SPL Thread

[Grounded Wingman]

That was the worst Old Firm match I have seen in a while. Celtic were average at best, Rangers were dreadful.

[Evafreak]

Dunfermline 1-8 Celtic

Leishman hurt by thrashing

Strachan hails terrific display

Maciej Zurawski grabbed four goals as Celtic recorded the biggest victory in the history of the SPL.

Stilian Petrov tapped in the first, John Hartson got the second from close range and Zurawski drilled in a third and side-footed a fourth.

He poked in his third just after the break before a superb Shaun Maloney volley made it 6-1.

Neil Lennon drove in a rare goal from the edge of the box before a Zurawski strike completed the scoring.

Celtic made the best possible start when Petrov put them ahead in the third minute.

He lost his marker with a near-post run and had the simplest of tasks to tap the ball into the net from Mark Wilson's cross.

Petrov was denied a penalty shortly afterwards when Scott Wilson appeared to foul him in the box, but referee Dougie McDonald waved play on and Hartson chipped the ball just over the bar.

Moments later Dunfermline were level after a mistake by Artur Boruc, who had been at the centre of pre-match controversy having reportedly criticised some of his team-mates.

The keeper misjudged the flight of a corner and when Andy Campbell put the ball back into the middle, Tod powered a header into the unguarded net.

As fate would have it, one of the players supposedly criticised by Boruc - Hartson - regained the lead for Celtic when he reacted quickest after Bryn Halliwell had saved a Zurawski effort.

Neil Lennon is congratulated on his collector's item goal

Zurawski himself got on the scoresheet with a well-taken strike from the edge of the box, though Scott Wilson allowed the striker far too much space.

The Pole added a fourth five minutes before the break when he latched onto a long ball over the top to side-foot the ball past Halliwell.

Zurawski notched his hat-trick only 10 minutes into the second half, prodding the ball into the net after trademark hold-up work by Hartson.

Dunfermline finally started to threaten the Celtic goal midway through the second half, Mark Burchill going close with a free kick before Darren Young and Frederic Daquin tested Boruc.

But Celtic came to life again to produce the outstanding goal of the game, with Zurawski the provider on this occasion.

His cross found Maloney at the angle of the penalty area and he executed a perfect acrobatic volley to send the ball sailing past the beleaguered Halliwell.

An indication of how easy the game was for Celtic came when Lennon drove the ball into the bottom right-hand corner of Halliwell's net for his first goal in more than four years.

Zurawski completed the rout with his fourth goal with two minutes remaining as he outpaced Andy Tod before drilling the ball home.

[Turbo Yannis]

That's why I love Scottish football. The games are always so closely contested.

[Evafreak]

Yep I mean not like in England where ya know the leagues been over for a while or anything *yawns*

[Turbo Yannis]

I'm Scottish, I'm allowed to take the piss out of the SPL

[TheArsenal]

I'd hate to be a Hearts fan.....

[The Kraig]

Why? Hearts drew with Rangers. Still holding a 6 point lead. And they're getting a new manager into the bargain. Hopefully a real manager this time, and not just a head coach.

I seriously wouldn't be surprised if Romanov appointed himself manager. Or at least tried to.

[Grounded Wingman]

I remember they were mentioning big names for both the Head Coach's job and the Director of Football job (Nevio Scala, Philippe Troussier, Sir Bobby Robby, Ruud Gullit) and in the end they hired Rix as Head Coach and, eventually, Jim Duffy as Director of Football. Expect 2 more yes men nobodies to come in then.

Vladimir Romanov could give me the job on a decent wage, do everything himself and then sack me with a hefty payoff in a few months - I wouldn't mind letting him pick the team, transfers etc.

[TheArsenal]

Hearts fans don't seem to like Romanov too much, and did like George Burley. Rix never had a chance in my view, as it obvious that Romanov was in charge of the team.

I wouldn't wanna go there.

[Evafreak]

Considering how well Gretna have done to make it to the cup final whichever team they face will need to be careful not to underestimate them or we might have the most shocking cup final result since Hearts beat Rangers

[Grounded Wingman]

Considering how well Gretna have done to make it to the cup final whichever team they face will need to be careful not to underestimate them or we might have the most shocking cup final result since Hearts beat Rangers

[lanky316]

The good doctor in europe... a dream come true

[Evafreak]

Woohoo Championee's (Y)

all that remains is to see whether the worse half of glasgow will be in the champions league again

[The Kraig]

Woohoo Championee's (Y)

all that remains is to see whether the worse half of glasgow will be in the champions league again

[Grounded Wingman]

Woohoo Championee's (Y)

all that remains is to see whether the worse half of glasgow will be in the champions league again

Celtic already have a guaranteed Champions League spot, fool.

Don't Gretna go into Europe even if Hearts finish 3rd? Hearts would get a UEFA Cup place in 3rd, so wouldn't need the UEFA Cup place from winning the Scottish Cup (if they win the cup of course), and that would go to Gretna?

And even if not that, wouldn't they get an Intertoto Cup place? Someone explain it for me.

[zcotty2hottie]

I am a Hearts fan and have been for some time now, i think the team are doing extremly well, especially considering all the shit that Romanov has put them through. All the hiring, firing and running things his way is just sucky, i am making a prediction that in less than 5 years, Tynecastle will not exist but in its place will sit many rows of houses.

I saw the game against Celtic earlier in the week and Hearts where by far the better team, they where just very unlucky. Several times Boruc just touched the ball and no more. They had a goal ruled offside, yeah it was but still that sucked. Plus we didn't get a penalty which for a change should have been a penalty. The Celtic goal wasn't really the way to win the season for them because it was a poor looking shot and it was very lucky to go in. Hartson must have made a very sucky birthday wish.

As far as who is going to finish 2nd, i still think Hearts can take it all the way. Sure we where what 12 points ahead of Rangers at one point? I think thats right and Rangers came back, we did loose a bit of form and Rangers began to make a come back from what had been a dismall start to a season. However judging on the performance yesterday, i think Hearts still want it more than Rangers do. Granted that Motherwell really wanted the victory to be in the top 6. Dunfermline have had an embarrasing season i feel and a 4 goal thriller to give Hearts the win was sweet.

However with just a handful of games left to play, it will all come down to who is in better form. Hearts have still to play Kilmarnock, Hibs, Celtic, Aberdeen and Rangers this season. Let’s not forget Gretna in the Scottish cup but that’s outside of the league. I think the final day of the league when Rangers and Hearts will show the characteristics both teams.

[Grounded Wingman]

My brother is a Hearts fan, and I hope they make 2nd (not least because it'll be a change to see a non Glasgow based team flop in the Champion's League) because next year will be extra tough for Hearts, as all signs seem to point to Rangers making some big money available to Le Guen, and they have already been linked with some big names, and Celtic will strengthen too.

The biggest problem for Hearts is that they won't go for a strong manager, just another Romanov yes man.