2018-02-10: Celtic 3-2 Partick Thistle, Scottish Cup

Match Pictures | Matches: 2017 – 2018 | 2017-18 Pictures

Trivia

• Ex-Celt Liam Miller dies prematurely from Cancer. RIP
• Minute silence held in his honour.
• James Forrest the hero with a hat-trick!
• Brendan Rodgers is hopeful of having Tom Rogic and Stuart Armstrong fit for the first leg against Zenit St Petersburg, while Patrick Roberts could be in contention for the second leg in Russia.
• Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers has accused Craig Levein of being “obsessed” with Scott Brown after the Hearts manager had another dig at the Scotland captain. Levein suggested Brown had got himself deliberately booked against Kilmarnock on Saturday to ensure he served a suspension before Celtic face Rangers on March 11.
• Celtic appoint Disability Liaison Officer: Alexis Dobbin, who has been with Celtic >25yrs. Congratulations.
• Celtic have announced an increase in revenue but a fall in post-tax profit in their interim results for the six months to 31 December 2017. The Parkhead side have also revealed they have almost £31 million in the bank
• Revenue increased by 16.8 per cent to £71.5m compared with £61.2m for the same period in 2016. Profit before taxation rose from £18.6m to £19.5m but profit after taxation fell from £18.6m to £17.4m.Celtic also announced their net cash at the bank to be £30.9m, up significantly from £18.6m in 2016.
• Jackie McNamara and Dave Mackinnon have emerged as candidates for the vacant chief executive’s job at the Scottish FA along with Leeann Dempster of Hibs and former First Minister Henry McLeish.
• Walter Smith has reportedly told the Scottish FA he no longer wishes to be considered for the Scotland job.
• John Hughes has insisted that he would manage Scotland for nothing, and has revealed he has already contacted SFA vice president Rod Petrie to register his interest.
• Patrick Roberts is reportedly a target for West Ham and Leicester City.
• Celtic linked with Sunderland midfielder Ethan Robson. The 21-year-old has made a handful of first-team appearances for the Black Cats this season as well as turning out for the club’s Under-23 side. And he could be available for just £150,000 instead of his market value of £2 million thanks to cross-border FIFA rules on compensation.
• Winter Olympics about to begin.

Review

(celticelvis of kds)
I don’t know how we can expect to play attractive coherent football when we continually go out on the field with half a team.

The management are watching the same game and have to see the same players under performing but it doesn’t seem to make any difference at the moment.

A few times today our players dribbled backwords in an effort to get the ball back to our defenders, if they put as much effort going the other way who knows, we might make a chance or two.

Hopefully as players come back into the side from injury we might see a return to the Celtic of last season.

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Stats

Celtic
Partick Thistle

Possession
Home63%
Away37%

Shots
Home13
Away5

Shots on Target
Home6
Away2

Corners
Home4
Away4

Fouls
Home10
Away21

Articles

https://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/teams/celtic/celtic-3-2-partick-thistle-james-forrest-hat-trick-sends-celtic-through-1-4686990
Celtic 3 – 2 Partick Thistle: James Forrest hat-trick sends Celtic through

James Forrest grabbed himself a hat-trick as Celtic overcame Partick 3-2 in their William Hill Scottish Cup fifth-round clash at Parkhead.

In a whirlwind start to the lunchtime encounter the Hoops winger scored twice in the opening 10 minutes before a mistake by defender Jozo Simunovic allowed Jags striker Kris Doolan to pull one back.

It looked done and dusted when Forrest fired in his third in the 53rd minute but in the 84th minute Jags substitute Conor Sammon, on for Doolan, fired in a second for the spirited visitors.

It was not enough to prevent the holders going into Sunday’s quarter-final draw although Hoops manager Brendan Rodgers may be concerned with some defensive frailties ahead of the first leg of their Europa League tie against Russian side Zenit St Petersburg on Thursday.

Before kick-off there was a minute’s silence in tribute to former Celtic midfielder Liam Miller who died on Friday after a battle with cancer aged 36.
Thistle were in trouble within minutes of the kick-off, when a loose ball from defender Baily Cargill conceded possession to Scott Brown.
The Celtic skipper instantly knocked the ball forward and when striker Moussa Dembele’s shot was blocked by Jags defender Danny Devine, the ball spun to Forrest who knocked it in from eight yards for his 14th goal of the season.
His second came when he picked the ball up on the halfway line and ran almost unimpeded to the edge of the Thistle box before checking and driving past Tomas Cerny.

