| Match Pictures | Matches: 1998 – 1999 | 1998-1999 Pictures |
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Trivia
- Darren Jackson (who was still on loan to Coventry) was linked to a £500k transfer to Chinese side Dalian Wanda
- Harald Brattbakk was linked to a move to AEK Athens at the end of the January transfer window. When Celtic asked for £1.8 million the transfer died.
- Celtic revealed that they had paid Croatia Zagreb £900k, the remainder of the £3.00million after paying Viduka £1.5million and his prior club Melbourne Knights (who were due a share of any future transfer fee from Croatia Zagreb) £600k. The club insisted that this was the correct and proper way to go about making the payments in light of the complicated transfer deal. Croatia Zagreb insisted that they were due the full £3.00million and appealed to FIFA, considering the £900k payment an insult.
- The injured players were starting to get back to fitness. Jackie McNamara and Craig Burley were close to returns. Wieghorst and Tommy Johnson were both back training as was Stewart Kerr. Annoni was out with a calf injury and Rieper would require make or break toe surgery. Mjallby in the mean time was playing through a thigh muscle injury but refused to take time off.
Review
A superb win where everything went right and the team went so far as to give Brattbakk chances to improve his confidence, despite being linked to moves away.
Teams
Celtic: Gould, Boyd , Mahe (Hannah 73), Stubbs , Larsson, Brattbakk, O'Donnell (Blinker 79), Lambert, Moravcik, Riseth (Donnelly 84), Mjallby.
Subs Not Used: Burchill, Corr.
Goals: Brattbakk 6, Moravcik 19, Larsson 31, Brattbakk 76, 78.
St Johnstone: Main, McQuillan, Kernaghan, Scott, O'Neil, Kane (Griffin 82), McMahon (Connolly 68), Bollan, O'Halloran, Dods, Simao.
Subs Not Used: Grant, Robertson, McAnespie.
Bookings: Mjallby, Moravcik, Lambert (Celtic) O'Neil, Kernaghan (St Johnstone)
Ref: J Rowbotham (Kirkcaldy).
Att: 60,092
Articles
- Match Report
Forgotten man Brattbakk fires back with hat trick
The Herald 01/02/1999
Ken Gallacher
CELTIC…5, ST JOHNSTONE….0
It may seem to the rest of Scottish football that Celtic are chasing a lost cause in their pursuit of this season's Premier League title as they remain 13 points behind Old Firm rivals Rangers even after this impressive demolition of St Johnstone.
However, do not suggest that to the Celtic players or to their supporters, who turned out last night to provide the team with their biggest attendance of the season even though last night's game was live on television.
More than 60,000 fans were there to see Harald Brattbakk end his goal famine with a hat trick, as he scored for the first time since October 28 when he was on target against FC Zurich.
This was the night when the Norwegian came good, when he helped himself to a hat trick and thrust his team to victory and to the three points they so desperately required in the wake of Rangers' victory at Pittodrie.
It was difficult to believe that the Perth team had beaten Celtic twice before this season, difficult to believe that they had even been able to match the Glasgow side in their previous meetings as they slumped to this five-goal defeat.
It was a night when Celtic paraded their credentials as the most likely challengers to Rangers for the championship. It was clear last night that they will not surrender easily the title they won last year.
If anyone doubts that they should ask St Johnstone the level of committment they had to attempt to handle last night. They were unable to match Celtic's power and the lethal ends to their sweeping attacks.
The rout began after only six minutes – and while Saints may have carved out chances of their own they were soon brushed away by a Celtic side whose concentration on victory was total.
When Brattbakk scored the opening goal, in six minutes, we should have realised that we were in for a treat. It was months since he last scored, weeks since he even looked as if he would get a goal, and there he was grabbing the goal that settled the team even though he looked as if he might have lost the opportunity for a moment. But he did score and he did send Celtic surging towards complete domination of the game.
In 17 minutes Lubomir Moravcik scored from twenty yards with a cleverly-struck kick and added still further to his popularity with the Parkhead support.
While St Johnstone still attempted to put their game together and were able to threaten the Celtic goal on a couple of occasions the game seemed to be over – and when Henrik Larsson added the third 15 minutes before half-time there was no doubt that it was all over.
This time Brattbakk saw a shot stopped by the foot of a desperate Alan Main and then Phil O'Donnell followed up with another try which the keeper blocked and then another which struck the crossbar. When that came back into play Brattbakk headed the ball across the face of goal and Larsson was there with another header to finish the move and send Celtic in with a three goal lead at the interval.
It was towards the end of the match that Celtic once more found their way to goal – and on each occasion in a two minute spell it was Brattbakk who scored to complete his hat trick. In 75 minutes he went through on a perfectly judged through ball from his front-line partner Larsson and placed his shot beyond Main.
Then, just two minutes later, Larsson unselfishly set him up with another opening that saw him side-foot the ball into goal from a few yards' range.
At the death, St Johnstone substitute Danny Griffin struck the bar with a fierce drive, but it was all over by then and even a consolation goal would not have eased the despair the Perth team must have felt.
Indeed, Celtic's only concern came with the bookings they collected over the 90 minutes. Johan Mjallby, Lubomir Moravcik, and Paul Lambert were all yellow-carded by referee John Rowbotham in a game they won easily.
Saints had two players cautioned, Philip Scott and Alan Kernaghan, in a match that was easily handled given Celtic's control for most of the 90 minutes.
Later, a dejected Saints manager, Sandy Clark, claimed: "We need someone to score goals – it is as simple as that. We had the best two scoring chances of the first half and we wasted them.
"If we could get goals then we would be in a much better position in the league. We are still looking for someone to do that for us."
As for Dr Jozef Venglos, the Celtic coach admitted: "It was good for Harald Brattbakk, but the best thing of all was that the team played so well going from defence into attack.
"We were able to move so swiftly from our own half of the field to threaten St Johnstone, who played very well too. That pleased me very much."
- Manager Interview
Dr Jo Venglos, post match
“I was delighted that Harald had a good night and managed to score three goals. I’ve been observing him in training and while we were in Spain. He has been improving all the time and even battled well to overcome the ‘flu virushe had.
“On Sunday the decision to plat him was a good oneand he took his chances well. I always try to be fair to Harald And all the players when it comes to a starting place.
“It is good for me when all the players are playing well but they are professionals and know that only eleven can start each game.
“From the beginning of the season we have been hampered by injurythroughout the squad. But now the situation has improved and I am more hopeful.
“We made 15 goal chances and scored with five, which proves that our preparations are working.
“We have to keep doing what we are doing now and hope that Rangers slip a little. If we had won some of the games earlier in the season then we would be in a better situation now."
Harald Brattbakk:
"We won't be giving up because we believe that we can still catch them. We have a game in hand and, while that still allows Rangers a lead, we have to keep going. Okay, we know that it will be difficult, especially after their win at Aberdeen, but we have strong belief in what we can do. I may have scored three goals today, but essentially it was a team performance."
St Johnstone manager, Sandy Clark:
"Celtic have made it plain that they won't give up. I said earlier this season – when we lost seven goals to Rangers – that they looked as if they would win the title. I still think they are favourites, but Celtic were impressive tonight and they won't give in. We found that out the hard way."
Pictures
Stats
| Celtic | St Johnstone | |
| Bookings | 3 | 2 |
| Fouls | 12 | 12 |
| Shots on Target | 12 | 4 |
| Corners | 6 | 2 |
| Offside | 4 | 1 |