2022-02-13: Celtic 4-0 Raith Rovers, Scottish Cup

Match Pictures | Matches: 2021 – 2022

Trivia

  • KO: 4pm; Premier Sports TV; Sunday
  • Scottish Cup fifth round
  • Raith Rovers: backlash a couple of weeks back after they signed David Goodwillie. Lost sponsors (like author and lifelong fan Val Mcdermid), long term fans, staff and female team captain amongst others. Sensitive issues involved which are left for a more appropriate forum for discussion than this site. Their board then backtracked on the decision and will now NOT play him in any matches.
  • Celtic rest various players. Juranovic out injured.
  • Chris Jullien subbed on, his first appearance in over a year (after 410 days!)
  • GB terracing section shut for safety review following mass pyro etc at the home game v Sevco. Better this match than a league game.
  • Cross Keys pub in Wishaw: Celtic pub insists Japan flag remains despite council ordering removal due to ‘WW2’ complaints! Unbelievable, even though the modern flag is NOT the same flag as one Japan had during that era!
  • Celtic women’s side defeat Sevco counterparts 2-1 to reach quarter finals of Scottish Cup.
  • Winter Olympics: GB/Scotland curling teams having a tough time of it but some big victories too along the way! Long way to go.
  • Reports: Ex-Celtic hero Kieran Tierney is being monitored by Real Madrid (est 50m!); Leicester reported to be after Juranovic.
  • Interim financial report: Celtic have posted a pre-tax profit of £27.6million for the six months to the end of December 2021. Boosted by sales of Odsonne Edouard & Ajer in the summer window. £16.8m was spent on player registrations. This showed rise from £12.7m in the previous period
  • Loans: Celtic youngster Jonathan Afolabi has agreed a short-term loan deal with Airdrie.
  • Aberdeen: Stephen Glass sacked by Aberdeen as boss pays the price for horror run.
  • Three ex-Celts in the Southampton team v Man Utd at Old Trafford. Elyounoussi, Armstrong, Forrest. There was an ex Celtic player in every premier league game yesterday. 3 in Man U Southampton, 2 in Brentford palace, 2 in Everton Leeds, and 1 in Norwich Man City and Watford Brighton
  • USA: Superbowl Sunday today: LA Rams defeat Cincinnati Bengals.
  • Rugby: An overblown Scotland side get brought down to earth losing away to a poor Wales side, whilst Ireland lose to France away.
  • Ukraine v Russia tensions: A dozen nations tell citizens to leave Ukraine
  • Dead Club Rangers: court case sheriff emerges as former shareholder in Ibrox club! Bias? Corruption? Incompetence? Tenth anniversary of Rangers administration which led to their liquidation is next day.

Summary

Question: “Has this squad surpassed your expectations?”
Ange: “They’re nowhere near my expectations. As we saw in the first half, there’s still a lot of work to do.”

@scottyrussrll81 of Raith Rovers: Comfortable for Celtic as expected. Raith dug in right to the end.Wee spell just after half time but final ball wasn’t up to end when it was needed. Hopefully get the form back in the league now. Celtic Park still the best stadium in Scotland

Referee:

Referee shambles in this match, Steven McLean writing a new chapter in the book of inept Scottish refereeing today: Yellow card confusion at Celtic Park!

Celtic were awarded a penalty for a handball by Sean Mackie, who was already booked, but the yellow card seems to have gone to Ross Matthews, who didn’t handle the ball

Can argue that Raith Rovers should have got a penalty and some argue Celtic’s later penalty wasn’t a penalty and another possible Celtic penalty should have been given but wasn’t.

Etims: Pretty average 60 mins. Too many loose passes. Zero urgency. Slack passing at the back. Jota came on and everything changed. He set up the second but brought quality to the proceedings, which lifted everyone else. Aside from winning highlight is the return of Chris Jullien. Big Chris out for 14 months so his return is welcomed. Will take weeks to get up to match fitness…clearly needs to play regularly for that to happen. No matter, he’s back & its always good to have more quality players available, as seen by massive cheers from the #Celtic fans

No harm to Mikey Johnston (since he’s quite capable of that on his own) but we were miles better when Jota came on. That’s how to get the job done, eventually.

