ICT 1-1 Celtic

Celtic increased their lead to four points at the top of the SPL despite only managing a draw at Inverness. On a wet and windy afternoon, Celtic came from behind to get a point but their performance on the day was largely dissapointing. ICT have now taken points from every team in the SPL including taking points from Ibrox and Tynecastle so this result should not be taken out of context.

Inverness had he perfect start as they caught the Celtic defence napping by snatching the lead after only 31 seconds. Player manager Craig Brewster flicked on Ross Tokely's long throw and Craig Dargo was allowed to swivel and fire the ball in off the far post, giving Boruc absolutley no chance. Dargo did not catch his shot cleanly but the player certainly wasn't complaining as he celebrated his seventh goal of the season.

Celtic did not look comfortable in defence and were fortunate that Stephen McManus was only booked when he hauled down Dargo as the striker charged towards goal. Many referees would have considered McManus as the last man and by preventing a clear goal scoring opportunity, he would have been sent off. However, the history with Stuart Dougal from earlier this season perhaps came to his rescue on this occasion.

After a shaky start Celtic gradually found their rhythm and began to test the Inverness defence. Hartson saw his low shot well saved by Brown following a good move before Shaun Maloney missed a golden chance. Hartson played the ball into the path of his strike partner but the youngster miss-hit his shot from five yards, allowing Brown to make the block.

However the Celtic faithful didn't have long to wait before equilibruim was restored. Ross Wallace done brilliant on the wing as he skipped past an opponent before delivering a great cross for Hartson. The Welsh International superbly controlled the ball on his chest before finding the net on the half-volley. At this stage it was no more than Celtic deserved.

ICT then missed a glorious chance to re-take the lead after being awarded a penalty on the half hour when Dargo tumbled after a challenge from McManus. TV footage shown minimum contact and so Celtic were unfortunate to concede the spot-kick. However, if referee Stuart Dougal believed there was contact then it was inexplicable that he failed to produce a second yellow for the defender. Dougal bottled this decision and shows the official in a bad light but Celtic definately weren't complaining. Especially after Boruc continued his great record with penalties by saving Dargo's spot-kick. The Polish star guessed correctly and kept the score level going into half-time. Boruc now has a 50% success rate in saving penalties since joining Celtic in the Summer.

A pivotal moment in the game was when Petrov and Balde clashed heads towards the end of the half. The Bulgarian captain should have been removed from the field at this point but Strachan refused to change his side. Petrov looked sluggish and out of sorts for the rest of the encounter and this was a key factor in Celtic's drop in performance and ultimately, droping points.

The second half was a cagey and scrappy affair with few opportunities. The best chance of the half fell to Aiden McGeady who missed an absolute sitter by rushing his effort with the goal at his mercy. McGeady looked certain to score but a lack of composure was to the Irish internationals downfall. He can only hope he doesn't come to rue his miss come May.

The game came to life again with an explosive final fifteen minutes that led to both sides creating a couple of good chances to win the game.
Brewster's blistering free-kick was well saved by Boruc. The ball swerved wildly infront of Boruc but the keeper dealt with it well. Russell Duncan also missed a great chance for Inverness towards the end as he volleyed wildly over the bar from a great position. This was a major let off for the Hoops and could have proved costly.

For Celtic, Shunsuke Nakamura shot wide before Maloney and Petrov both saw cracking strikes beaten away by home keeper Brown as they pushed for a winner. But when the final whistle blew, few people inside the staduim could have argued that a draw was not a fair outcome. Celtic now lead Hearts by four points at the top of the league but have seen their lead over Rangers cut to fifteen points.


ICT: Brown, Tokely, Dods, Munro, Hastings, Wilson(Hart 90), Black, Duncan, McBain, Dargo(Wyness 88), Brewster.
Subs Not Used: Fraser, Golabek, McCaffrey, Fox, McAllister.


Celtic (4-4-2):

Boruc

Telfer Balde McManus Wallace

Nakamura Petrov Lennon McGeady(Sutton 72)

Hartson Maloney

Subs Not Used: Marshall, Du Wei, Virgo, Lawson, Thompson, Pearson.


Att:7,382


That's me back following illness and so i will continue writing reports from here on in. I hope you enjoy the report.