Saturday February 25, 2012 Day 28 Finished Celtic Park

  1. Celtic go 23 points clear

    Celtic go 23 points clear

    Gary Hooper scored the only goal as Celtic went 23 points clear with a 1-0 SPL win against Motherwell at Celtic Park. More

  • Live Commentary

    Time:90'
    • Celtic
    • Motherwell
    • 92' FULL-TIME. Celtic now have a 23-point lead at the top of the SPL thanks for Gary Hooper's 20th goal of the season. It wasn't easy though, Motherwell made them work for the win. It's also Celtic's sixth clean sheet in a row.
    • 91' Samaras gets flagged offside but it looks as though he's in the Celtic half. Either way, it's a free-kick to Motherwell which comes to nothing.
    • 90' Celtic counter with Samaras and Stokes, but it's a rubbish pass and Randolph claims the loose ball.
    • 89' Thomas Rogne tackles Higdon and clears. The defender has been great today - very dominant.
    • 88' Kris Commons comes on for James Forrest. He's had a decent game today and looked lively.
    • 87' Motherwell have done well defensively today, but they've been disappointing up front. They haven't really ever challenged Forster in the Celtic goal.
    • 86' Celtic have a corner as Samaras plays a disguised pass to Stokes and Hammell puts it out of play.
    • 85' Samaras breaks from the half-way line and hits a shot high and wide.
    • 83' Daley pulls back Cha and gives away a free-kick.
    • 82' Omar Daley can't get his shot off and Cha takes possession and breaks forward.
    • 81' Tom Hateley's corner is cleared and Celtic break through Stokes and win a corner.
    • 80' With Daley and Humphrey on the pitch, Motherwell have some serious pace now. Can they find that equaliser though?
    • 80' Henrik Ojamaa is replaced by Omar Daley.
    • 79' Jennings runs free in the middle of the pitch and he hits a long range shot off target.
    • 78' Cha fires a great cross across the six yard box and neither Randolph nor Stokes can make a connection and it goes out of play. One touch from Stokes there and it would have been 2-0.
    • 77' Gary Hooper looks injured and trots off the pitch to be replaced by Cha Du-Ri.
    • 75' Ledley wins the ball in the middle of the park and plays in Stokes. The Irishman takes a touch and lays off Hooper who shoots wide.
    • 74' Forrest breaks on the right this time before he cuts in and fires in a shot which is saved very well by Randolph as it goes for a corner.
    • 72' Hooper and Stokes link-up well before Ki hits a first-time shot straight at Randolph.
    • 70' Ojamaa goes down in the penalty area but it's a blatant dive and the Estonian gets a much-deserved yellow card.
    • 69' Celtic seem happy to let Motherwell have the ball, the away side are pinging it around their own half and don't look overly threatening.
    • 68' Humphrey plays in Ojamaa who is penalised for a pull on Wilson's shirt.
    • 67' Motherwell are seeing plenty of the ball now but they're struggling to do anything with it.
    • 65' Can Humphrey's pace change Motherwell's fortunes? Well, straight after coming on he races down the left and crosses to Higdon who can't do anything with it.
    • 64' Chris Humphrey comes on for Jamie Murphy.
    • 63' Randolph saves very well from Hooper after Samaras' very unselfish pass. Corner to Celtic.
    • 62' Mulgrew takes the set piece but it's straight into Randolph's hands.
    • 61' Steven Hammell gets booked after the referee pulls play back. This is a good chance for Celtic now.
    • 60' All that hard work by Motherwell counts for nothing now, they switched off for a second and Gary Hooper makes them pay. That was Hooper's 20th goal of the season in all competitions.
    • 59' GOAL! Gary Hooper blasts a shot in at the far post to put Celtic 1-0 up. A long throw from Mulgrew is chested down by Samaras to Hooper who scores.
    • 58' Victor Wanyama comes off and Anthony Stokes is on to partner Hooper up front.
    • 57' Celtic keep the ball and build an attack with patience but Matthew's cross is easily cleared by Clancy.
    • 56' Hammell wins the ball for Motherwell and plays in Ojamaa whose cross is cleared by Rogne. Celtic haven't started this second-half nearly as well as they finished the first.
    • 55' Michael Higdon escapes a booking after a bad tackle as Celtic break with Mulgrew whose cross misses everyone.
    • 54' Lasley clatters into Samaras on the half-way line. There's no booking this time, but Celtic win a free-kick.
    • 52' Wilson with a clumsy tackle and Motherwell get a free-kick in the Celtic half. Lasley takes it short to Murphy but Celtic defend well and push the away side back.
    • 50' Celtic attack on the left through Forrest, but his cross is very poor and Randolph can catch it easily.
    • 49' Samaras drills a low shot at goal but it's just wide as he Clancy's last ditch tackle does just enough to put the big striker off.
    • 48' Charlie Mulgrew wins the ball in defence, he's been brilliant so far today. Strong in the tackle, quick to get forward and offering support on the flank.
    • 47' Gary Hooper tries to curl a shot into the top corner, but his effort goes high and wide. That's the first time we've seen Hooper try something like that today and he'll need to keep on trying if Celtic want to get the three points today.
    • 46' With Anthony Stokes, Pawel Brozek and Kris Commons on the bench for Celtic, you'd imagine Neil Lennon will make a change if the score stays like this for much longer.
    • 45' The second half kicks off as Celtic give the ball away and let Motherwell build from the back.
    • 45' Half-time at Celtic park and it's 0-0. Motherwell will be happy with their defensive display, but need to do a lot more going forward. As for Celtic, it looks like a matter of time before they find a way past Darren Randolph.
    • 45' Ki takes the free-kick again but goes direct this time, catching Randolh off-guard. The 'keeper does well and saves.
    • 44' James Forrest switches to the left and he races past Hateley whose tackle is late. A free-kick to Celtic and a yellow card for the defender.