Teams

Celtic:

Formation 4-3-3

  • 15Hart
  • 56Ralston
  • 20Carter-Vickers Substituted for Jullien at 74′minutes
  • 57Welsh
  • 5Scales
  • 18Rogic Substituted for Ideguchi at 69′minutes
  • 6Bitton
  • 41Hatate
  • 49Forrest Substituted for Abada at 69′minutes
  • 7Giakoumakis
  • Substituted forMaedaat 69′minutes
  • 19Johnston Substituted for Neves Filipe at 55′minutes

Substitutes

  • 1Barkas
  • 2Jullien
  • 3Taylor
  • 11Abada
  • 16McCarthy
  • 17Neves Filipe
  • 21Ideguchi
  • 29Bain
  • 38Maeda
  • 42McGregor
  • 84Doak

Goals:

  • Scales (23′ minutes), 
  • Giakoumakis (68′ minutes), 
  • Maeda (71′ minutes), 
  • Bitton (88′ minutes) [missed penalty but scored with the rebound]

Assists:

  • Rogic (23′ minutes), 
  • Neves Filipe (68′ minutes)

Raith Rovers

Formation 4-2-3-1

  • 1MacDonald
  • 2Tumilty
  • 4Musonda
  • 6Benedictus Substituted forMackieat 80′minutesBooked at 83mins
  • 3Dick
  • 20Williamson Substituted forZanattaat 45′minutes
  • 16Stanton
  • 7Connolly Substituted forVarianat 64′minutes
  • 8MatthewsBooked at 87mins
  • 22Ross Substituted forArnottat 85′minutes
  • 9Gullan Substituted forPoplatnikat 64′minutes

Substitutes

  • 11Zanatta
  • 17Thomson
  • 18Varian
  • 21Mackie
  • 25Arnott
  • 26Mitchell
  • 29Young
  • 99Poplatnik

Ref:Steven McLean
Att: half empty Celtic Park

Articles

  • Match Report (see below)

Pictures

Match Links

Stats

Celtic
Raith Rovers
Possession
Home71%
Away29%
Shots
Home16
Away4
Shots on Target
Home8
Away1
Corners
Home4
Away1
Fouls
Home5
Away12

Articles

Celtic ease past Raith – Reo Hatate’s passing class, a return after 410 days and Ange Postecoglou’s moment of frustration

Dining on fillet steak, dripping in peppercorn sauce, accompanied by an ice-cold pint of refreshing lager every day is unrealistic. Sometimes there are days where you simply have to make do with some beans on toast and a glass of tap water, and there is nothing wrong with that.
By Joel Sked
Sunday, 13th February 2022, 7:36 pm
https://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/celtic/celtic-defeat-raith-rovers-4-0-as-jullien-returns-after-410-days-3566561

It was a beans on toast kind of day for Celtic even as they swept aside Raith Rovers 4-0 at Celtic Park to progress into the quarter-finals of the Scottish Cup, while Christopher Jullien made his first appearance in 410 days.

Since returning from the winter break, we have been so used to devouring the fillet steak served up by Ange Postecoglou and his menacing and merry men.
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Celtic have been vivacious, playing with a verve and intensity which truly engages and excites supporters. The type of football which gives fans a skip in their step when heading to the stadium. Pressure on the ball to win it back quickly suffocating the opposition, moving it forward quickly and with numbers, midfield rotations to bamboozle opponents.
Liam Scales fired Celtic in front with a fierce strike. (Photo by Craig Foy / SNS Group)
Liam Scales fired Celtic in front with a fierce strike. (Photo by Craig Foy / SNS Group)

The success over Championship side Raith, thanks to a Liam Scales rocket, plus goals from Giorgos Giakoumakis, Daizen Maeda and Nir Bitton, was a professional job.

That is not to say Postecoglou would have been content with that. That’s not in his nature, to settle. Nor is it in Celtic’s.

That was exemplified in the 27th minute. A backwards pass provoked an angry reaction from the Celtic boss. He spun on his heels in the dugout, roaring an expletive, his hood coming down as he fired his arms into his legs.

Credit has to go to Raith Rovers. It’s not been a great time for the team from the Lang Toun. They may have been backed by a small pocket of fans in the south east of the ground but they made themselves heard, expressing their support for John McGlynn before and during the game.

The former Celtic scout set up his side in a 4-5-1 system and they were very well organised and competitive for long periods. There was a real synergy to their defensive play. Mikey Johnston was forced down routes without an exit. James Forrest was stuck in neutral, while there were few gaps for the midfield to exploit.

