Match Report

Monday, 22nd December, 2008

by Stephen Halliday

Falkirk 0 Celtic 3: Mizuno helps Celtic shrug off McGeady feud

GORDON Strachan is not a man who feels the need to seek vindication, but it came his way in emphatic fashion yesterday as his reshaped Celtic team secured the victory which guarantees they will end 2008 as SPL leaders.

Playing without Aiden McGeady for the first time since he was banished from first-team training and fined two weeks' wages for his dressing-room row with the manager, Celtic arrived in Falkirk acutely aware that dropping any more points would give Rangers the opportunity to overhaul them at the top of the table at Ibrox next Saturday.

That scenario seldom appeared likely to unfold, however, even if Celtic had to wait until the fading moments of the match to fully emphasise their superiority over John Hughes' toothless side whose inability to translate neat football into an attacking threat sees them mired among a group of four clubs now level on points at the foot of the table.

The match began to the backdrop of some pro-McGeady chants from among the Celtic support, although those lauding the suspended winger were not in the majority. By full-time, it was Koki Mizuno's name being sung lustily and en masse by those savouring the restoration of a four-point lead in the title race. There was more than just McGeady's anticipated absence for the visiting fans to digest in any case. Celtic captain Stephen McManus was unable to play after picking up a knee injury in training, forcing Strachan to deploy an untried central defensive partnership of Glenn Loovens and Darren O'Dea.

Gary Caldwell, wearing the skipper's armband, joined Scott Brown in central midfield where a virus had ruled out Paul Hartley. They were flanked by the Japanese international duo of Shunsuke Nakamura and Mizuno, the latter making his first starting appearance for Celtic as he replaced the errant McGeady. It proved a deeply gratifying selection decision for Strachan as the 23-year-old sealed an impressive personal display with a goal.

There were a couple of flashes of promise from Mizuno in the early moments, although he was soon submerged in the general mediocrity caused in no small part by the powerful wind sweeping across the exposed Falkirk Stadium.

Without being placed under severe pressure, Robert Olejnik was the busier goalkeeper in a first half when the profligacy of the Celtic strikers was as significant as the Austrian's defiance in preventing the champions taking the lead.

Scott McDonald and Georgios Samaras were equally culpable as they passed up several excellent opportunities. The little Australian directed his first chance, a header from Nakamura's precisely flighted free-kick, straight at Olejnik. At least on that occasion he found the target. McDonald's subsequent attempts saw him wastefully send a near-post header and then a shot from a similar position wide after excellent play from right-back Andreas Hinkel had set up both chances.

Samaras, who sliced a shot from the edge of the penalty area wide of Olejnik's right-hand post after a good lay-off from McDonald, squandered the clearest opportunity of the half just before the interval. The Greek striker was left one-on-one with Olejnik after a neat exchange of passes with McDonald, whose all-round play was excellent, only to tamely prod his shot straight at the 'keeper.

It was not quite one-way traffic, however, with Falkirk twice coming close to breaching the unfamiliar Celtic defence before the break. Scott Arfield's perceptive through ball allowed Steve Lovell to remain onside and take the ball wide of Artur Boruc, his low shot from a tight angle appearing set to creep just inside the big Pole's right-hand post until O'Dea slid in to clear the ball off the line.

The final action of the first half saw Boruc keep his side level when he made an instinctive close-range save to keep out Neil McCann's shot, although the veteran former Scotland winger would feel he should have made more of the opportunity.

It proved a costly miss for the home side as Celtic went in front three minutes after the restart. Olejnik's poor touch as he tried to clear the ball forced him to concede a throw-in to which his defence were slow to react. Hinkel found McDonald on the right edge of the penalty area and his cross picked out Samaras who simply could not miss with a close-range header.

It was as comfortable as a 1-0 lead can possibly be, with Falkirk's fecklessness in the attacking third of the pitch ensuring there was little to trouble Boruc. Yet after Samaras had headed a Mizuno cross over from close range and McDonald had drilled a shot straight at Olejnik following more fine work from the Japanese winger, Falkirk almost stunned Celtic with what would have been the most unlikely of equalisers.