    • 42' Samaras finds Hooper in the middle, but the referee pulls play back for an earlier foul. Ki takes the free-kick and whips a ball in to an unmarked Wilson who heads straight at Randolph. He really should have done better with that.
    • 40' Samaras tries to lay the ball off to Mulgrew but a lazy touch from the striker wastes the chance.
    • 39' Celtic attack down the left through Samaras but Jamie Murphy tackels well and clears towards Hateley.
    • 38' Ki Sung-Yeung whips in the free-kick, 25-yards out, but Lasley gets in the way and it goes out for a corner. Steven Hammell clears the resulting set-piece.
    • 37' Kelvin Wilson clears Nicky Law's cross and Celtic break again. Ki plays in Ledley who is fouled by Hutchinson as he races towards the byline. Yellow card for the Motherwell defender.
    • 35' Motherwell are finding themselves further and further up the pitch as Lasley looks to cross but a good tackle from Rogne stops any attack as Forster picks up the loose ball.
    • 33' A spot more pressure from Motherwell as Jennings shoots from distance. Ki gets a block in as Celtic counter. Charlie Mulgrew picks the ball up 25 yards out from the Motherwell goal and he smacks a shot way, way over the bar.
    • 32' Murphy gets fouled and Motherwell get a free-kick on the right-hand side. Tom Hately swings a cross in but there's too much on it as it misses everyone.
    • 30' Samaras is switching positions every few minutes, keeping the Motherwell defence on their toes, but also seemingly confusing his team-mates in the process.
    • 29' Henrik Ojamaa is proving to be a very lively player today, getting himself about and being a general nuisance.
    • 27' Adam Matthews with a great curling cross and Samaras's effort at the back post is blocked well from Hutchinson.
    • 26' Samaras loses possession and Shaun Hutchinson nips in and clears.
    • 24' Tim Clancy clears well from Mulgrew's pass. Very calmy, he heads the ball back to Randolph under pressure from Samaras.
    • 22' Stuart McCall will be happy so far, it's goalless after all. Motherwell need to stop giving the ball away and finding that killer final ball. Their build-up play has been neat, but that quality on the final pass is missing.
    • 20' Samaras races forward into space but is marked well by Lasley as he's forced to go back down the pitch.
    • 19' Nicky Law does well and clears Joe Ledley's dangerous-looking cross.
    • 17' Motherwell are hanging in well and working very hard to keep Celtic out. Goalkeeper Randolph looks very impressive so far.
    • 16' More pressure from Celtic as Mulgrew plays in Samaras whose shot is saved well by Randolph.
    • 15' Celtic with a great chance as Charlie Mulgrew comes within inches of putting them in fornt, heading just wide of the post.
    • 13' Celtic are being very patient in possession, looking very assured.
    • 11' Adam Matthews plays in James Forrest who crosses but Steven Hammell clears for a corner.
    • 10' Thomas Rogne and Michael Higdon battle it out and the big defender wins and clears the danger.
    • 8' Gary Hooper finds space and tries to play the ball across the face of goal to Samaras when he could have shot. Hateley clears for a throw-in. Celtic continue to press but Darren Randolph deals very well with Wanyama's cross.
    • 7' Motherwell are closing down very quickly today but Celtic are coping well, keeping possession and letting the ball do the work.
    • 6' Ojamaa with a chance, but he doesn't connect cleanly with it and Celtic manage to break away.
    • 5' Scott Brown could be a big miss for Celtic today. With Motherwell's five-man midfield, they could exploit his absence in the middle of the pitch.
    • 3' Ojamaa wins a free-kick which Hately takes short. Motherwell look to build a bit of pressure on Celtic and win a corner.
    • 2' Celtic are pushing Hooper and Samaras up front today, but the Greek likes to wander around so don't expect him to stay there.
    • 1' And we're off!
    • 14:59 We're about to get started at Celtic Park, can Celtic make it 17-games unbeaten?
    • 14:49 Celtic are on an tremendous 16-game unbeaten run and they've kept clean sheets in each of their last five games.
    • 14:47 Gary Hooper is the top-scorer in the SPL this season with 15 goals while Michael Higdon is Motherwell's sharp-shooter with 11.
    • 14:43 Motherwell boss Stuart McCall was of course a Rangers player once upon a time, so he's sure to get a lovely reception from the Celtic crowd. His side can leapfrog Rangers into second place with a win today, while Celtic can extend their lead to 23 points at the top of the SPL with three points.
    • 14:38 Meanwhile, Motherwell boss Stuart McCall isn't letting histeam's good form go to his head: "Going to Celtic is difficult anytime but the way they are playing, the size of their squad, it's naturally going to be a tough ask. But we're in a run of form and we'll have a look at how we approach the game and have a look at how
    • 14:37 Neil Lennon had this to say about Motherwell: "Motherwell are having an exceptional season. I watched them last week against Hearts at Fir Park and they played some good football and could have won the game by more. I think Stuart McCall has done a magnificent job there with the squad of players he has and it's credit to them. They are scoring goals and creating chances so it should be a good game."
    • 14:27 Motherwell meanwhiile, line up like this: Randolph, Hammell, Law, Hateley, Jennings, Higdon, Murphy, Lasley, Hutchinson, Clancy, Ojamaa. SUBS: Bradley, Craigan, Humphrey, Daley, Forbes, Page, Carswell
    • 14:26 Let's start off with some team news. Celtic are without Scott Brown after he picked up a groin injury against Dunfermline on Wednesday. Starting XI: Forster; Matthews, Rogne, K Wilson, Mulgrew; Forrest, Wanyama, Ki, Ledley; Samaras & Hooper. SUBS: Zaluska, Cha, Majstorovic, Commons, Stokes, Brozek & Izaguirre.
    • 14:22 Hello, and welcome to the live coverage of the SPL match between top-of-the-table Celtic and third-placed Motherwell.