Six minutes later the Thistle keeper denied Forrest a hat-trick when stretched down to his right to tip his drive round the post.
In the 20th minute, and out of the blue, Thistle were handed a lifeline.
Under no pressure, Simunovic, back in for the injured Dedryck Boyata, was woefully short with an attempted pass back to Parkhead keeper Dorus de Vries and from the edge of the box the alert Doolan lofted it over the Dutchman and into the net.
From looking down and out, the Jags were rejuvenated but found themselves two goals adrift again eight minutes after the restart.

Winger Scott Sinclair took a Kieran Tierney pass inside the box and cut the ball back for Forrest to squeeze his close-range drive past Cerny, despite three Thistle players in close attendance.
The goal deflated the visitors and Celtic continued their search for more goals.
Dembele fired just wide from outside the penalty area in the 72nd minute before Sinclair drove straight at Cerny when he only had the former Hamilton keeper to beat.
However, again Thistle unexpectedly came back.
With six minutes remaining Sammon took a Chris Erskine pass and held off Simunovic before hooking a right-footed shot past de Vries and into the far corner of the net.

And there was the hint of even more drama in three minutes of added time when a fine cross from Erskine almost fell for Ryan Edwards inside the six-yard box before de Vries gathered to prevent a replay.

BBC
Scottish Cup

Celtic winger James Forrest scores against Partick Thistle
Celtic winger James Forrest opens the scoring against Partick Thistle

Celtic progressed to the Scottish Cup quarter-finals as James Forrest struck a hat-trick against Partick Thistle.

Forrest scored twice in the opening 10 minutes as Celtic raced into an early advantage.

Kris Doolan, in his 350th Partick Thistle appearance, replied following a defensive mistake by Jozo Simunovic.

Forrest completed his first treble after the break, and Conor Sammon struck a consolation in the closing minutes.

Before kick-off there was a minute’s silence in tribute to former Celtic midfielder Liam Miller, who died after a battle with cancer aged 36.
Celtic Park pays tribute to Liam Miller
Celtic held a minute’s silence before kick-off in memory of Liam Miller

Thistle were in trouble within minutes of the kick-off, when a loose ball from defender Baily Cargill conceded possession to Scott Brown.

The Celtic captain instantly knocked the ball forward and when striker Moussa Dembele’s shot was blocked by Partick Thistle defender Danny Devine, the ball spun to Forrest who stabbed it in from eight yards for his 14th goal of the season.

Forrest doubled Celtic’s advantage when he picked the ball up on the halfway line and ran almost unimpeded to the edge of the Thistle box before checking and driving a shot past Partick goalkeeper Tomas Cerny.

Six minutes later the Thistle keeper denied Forrest a hat-trick when he stretched down to his right to tip the winger’s drive round the post.
Celtic winger James Forrest scores against Partick Thistle
Celtic winger James Forrest doubled his side’s advantage with a curling finish past Partick Thistle goalkeeper Tomas Cerny

Yet for all Celtic’s early onslaught, in the 20th minute, and out of the blue, Thistle were handed a lifeline.

Under no pressure, Simunovic, back in for the injured Dedryck Boyata, was woefully short with an attempted pass back to goalkeeper Dorus de Vries and from the edge of the box the alert Doolan lofted it over the Dutchman and into the net.

From looking down and out, the visitors were rejuvenated, but they found themselves two goals adrift again eight minutes after the restart.

Winger Scott Sinclair took a Kieran Tierney pass inside the box and cut the ball back for Forrest to squeeze a close-range drive past Cerny, despite three Thistle players in close attendance.
Partick Thistle striker Kris Doolan celebrates scoring against Celtic
Partick Thistle striker Kris Doolan scored no his 350th appearance for the club

The goal deflated the visitors and Celtic continued their search for more goals. Dembele fired just wide from outside the penalty area in the 72nd minute before Sinclair drove straight at Cerny when he only had the former Hamilton keeper to beat.

However, again Thistle unexpectedly came back. With six minutes remaining, Sammon took a Chris Erskine pass and held off Simunovic before hooking a right-footed shot past de Vries and into the far corner of the net.

There was more drama in three minutes of added time, when a fine cross from Erskine almost fell for Ryan Edwards inside the six-yard box, but Tierney defended well before allowing de Vries to gather the ball on the goal-line.