A header from Georgios Samaras after 29 minutes put Celtic one up against the surprise table toppers from Tel Aviv. Sammy met Aiden’s pinpoint cross perfectly and duly dispatched the ball past Hapoel’s Nigerian keeper.

Hapoel’s manager had made noises in the press about coming to Celtic Park to attack the Bhoys but in reality that never happened.

You just had a feeling that tonight Celtic were going to win this match no matter what.

And we had enough chances in the first half to make the game comfortable but once again failed to convert them, the most notable falling to Sammy who almost leisurely flicked the ball against the post.

But the Hoops weren’t to be denied.The game effectively over on sixty eight minutes.

After more chances went a begging Celtic were awarded a free-kick twenty five yards from goal. Luckily for the Bhoys Barry Robson waved Danny Fox away and took the kick himself.

Barry blasted the ball into the bottom corner to give Celtic a 2-0 lead and Tony Mowbray his first European win at Celtic Park.

As the game pettered out both Marc-Antoine Fortune and Skippy missed glorious chances to make the scoreline even more convincing.

Still, our aim of winning the three home games on the bounce is two-thirds there, now for the Sheep on Saturday!

A first half humping has been the order up at Pittodrie with Celtic converting three of their THIRTEEN chances!

Aiden McGeady opened the scoring after 28 mins with a tap-in following good work from Fortune, then followed up with his and Celtic’s second on 42 minutes, curling a shot into Langfield’s net.

But the Bhoys weren’t finished there. Skippy opened his SPL account a minute before the half-time whistle.

A mention must go to the form of Shaun Maloney. He’s ripping the Sheep apart!

HT: Aberdeen 0 Celtic 3

In the run up to Celtic’s opening SPL fixture of the season today, Scott McDonald hinted strongly about a dilemma facing new manager Tony Mowbray.

Just who does he start with upfront today?

Aberdeen can be a tricky place for us, as we found out last season so it’s vital that we start the new campaign with all three points.

And to do so we must get the striking options right.

So far Skippy has done enough to secure his place, but has new Bhoy Marc-Antoine Fortune? I don’t think he’s settled yet, of course he will have to soon, but dropping him to the bench won’t do his confidence any good.

Which brings us back to big Sammy. Georgios Samaras.

Starting games in the past haven’t always worked for the Greek fellow. To me he seems to be better coming off the bench and making an impact, as he proved in Moscow.

But it’s not up to us, it’s Tony’s call.

With less than an hour to kick-off at Pittodrie I think Mogga will go with Skippy and MAF. What do you think?

P.S. Chris Killen?

As the first Scottish side to grace the new Wembley, Celtic were determined not to let anyone down.

Wearing the new bumble bee Hoops, the Bhoys took the lead on 31 minutes thanks to clever work from born again midfielder Massimo Donati. The Italian coolly rounded the Egyptian goalie to put  Celtic one up.

Next on the score sheet was Scott McDonald, the little Aussie netting from the spot after being brought down by the keeper.

Half-time: Celtic 2 Al Ahly 0

The chances were now coming thick and fast so it was no surprise when Shaun Maloney cut inside from the left and slammed the ball into the bottom corner for Celtic’s third.

Number four was the best of the lot. From a similar position that Shaun scored, Skippy turned left then right and curled a beauty into the top corner for a great goal.

Then with just seven minutes left substitute Chris Killen kept up his good scoring form sweeping the ball home from eight yards to make it five-nil to the Bhoys.

So, a good exercise for Tony’s Tigers, with the added bonus of new bhoy Daniel Fox playing for the last fifteen minutes.

Well done Bhoys!

One of the reasons we ended last season losing the SPL title could be put down to the indiscipline of players within the camp.

Most notably The Holy Goalie and Aiden McGeady were the biggest culprits for a variety of on and off field discrepancies.

It’s good to see Tony Mowbray addressing the issue immediately because they may have got away with so much under WGS stewardship but a new man has new rules.

And while he’s at it, Mogga could do well to tell Skippy and Sammy to do there talking on the park and not in the papers.

As well as having a word with Stephen McManus.

If he’s to remain as captain of the club, then he better stop this idea that he’s got about playing when he’s not fully fit and letting the team, the manager and the fans down, like he did at Tynecastle and Pittodrie.

Or give the captaincy to Player of the Year Gary Caldwell.

There was a time last season, just about when Aiden and Wee Ghord were having their bust-up, that every ounce of movement in the Celtic camp was reported in the media.

It didn’t matter to them if the story was true, so long  as they had an inside track to some sort of scandal or disagreement.

Anyhow, eventually WGS got the group together to put a lid on it, and the rest of the season the squad put on a unified stance.

