Hoops into the 6th Round of the Cup

The fragility of the Celtic backline was once again exposed at East End Park but Celtic fans can breathe a sigh of relief as their forward line was up to the task of firing them through. Yes, Dunfermline are lower league opposition but in the Cup, it is just about getting through and Celtic will be in the draw on Wednesday for the 6th round of the Active Nation Scottish Cup.

The opening period of the game was scrappy but controlled by Celtic and the hoops opened the scoring in twenty minutes. Georgios Samaras struck the bar and after the ball bobbled in the box a bit, Diomansy Kamara was on hand to fire home his first goal for Celtic.

It was a powerful shot from the Senegalese player but Celtic’s lead was to be short-lived.

Within a minute, Dunfermline broke down their right hand side with the Celtic backline all out of position and the cross was turned home by David Graham, who wasted no time in turning to the Celtic crowd and making the shushing motion.

Worse was to follow for those Celtic fans before the half hour mark when Dunfermline were awarded a penalty.

On first viewing, and without television evidence, it appeared that Paul Caddis put a slight shove in the back of the jumping Dunfermline player. On that basis, a penalty looked correct. However, these incidents happen every game and go unpunished.

Also, when you examine it in the context of penalties that Celtic have not been given this season, it is easy to see why some Celtic fans have it in for refs.

As said, if television evidence stated otherwise we’ll be happy to alter our stance but at the time, it looked like a weak penalty but a penalty nonetheless. Artur Boruc was yet again sent the wrong way with spot kick and Dunfermline held a shock 2-1 lead.

You got the feeling that the Pars needed to get to half-time with their lead intact but Morten Rasmussen grabbed his second Celtic goal on 43 minutes. The Danish striker may be giving Celtic the penalty box presence they require to turn chances into goals and the striker is becoming a firm favourite with the hoops fans.

2-2 at half-time and having the ability to bring on Robbie Keane is a boost for any team.

Keane’s movement is immense, this shone through even in the defeat at Kilmarnock and his 45 minute cameo here.

Whether his team-mates will be on his wavelength is a different matter and Celtic are still fine-tuning their forward play.

There was a piece of close control that saw a Dunfermline defender dumped on his backside due to Keane’s quick feet but the Irish striker should have cut the ball back as opposed to having his shot rifle against Dunfermline keeper’s Fleming legs.

Keane also fired a hard cross which Fleming parried out and Rasmussen was quickly on it but failed to lift it sufficiently and Fleming pulled off a strong save but the feeling that a goal was coming was getting stronger.

Celtic regained the lead just before the hour mark and although it will probably go down as a Callum Woods own goal, it owes a great deal to a tremendous cross form Kamara and the penalty box presence from Rasmussen. Much like the second Celtic goal, the mere presence of a poacher puts defences under pressure and Dunfermline had to bounce back once again.

They were unable to and it was Celtic who grabbed the clincher, and this time, it was all about Robbie Keane. The Irish striker was in the box and looking to shoot when he was taken out of play by Austin McCann.

The forward picked himself up, ran, paused and slotted the ball home to open his Celtic account and give the hoops a 4-2 lead. Robbie scored the goal and did a forward roll as the player maintained his customary goal celebration.

After this, the game fizzled out slightly and although the ball raged from one end to another, no real chances were created.

Both teams will probably walk relatively satisfied but knowing that there is a lot to work on. Next up for Celtic are Hearts at Celtic Park on Wednesday and they will need to be a lot tighter if they want to get their league campaign back on track.

Celtic fans, happy to see Robbie off the mark?

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