MATCH REPORT: CELTIC 0 DUNDEE U 0

PRE-MATCH COMMENT. Was pleased to find that Samaras was being given a start and that Sno had held on to his place

BORUC ….…….6 Had nothing to do.

HINKEL.... ….. 7 It was a game made for him, in that he could concentrate on his attacking strengths. He showed some lovely control when on the ball and some of his attacking runs were very impressive.

CALDWELL….. 7 Was not intimidated by De Vries and won most of the aerial challenges.

McMANUS…. …7 Rock steady.

NAYLOR…….….8 MOM Had his best game this season and prevented O’Brien from making any impact on his return to C.P. He tackled well but more importantly he passed well.

McGEADY …. …..5 Entering a sticky patch. He had the beating of the full back, who was playing his first game, but allowed him to regain his confidence and as a result McGeady became anxious and wasted quite a few good opportunities.

SNO ……………….5 He didn’t play badly but neither did he seize the opportunity of stamping his mark on mid-field.

BROWN ………….5 For all his effort he produces very few incisive moves/passes. Why does he insist on hitting his passes with so much power?

NAKA…….. …….. 5 Some nice touches but, if he is not going to become involved in the physical aspect, he will have to influence games more by using his natural ability to greater effect.

McDONALD.. ….. 4 The real weakness in the team. His composure in front of goal has started to desert him and his ineffectiveness in his link play is proving costly.

SAMARAS ……… 5 Although his chances were few and far between I was surprised that GS decided to sub him instead of McDonald.

SUBS
JVOH………………4 What a miss he had when he was given the ideal opportunity to power a header into the net, instead he ballooned it over the bar!

ROBSON…………. 5 Replaced Sno but I had hoped for more of an impact against his old club.



REF…………. (McCurry)6 Of course there were a few instances where he infuriated the crowd by either ignoring or allowing things to happen but he was not to blame for us dropping the points.

THE GAME ……7 I like the way Levein sets out his teams. He goes for a big back four who are well disciplined, a skillful midfield and a big striker. Celtic must have had 70% possession but just could not break down the defence.

GOALS ……….


COMMENTS ….. 1. A big blow to our title hopes but we only have ourselves to blame.

2. I believe our midfield is the greatest weakness. I got home in time to watch Lampard score 4 goals and I wondered why we have not got a midfielder who can get into the box, show some composure and put the ball in the net. The best display I've seen this season was when Brown and Hartley dominated Aberdeen.
3. The difference in attitude and real support between the home support and the away support is disturbing. The away ‘support’ whilst the home has too many vocal critics.