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Scottish Premierleague
Sunday April 16 2006
Celtic Park, Glasgow
CELTIC…1
(Zurawski 76)
HIBERNIAN…1
(Fletcher 35)
CELTIC finally got their hands on the 2005/06 Scottish Premierleague trophy after a day of fitting celebrations at Celtic Park.
The result in this league meeting with Hibs may not have been perfect, with Maciej Zurawski’s 76th minute goal earning the draw with the Edinburgh side, but nothing could take the shine from a day in which comedian and lifelong Celtic supporter, Billy Connolly, presented the trophy to captain Neil Lennon and manager Gordon Strachan.
After difficult beginnings this was the day that the Celtic manager had dreamed of and as he saluted the fans he paid tribute to them for their support throughout the campaign and also to the club staff and players who had backed them.
With the title already sealed with the recent victory over Hearts, the match was almost secondary to the celebrations.
But with last weekend’s sparkling show against Kilmarnock fresh in the mind, it was no surprise that Celtic got off to a quick start, with the fit-again Maciej Zurawski twice breaking through in the opening five minutes to cause problems in the Hibs defence.
His second run allowed the Polish striker to lift over a cross from the left which was tantalisingly close for John Hartson and then in 14 minutes, the Welshman this time succeeded in testing Zbigniew Malkowski with a low drive.
Throughout this opening 15 minute period Celtic were in control of the game, maintaining possession and Roy Keane and Stan Petrov were breaking up the little possession that Hibs did enjoy.
Yet despite this possession the Celtic team and supporters are well aware of the threat that this young Hibs side pose, particularly on the counter attack and one breakaway, which saw Derek Riordan stab a chip narrowly past the post, served as a timely reminder in 18 minutes.
In the immediate wake of this chance Celtic tightened up and returned to their gameplan, but without creating too many clear-cut openings and then suddenly and on the counter, Hibs took the lead.
From a Celtic perspective this was a poor goal to lose at home, sparked from a simple chip over the back four from Stephen Glass which caused complete confusion in the defence.
Stan Varga was well beaten by the initial ball and as the Celtic players watched it drop, both Artur Boruc and Paul Telfer stood rooted to the spot.
The Pole perhaps should have been the first to react, with the ball at least four yards inside his area, but he instead looked to Telfer and while they dallied, Steven Fletcher sprinted through unchallenged to power a low shot into the bottom corner.
In the immediate wake of this 35th minute strike, John Hartson could have levelled after Gary Caldwell failed to deal with a Zurawski cross, but the Hibs’ captain’s defensive partner, Chris Hogg, sprinted in to spare his blushes.
The half eventually petered out with neither side succeeding in creating any clear-cut chances and it was perhaps with this in mind that Gordon Strachan made one change at half-time, bringing on Shaun Maloney for Stilian Petrov.
The Bulgarian midfielder had seemed to tire in the latter stages of the first half and the substitution almost reaped instant rewards when his replacement stabbed a shot inches wide of target.
Maloney certainly brought some flair and urgency to Celtic’s midfield play and Shunsuke Nakamura, who had moved to the right of the midfield, followed this shot with a chip into the box which was close to being turned over the line and then John Hartson broke through on goal, only to be denied by Malkowski.
The Polish goalkeeper was in fine form throughout this match and the one ball into the box that he did miss, from a 58th minute Nakamura corner, was almost nodded in at the back post by Hartson.
The chances kept coming for Celtic and Mark Wilson was next to break into the box at pace after getting beyond Steven Whittaker.
The full-back, who was outstanding throughout the game, then cut his pass in to the feet of Nakamura who, despite being tightly marked, turned and forced Malkowski to parry at his near post.
Then, after this sustained pressure, Celtic finally levelled through Zurawski in the 76th minute.
The Pole’s looping header at the back post was perfectly executed, leaving his compatriot Malkowski with no chance from seven yards, but in truth, this goal was all about Paul Telfer’s looping cross from the right, which fell perfectly for the striker and seemed to hang in the air as it bypassed the Hibs defence.
This strike gave Celtic fresh impetus, but they could well have been behind again within less than a minute, after substitute Abdessalam Benjelloun was left in space inside the box.
The striker sent a weak header straight at Boruc and in the remaining minutes Dion Dublin hammered in a shot from the edge of the box that was well saved by the keeper.
More chances followed for Celtic, including one for Zurawski, who again brought out the best in Malkowski with a header and another that he did convert, only to see the linesman raise his flag for offside.
Victory may have been denied from Celtic in this meeting with Hibs, but over the course of the campaign they have proved themselves to be worthy winners and Scottish champions.
And to a man, the crowd rose to hail them for their efforts.