  • Summary

    • 89' Thomas Rogne tackles Higdon and clears. The defender has been great today - very dominant.
    • 78' Cha fires a great cross across the six yard box and neither Randolph nor Stokes can make a connection and it goes out of play. One touch from Stokes there and it would have been 2-0.
    • 74' Forrest breaks on the right this time before he cuts in and fires in a shot which is saved very well by Randolph as it goes for a corner.
    • 59' GOAL! Gary Hooper blasts a shot in at the far post to put Celtic 1-0 up. A long throw from Mulgrew is chested down by Samaras to Hooper who scores.
    • 45' Ki takes the free-kick again but goes direct this time, catching Randolh off-guard. The 'keeper does well and saves.
    • 42' Samaras finds Hooper in the middle, but the referee pulls play back for an earlier foul. Ki takes the free-kick and whips a ball in to an unmarked Wilson who heads straight at Randolph. He really should have done better with that.
    • 27' Adam Matthews with a great curling cross and Samaras's effort at the back post is blocked well from Hutchinson.
    • 15' Celtic with a great chance as Charlie Mulgrew comes within inches of putting them in fornt, heading just wide of the post.

Team Line-up & Ratings

  • Line-up

    Live Team Line-Up

  • Rate Players

    Rate Players

    Please to rate the players.

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    • Player Y! Users Expert My Rating
      Goalkeeper
      7.6 6
      Defenders
      7.5 7
      7.6 8
      Yellow Card 7.6 7
      7.5 9
      Midfielders
      Substitution Out58′ 7.4 6
      6.9 7
      Substitution Out88′ 8.1 7
      7.9 7
      Strikers
      6.9 7
      Goal Substitution Out76′ 7.8 7
      Subs
      Substitution In88′ 9 -
      Substitution In58′ 7.9 -
      Substitution In76′ 6.7 -
    • Player Y! Users Expert My Rating
      Goalkeeper
      7.1 9
      Defenders
      6.6 6
      6.6 6
      Yellow Card 7 8
      Yellow Card 6.6 7
      Midfielders
      5.4 7
      Yellow Card 5.2 6
      5 7
      Strikers
      Substitution Out64′ 5 6
      6.2 7
      Yellow Card Substitution Out79′ 6.3 8
      Subs
      Substitution In79′ 3.8 -
      Substitution In64′ 4.3 -

Comment 79 - 98 of 98

Sort comments by: Most recent | Most rated

  1. Silly Mugoo - that was an obvious waste of money.
    LMFAO

    From Mark, on Tue 28 Feb 8:15

  2. Just won 490.77p on ma fitba coupon!
    Me and the boy­ have another one on! Awaiting a draw against ICT for­ 210 quid!