Mark Stewart, who had just appeared as a substitute for Arnau Riera, whose removal was the source of great displeasure among the Falkirk fans, drove in a shot from 20 yards which struck Boruc's left-hand post and rebounded to safety. If a bout of uncertainty had suddenly crept into Celtic's play, however, it was swept away when they plundered two goals on the counter attack in the closing moments to make the final scoreline a more accurate reflection.

Nakamura created them both with piercing through balls, the first setting his young compatriot Mizuno clear to mark his big day with a coolly taken right-foot finish, marred only by a booking for leaving the pitch to celebrate with the Celtic fans. Deep into stoppage time, McDonald avoided claims for offside to race onto Nakamura's pass and drive a low shot beyond Olejnik and into the net.

MAN OF THE MATCH: Koki Mizuno (Celtic)

While his more experienced and celebrated countryman Shunsuke Nakamura managed better than most to overcome the testing conditions, it would be churlish not to recognise the young winger for making such a positive impact on his full debut for Celtic. Technically gifted, blessed with decent pace and an excellent crosser of the ball, Mizuno seized his opportunity well.

Champions sweat over injured McManus ahead of Old Firm clash

CELTIC captain Stephen McManus will undergo a scan today on a knee injury which threatens his prospects of leading his club into the potentially pivotal Old Firm showdown at Ibrox on Saturday.

McManus missed Celtic's 3-0 defeat of Falkirk yesterday, which re-opened a four point gap over Rangers at the top of the SPL for the reigning champions, after sustaining the injury in training on Friday.

The Scotland defender had been rated 50-50 to play at Falkirk but was ruled out on the morning of the game, along with Paul Hartley who was sent home suffering from a virus.

While Gordon Strachan's squad emphasised its strength in depth in comfortably defeating Falkirk, the Celtic manager will be keen to see his captain back at the heart of his defence against Rangers.

"I don't know how serious the injury is or how long Stephen will be out," said Strachan. "He'll have the scan in the morning and then we will find out."

Strachan was full of praise for his players in coping with the latest additions to what has been a lengthy injury list this season.

"To deal with what they have had to deal with, they have done exceptionally well to stay top of the league," he added. "In my three and a half years as manager, that is the best performance we have had at Falkirk in terms of making chances and moving as a unit."

Koki Mizuno, the 23-year-old Japanese international winger who joined the club from JEF United in January, was under the spotlight as he made his first full first-team appearance as a replacement for Aiden McGeady.

Strachan, who refused to confirm or deny a report that McGeady had apologised to him for the breach of discipline which incurred a fine and suspension, hailed the positive impact of Mizuno who sealed his performance with a goal.

"I think the internet has got that wrong again," said Strachan when asked about McGeady. "We'll keep that in-house.

"Koki gave us good width today, a change of pace and good crosses. He has got phenomenal stamina. He has had to wait a long time, because we have had people doing well in the wide positions. He also needed to get used to the culture and climate in Scotland. He wasn't like Shunsuke Nakamura, who was in Italy first before he came here, so he needed that extra time.

"I don't think anyone was looking forward to the game today because of the conditions, but both sides mastered them reasonably well to put on a good show."

Falkirk manager John Hughes, who has now seen his team take just one point from their last five games, says being drawn into what now looks like a four-way relegation battle at the foot of the SPL is no more than he expected.

"I hear people talking about us going for the top six," he said, "but that's not going to happen with the budget we have unless we have a lucky season. Our remit is always going to be to keep this club in the SPL. Hopefully I've got characters in that dressing room who are up for the fight.

"We took the game to Celtic in the first half today and with a bit more luck might have gone in front. But the first goal we lost at the start of the second half killed us. It was a soft goal to lose. Credit to Celtic, though, they were without a lot of players but came here and dug it out well."