillan turned from Saint to sinner, this time bringing down Stephane "the one with the hair" Mahe inside the box for a penalty, which Simon Donnelly stepped up to score from. Saints have given away four penalties in the last five matches, a statistic which would worry any manager, even though only one of them has actually resulted in a goal.
The second half saw Celtic create the better chances, but they were unable to extend their lead. The biggest cheer of the afternoon, however, came when news came through that Dundee United were beating Rangers. It would appear that many Celtic fans don't care how their own team are doing, as long as Rangers are getting beat. They are, after all, "the best supporters in the world".
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