Routine victory for Celtic over Pars

by Tony Cuddihy , 22 February 2012

Charlie Mulgrew and James Forrest were on target as Celtic went 20 points clear at the top of the Scottish Premier League, beating Dunfermline 2-0 at Parkhead.


Were it not for the heroics of Dunfermline 'keeper Chris Smith, the margin of victory would have been far greater for Neil Lennon and company.

Ki and Anthony Stokes had early efforts for the Bhoys, while a Gary Hooper effort was blocked by Andy Dowie.

The goal that broke the deadlock was a stunning thing.

Mulgrew, who received his first Scotland call-up from Craig Levein last week, fired past Smith from all of 30 yards.

The Bhoys led at the break and continued their dominance afterwards.

Stokes had a great chance to make it 2-0 when Emilio Izaguirre's cross from wide on the left ended up at his feet eight yards out but with plenty of time and under no pressure, he slid the ball past the post.

Hooper then shot wide from ten yards as Celtic cursed their luck, while the Pars' stopper had to be at his best to deny Joe Ledley and Hooper in the same attack.

Finally, Dunfermline's resistance broke and they conceded a second goal.

Hooper's cross from the right-hand side found Forrest, on for Izaguirre, and he tapped the ball home.

Watch GAA games live on PPV
Pos
Team P W D L +/- PTS
1.
Man City
38
28
5
5
64
89
2.
Man Utd
38
28
5
5
56
89
3.
Arsenal
38
21
7
10
25
70
4.
Tottenham
38
20
9
9
25
69
5.
Newcastle
38
19
8
11
5
65
6.
Chelsea
38
18
10
10
19
64
7.
Everton
38
15
11
12
10
56
8.
Liverpool
38
14
10
14
7
52
9.
Fulham
38
14
10
14
-3
52
10.
West Brom
38
13
8
17
-7
47
11.
Swansea
38
12
11
15
-7
47
12.
Norwich
38
12
11
15
-14
47
13.
Sunderland
38
11
12
15
-1
45
14.
Stoke
38
11
12
15
-17
45
15.
Wigan
38
11
10
17
-20
43
16.
Aston Villa
38
7
17
14
-16
38
17.
QPR
38
10
7
21
-23
37
18.
Bolton
38
10
6
22
-31
36
19.
Blackburn
38
8
7
23
-30
31
20.
Wolverhampton
38
5
10
23
-43
25
Watch Online
Edit Web Part Contents