Yet, even on slower days there remains a confidence which courses through the team, displayed in an incredible moment where Joe Hart found himself in the corner passing the ball into his own box to Stephen Welsh before taking the return and dinking it over to Scales.

Celtic also have Reo Hatate. A Rolls Royce of a midfielder. There may have been wayward moments but he is one of the most positive players in the country, his passing as accurate and measured as a surgeon with a scalpel. The one delivered to Jota opened up Raith and allowed Giakoumakis to double the lead and secure the victory before Maeda nodded in a third and Nir Bitton converted after missing a penalty.

Why Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou was frustrated as he gives players ‘price you pay’ reminder

Ange Postecoglou said his Celtic players only performed for 45 minutes as they defeated Raith Rovers in the Scottish Cup.
By Joel Sked
Sunday, 13th February 2022, 7:05 pm
https://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/celtic/why-ange-postecoglou-was-frustrated-with-his-celtic-players-3566605

His side ensured their name is in the hat for tomorrow’s quarter-final draw thanks to a relatively straightforward 4-0 win over Championship opposition.

The Australian boss, however, was far from happy with the first-half performance and was visibly frustrated midway through the first 45 minutes.
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“I was really disappointed with the way we played,” he said. “We didn’t work hard enough, didn’t have enough urgency in our game, too many touches.

“We were comfortable enough but that’s not what I’m after.

“The second half was better, we got the tempo up and the substitutes made a difference and we’re through to the next round.

“I got frustrated because I shouldn’t have to remind anybody about these things. We’ve been building the foundation for so long and you’ve got to work hard and buy into the kind of football we want to play.

“Without making allowances, there are mitigating circumstances. I made seven changes so I knew, particularly at the start, we would lack the fluency we’d been showing recently but it was important we got some minutes into some of the guys because we’ll need them going forward.

“The way we set up and play our football, I forgive everything from mistakes, people making bad decisions. But I just won’t cop people just putting in a 45 minute shift. That’s not what it’s about.

“That’s when my frustration comes out. I just feel every time you put the shirt on there’s a price to pay for it. That price is you give everything you have for the time you are out there, within the context of how we play.”

When asked if his team would have plenty left for the Conference League clash with Bodo/Glimt on Thursday, Postecoglou added: “They should be able to go again because they only played for 45 minutes as far as I’m concerned.”

Meanwhile, Christopher Jullien made his first Celtic appearance in 410 days as a second-half substitute.

Postecoglou said: “He’s worked hard in training and, like every footballer, he wants to play so we gave him some game time and I’m sure that will encourage him to keep working hard and take his opportunity when it comes.”

BBC

By Andrew SouthwickBBC Scotland
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/60276512
Last updated on

Giorgos Giakoumakis scored his fourth goal of the season for Celtic
Manager Ange Postecoglou criticised Celtic’s work rate as they cruised past Raith Rovers into the Scottish Cup quarter-finals.

Liam Scales’ stunning strike gave the Glasgow side a first-half lead.

But Celtic were below par until Giorgos Giakoumakis and Daizen Maeda scoring in quick succession and Nir Bitton scored on the rebound from his late, saved penalty.

“I think the urgency wasn’t quite there,” Postecoglou told BBC Scotland.

“It’s not about singling out individuals. We have an intent and ambition to be a certain kind of team, training is intense, so game-day we are intense no matter who starts.”

There was further good news for Celtic with centre-half Christopher Jullien making his comeback after a 13-month injury lay-off.

Postecoglou’s side will find out their opponents in the last eight on Monday following the tie between Peterhead and Dundee.

Reaction & how it happened

In their last three games, Celtic had been adept at taking the game to their opponents early on, with eight of their 10 goals being scored before half-time.

They set their stall out early against John McGlynn’s Championship visitors, with Mikey Johnston and Bitton shooting over and Rea Hatate drilling a shot into the hands of goalkeeper Jamie MacDonald.

Scales broke Rovers’ resistance when he opened up his left foot and cracked a shot in off a post.

Celtic were fortunate not to concede a penalty when a bouncing ball appeared to hit the arm of defender Cameron Carter-Vickers, but Rovers’ appeals were dismissed by referee Steven McLean.

There were other nervous moments in Celtic’s box as the Fifers committed men forward, but the visitors struggled to get a meaningful shot on target and goalkeeper Joe Hart was a virtual spectator.

Giakoumakis hit the crossbar, but it would not have counted with Johnston already flagged for offside.