What did emerge from ‘molegate’ is this.

Time To Shut-Up Skippy!

Our wee Aussie mate Skippy hasn’t forgotten his Murderwell roots and has a knack of actively seeking publicity.

That’s OK when you play for a provincial club but when you move to Celtic, it’s time to shut-up.

So, it’s no surprise that I read today Skippy has been bleating away to the press once again on club and team matters.

This time he’s giving us a first hand account of a conversation he had with Naka. Considering Shunsuke has made little effort in his time here to learn English, that would have been quite an interesting chat!

The upshot of it all is Naka wants to return home. After being away from Japan for so long he’s homesick.

Who wouldn’t be?

As for Skippy, well the first thing Mogga or PTP should do is sit the Bhoy down and tell him to keep his mouth shut, or find another club.

I’m sure it was the weekend of St Paddy’s Day that I wrote of a ‘treble’ green omen. On that occasion it was Hibs beating Hertz, Ireland winning at the rugby and the most important, Celtic lifting the CIS Cup after skelping the Huns.

Now I know that Ireland won’t be playing rugby anytime soon, so a ‘treble’ is out the question, but the ‘double’ is a real possibility. Here’s why…

Aiden & Skippy Celebrate!

While at Celtic Park, Derek Riordan or ‘Deek’ as he’s known, didn’t really set the heather ablaze, but put him in a Hibs strip and let him loose on the wee Huns and he’s a different proposition.

And last night, he proved how valuable he can be for the Hibees, scoring the only goal of the game from the penalty spot. (Before he was attacked by a couple of maroon morons)

So, what’s that got to do with Celtic you may ask?

Well, some players seem to rise to the occasion in derby matches. And recently, our talisman has been Scott McDonald.

With the assistance of Craig Thomson and Tom Murphy, (tomorrow’s referee and linesman) like last season’s 3-2 victory at Celtic Park, the wee man might just prove to be our lucky charm.!

Ha…Ha…Ha…

News that our prolific striker Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink has aggravated his hamstring during Saturday’s draw in Embra, will leave boss Ghordon Strachan with Scott McDonald as his only fully fit striker for this weekend’s game against Aberdeen.

Skippy Celebrates!

Whether the Dutchman or Greek striker Georgios Samaras recover in time for the match remains to be seen. The latter is still nursing a knock he took against Falkirk last Wednesday.

And with Shaun Maloney not yet match fit, even though he made the bench at Swinecastle, the decision to loan out Cillian Sheridan to Murderwell will come into question again.

Injuries before the January transfer window left us with the young Irishman as Ghord’s only option to partnering Skippy. In fact the bhoy done so well, he would have been in contention for a starting place when Jan and Sammy returned.

So why let him go on loan, when there was the possibility of the same injuries happening again?

As the title run-in gathers pace, hopefully this decision won’t prove too costly…..

Motherwell 1 Celtic 1

With only nine minutes remaining, Celtic led 1-0 thanks to a Scott McDonald goal and were in control of the match.

Then a ball is played outside the box to Clarkson, facing his own goal. Glenn Loovens decides he needs to win the ball and commits an innocuous foul.

Mudderwell take a short free-kick to a player standing in an offside position. Well he was offside to everyone but the linesman, who allowed play to carry on. The crossed ball bobbled about until Quinn shot into the bottom corner for an equaliser.

Unlucky?

Yes, but that only tells half the story.

Celtic wasted chance after chance before Skippy ”sclaffed’ a shot over Smith in the ‘well goal to give us a lead with half an hour to go.

Skippy and Jan were the main culprits. (The latter heading over from eight yards out.)   In keeping with last week’s debacle, Skippy misses on three minutes when it was easier to score.

If he puts it away, we’ve a different game altogether. (Like last week) But he didn’t and tonight we’re sitting behind the Huns in second place, and it all boils down to taking chances.

Celtic did play somwe good stuff on a disgrace of a pitch, we just didn’t finish the job.

Footnote:

Not to put a fine point on it but the referee, Iain Brines had another howler. Same old, same old there then.

So often in recent weeks we’ve failed in the Sunday match after SS took points the previous day. Until today we’ve had a few points cushion to keep us in front.

Not now.

Lying is second place is not where we want to be, so today the players who have failed over the last six weeks must stand up and be counted.

Early season form has now been forgotten.

It’s a new start for everyone.In fact we might find a ‘new’ face or two coming into the squad to ‘freshen’ things up, Paddy McCourt springs to mind.

So get your heads down, keep a clean sheet and get back to the top of the league, where the Champions belong!

P.S. Skippy, stop moaning, concentrate and show the Faithful that you’re not a one season wonder.