    From magoo.1888, on Sun 26 Feb 9:13

  3. The next Old Firm Derby!
    Things spring to mind..like! ­ 'Hampden in the sun' and the 'Demolition­ Derby'!
    OhhhhhHHH A canny wait!

    From magoo.1888, on Sun 26 Feb 8:42

  4. I didn't see or hear the game today! How did it­ go Hoopies?

    From magoo.1888, on Sun 26 Feb 6:28

  5. Oh Dear, 13 points in front! Will the MightY Glasgow­ Rangers make up the deficit the way the Mighty Glasgow­ Celtic did?
    I DON'T THINK SO!

    From magoo.1888, on Sun 26 Feb 6:25
  6. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    scottish fitba is now a one team joke league if rangers­ fold watch the revenue stop comin in and celtic have to­ start in the 1st qualifying round of the CL like the­ irish teams pmsl

    From kelly.mcmurray1, on Sun 26 Feb 6:20

  7. hey Capt.cumstain, its not as hollow as being in admin,­ being skint, not having a penny to your name, selling­ Arsenal shares, facing the HMRC, facing criminal­ charges, oh and being a hun.

    if our celeberations are­ hollow in your eyes then so be it

    From Andy, on Sun 26 Feb 5:25

  8. Celtic go 23 points clear

    sweet

    From crosstown rebel, on Sun 26 Feb 4:53

  9. The truth remains…..We are on top and in the two cups­­ and the Huns are not....you are in admin. and face a­­ multimillion tax debt and we do not........guess what,­­ bile and thumbs down do not change these facts....Once­­ again, we just need to ignore­ those who attempt to­­ wind us up. Their anger that­ should be directed to­­ their owners and directors is as­ misguided as their­­ hateful and stupid posts. Leave them­ to it and let­­ them wallow. We will celebrate and sing­ of our­­ success. Hail, Hail.

    From Jamie, on Sun 26 Feb 3:56
  10. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    well the blue bells will always be blue
    BEST FANS­ davy's aff oot with hs "NAE MATES"
    cheers­ RANGERS FOR EVER god bless all

    From davy lobo, on Sun 26 Feb 3:52
  11. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    scottish football is a laughing stock celtic would be­ better going back to ireland where they belong or so­ their support think they should be,they will never be­ welcome in the english leagues with their sectarian­ support so they can stay at home and gloat until their­ time comes and good riddance.

    From Tom, on Sun 26 Feb 2:13

  12. it's not the way you do it . it;s the way you play­ it ,1______nil, that will do all the way till end of­ ,full­ timeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee­ eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee .

    From dodgybuzz, on Sun 26 Feb 1:49
  13. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    please can some one explain why celtic has 74 points­ and rangers has only 51 points (as the table is­ showing). houldn't rangers have 61 points? please­ explain

    From turbinator, on Sun 26 Feb 1:18
  14. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    Despite all the gloating... this is a stupid pointless­ league; Celtic will need to go through 3 qualifying­ rounds for Champions League and will get stuffed by the­ likes of Sion... even if they did qualify it will be­ embarrassing in Europe. Again.

    Face it gloaters...­ hollow victory.

    From CaptCamshaft, on Sun 26 Feb 1:18
  15. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    Hollow, hollow victory to celtic,
    anywhere,­ everywhere,­ no one else will care,
    its a rubbish team,­ in a point-less­ league
    they will go to Hampden, but no­ one else is­ there

    From CaptCamshaft, on Sun 26 Feb 1:14

  16. gnome its ok now u dont need to thank celtic for saving­ rangers in the league from well, just remember to win­ ur game 2mora or our help today will have been for­ nothing :P

    From Ian, on Sun 26 Feb 1:01

  17. Best team in the league 1-0 Second best team in the­ league.

    From John, on Sun 26 Feb 0:57

  18. Thanks Tony! Hail, Hail!

    From Jamie, on Sun 26 Feb 0:57

  19. another clean sheet, another game undefeated, another 3­ points., another nail in the coffin of HMRC FC,another­ step to the treble

    enjoy your beers tonight fellow­ tims!!!

    From crosstown rebel, on Sun 26 Feb 0:55

  20. 74 PTS NOW LOL

    From scotland, on Sun 26 Feb 0:52
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