Celtic had hit a lull before Jota’s introduction gave them a lift, the winger creating a chance for Tom Rogic before he was instrumental in Giakoumakis making it 2-0.

The Greek striker timed his run to beat the offside trap and knocked in Jota’s inch-perfect cross.

Soon, it was three when Maeda got to a corner. MacDonald made a great save initially but could only knock it off the Celtic man and back over the line.

A controversial penalty made it four when Sean Mackie was harshly penalised for handball. Bitton bundled it home after his first effort was saved by MacDonald, with the 4-0 scoreline a touch harsh on Rovers.
Man of the match – Liam Scales
Celtic’s Liam Scales celebrates making it 1-0
Celtic left-back Liam Scales scored a stunning strike to make it 1-0 and was excellent throughout
What they said

Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou: “We weren’t great in the first half. We didn’t work hard enough, we didn’t play at a tempo, took too many touches of the ball. The second half was better.

“We made seven changes to the team, so you know it’s not going to be as fluent or as cohesive.”

Raith Rovers manager John McGlynn: “I thought we were very well organised and disciplined in our play. We knew Celtic would come out the traps and bombard us early on and we wanted to get beyond that period, which I thought we did.

“There was a claim for a penalty, but I haven’t seen it back. I am proud of the players and we have to get our league campaign going again.”

Match ends, Celtic 4, Raith Rovers 0.
90’+3′
Full Time

Second Half ends, Celtic 4, Raith Rovers 0.
90’+2′
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Offside, Celtic. Reo Hatate tries a through ball, but Liel Abada is caught offside.
89′
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Foul by Christopher Jullien (Celtic).
89′
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Matej Poplatnik (Raith Rovers) wins a free kick on the left wing.
88′
Goal!

Goal! Celtic 4, Raith Rovers 0. Nir Bitton (Celtic) right footed shot from the centre of the box to the centre of the goal following a set piece situation.
88′
Post update

Penalty saved! Nir Bitton (Celtic) fails to capitalise on this great opportunity, right footed shot saved in the bottom right corner.
87′
Booking

Ross Matthews (Raith Rovers) is shown the yellow card for hand ball.
87′
Post update

Attempt blocked. Jota (Celtic) right footed shot from the left side of the box is blocked.
87′
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Penalty conceded by Sean Mackie (Raith Rovers) with a hand ball in the penalty area.
86′
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Nir Bitton (Celtic) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
86′
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Foul by Ross Matthews (Raith Rovers).
85′
Substitution

Substitution, Raith Rovers. Aaron Arnott replaces Ethan Ross.
83′
Booking

Sean Mackie (Raith Rovers) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
83′
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Daizen Maeda (Celtic) wins a free kick on the left wing.
83′
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Foul by Sean Mackie (Raith Rovers).
82′
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Foul by Daizen Maeda (Celtic).
82′
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Dario Zanatta (Raith Rovers) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
80′
Substitution

Substitution, Raith Rovers. Sean Mackie replaces Kyle Benedictus because of an injury.
74′
Substitution

Substitution, Celtic. Christopher Jullien replaces Cameron Carter-Vickers.

71′
Goal!

Goal! Celtic 3, Raith Rovers 0. Daizen Maeda (Celtic) header from very close range to the high centre of the goal following a corner.
71′
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Attempt saved. Daizen Maeda (Celtic) header from very close range is saved in the top centre of the goal. Assisted by Anthony Ralston.
71′
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Attempt blocked. Anthony Ralston (Celtic) header from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Liel Abada with a cross.
71′
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Corner, Celtic. Conceded by Liam Dick.
70′
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Jota (Celtic) wins a free kick on the left wing.
70′
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Foul by Ross Matthews (Raith Rovers).
69′
Substitution

Substitution, Celtic. Daizen Maeda replaces Giorgos Giakoumakis.
69′
Substitution

Substitution, Celtic. Liel Abada replaces James Forrest.
69′
Substitution

Substitution, Celtic. Yosuke Ideguchi replaces Tomas Rogic.
68′
Goal!

