Dumfermline 0-4 Celtic

Celtic finally hit top form under Gordon Strachan as we cruised to an easy 4-0 victory at a wet and windy East End Park.

The massive travelling support didn't have to wait long for Maciej Zurawski to score his first goal for the club after only five minutes - a fine drive past keeper Bryn Halliwell after excellent work on the wing.

John Hartson scored his seventh goal of the season after taking full advantage of a poor Halliwell clearance following a tricky back pass from Thomson to double the lead as he fired into an empty from just outside the box after just ten minutes.

Celtic threatened to run riot by almost adding a third in the early stages. After more good work from Zurawski on the wing, Nakamura's effort was straight at the keeper. He got good purchase on the ball and if his shot was either side of the keeper it was a certain goal.

Artur Boruc then came to Celtic's rescue by pulling off a superb save low down to his left hand side from Mark Burchill's penalty (25) after a clumsy Adam Virgo foul.

Boruc preserved Celtic's lead going into half-time with a good save from a Darren Young effort. Boruc held on to it well on the greasy surface.

After superb play from Beattie on the left wing, Hartson should have doubled his score tally shortly after half time but Halliwell saved well from close range.

As the game progressed Maciej Zurawski's confidence was growing and after a fantastic piece of skill on the wing that Ronaldinho would have been proud of he expertly picked out Shunsuke Nakamura (58) for his first Celtic goal. The Japanese star calmly tapped the ball into the corner of the net to kill off any hopes that Dumfermline may have had of taking anything from the game.

Maciej Zurawski capped off a brilliant individual display by scoring again with a neat finish from 12 yards (74) after Thomson failed to deal with a Hartson head flick to give Celtic a comfortable win.

There were a few scary moments at the back, with Boruc making himself big to save a Tarachulski effort after a slip from McManus during the second half but the result was never in doubt.


Dunfermline: (3-5-2/5-3-2)

Halliwell

Tod Scott Wilson Thomson(Horsted 77)

Ross Mason(Derek Young 20) Darren Young Makel Campbell

Tarachulski Burchill(Hunt 73).

Subs Not Used: Murdoch, Donnelly, Craig Wilson, Phinn.



Celtic: (4-4-2)

Boruc

Telfer Balde McManus Camara

Beattie Petrov Virgo(Lawson 59) Nakamura

Hartson Zurawski(McGeady 90)

Subs Not Used: Marshall, Pearson, Wallace, Varga, O'Dea.


Ref: K Clark- Had a good game although not alot to do. The Virgo foul for the penalty was a 'stonewaller'.