Goal! Celtic 2, Raith Rovers 0. Giorgos Giakoumakis (Celtic) right footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom right corner. Assisted by Jota.
67′
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Attempt saved. Stephen Welsh (Celtic) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom left corner. Assisted by Reo Hatate.
66′
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Attempt missed. Stephen Welsh (Celtic) header from the centre of the box is close, but misses to the right. Assisted by Jota with a cross following a corner.
66′
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Corner, Celtic. Conceded by Ethon Varian.
64′
Substitution

Substitution, Raith Rovers. Matej Poplatnik replaces James Gullan.
64′
Substitution

Substitution, Raith Rovers. Ethon Varian replaces Aidan Connolly.
62′
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Offside, Raith Rovers. Ethan Ross tries a through ball, but James Gullan is caught offside.
60′
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Offside, Celtic. Nir Bitton tries a through ball, but Giorgos Giakoumakis is caught offside.
57′
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Corner, Celtic. Conceded by Kyle Benedictus.
56′
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Attempt saved. James Gullan (Raith Rovers) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom right corner. Assisted by Ethan Ross.
56′
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Offside, Celtic. Giorgos Giakoumakis tries a through ball, but James Forrest is caught offside.
55′
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Foul by Tomas Rogic (Celtic).
55′
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Samuel Stanton (Raith Rovers) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
55′
Substitution

Substitution, Celtic. Jota replaces Michael Johnston.
53′
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Attempt blocked. Liam Scales (Celtic) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
51′
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Giorgos Giakoumakis (Celtic) wins a free kick on the right wing.
51′
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Foul by Kyle Benedictus (Raith Rovers).
50′
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Offside, Celtic. Nir Bitton tries a through ball, but Michael Johnston is caught offside.
47′
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Reo Hatate (Celtic) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
47′
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Foul by Ross Matthews (Raith Rovers).
Second Half

Second Half begins Celtic 1, Raith Rovers 0.
45′
Substitution

Substitution, Raith Rovers. Dario Zanatta replaces Ben Williamson.
45’+3′
Half Time

First Half ends, Celtic 1, Raith Rovers 0.
43′
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Attempt missed. Kyle Benedictus (Raith Rovers) header from the centre of the box misses to the left. Assisted by Aidan Connolly with a cross following a corner.
42′
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Corner, Raith Rovers. Conceded by Stephen Welsh.
41′
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Offside, Celtic. Tomas Rogic tries a through ball, but Giorgos Giakoumakis is caught offside.
41′
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Attempt blocked. Ross Matthews (Raith Rovers) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
39′
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Giorgos Giakoumakis (Celtic) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
39′
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Foul by Frankie Musonda (Raith Rovers).
38′
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Foul by Anthony Ralston (Celtic).
38′
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Ethan Ross (Raith Rovers) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
34′
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Foul by Cameron Carter-Vickers (Celtic).
34′
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James Gullan (Raith Rovers) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
32′
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Offside, Celtic. Nir Bitton tries a through ball, but Michael Johnston is caught offside.
31′
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Attempt blocked. Michael Johnston (Celtic) right footed shot from the left side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Anthony Ralston.
29′
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Michael Johnston (Celtic) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
29′
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Foul by Ben Williamson (Raith Rovers).
27′
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Attempt missed. Reghan Tumilty (Raith Rovers) header from the centre of the box misses to the right. Assisted by Aidan Connolly.
25′
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Attempt blocked. James Forrest (Celtic) left footed shot from the right side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Anthony Ralston.
24′
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Liam Scales (Celtic) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
24′
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Dangerous play by Ben Williamson (Raith Rovers).
23′
Goal!

Goal! Celtic 1, Raith Rovers 0. Liam Scales (Celtic) left footed shot from outside the box to the top left corner. Assisted by Tomas Rogic.
17′
Post update

Attempt saved. Reo Hatate (Celtic) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom left corner. Assisted by Michael Johnston.
16′
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Liam Scales (Celtic) wins a free kick on the left wing.
16′
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Foul by Ben Williamson (Raith Rovers).
14′
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Attempt missed. Nir Bitton (Celtic) right footed shot from outside the box is just a bit too high.
14′
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Liam Scales (Celtic) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
14′
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Foul by Ross Matthews (Raith Rovers).
7′
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Corner, Celtic. Conceded by Kyle Benedictus.
3′
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Attempt missed. Michael Johnston (Celtic) right footed shot from the left side of the box is just a bit too high. Assisted by Reo Hatate.
2′
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Stephen Welsh (Celtic) wins a free kick on the left wing.
2′
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Foul by James Gullan (Raith Rovers).
Kick Off

First Half begins.
Posted at 16:0416:04
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Lineups are announced and players are warming up.