Leeds United 1 Celtic 4
Gary Kelly's own boyhood heroes turned out in full force at Elland Road tonight for a testimonial the Republic of Ireland and Leeds defender hoped would raise £500,000 for charity.
And Celtic were more than pleased to capitalise on some charitable defending in the Leeds rearguard to canter into a first-half lead before underlining their superiority on the night in the second period.
Just three days after losing the Scottish Cup in dramatic fashion to Rangers, Martin O'Neill fielded a strong Celtic line-up in front of a near sell-out crowd.
Kelly, a Celtic Park season ticket-holder to this day, dedicated the game to his sister Mandy, who died from cancer four years ago, and in a poignant moment both sides emerged from the tunnel with representatives of the local Teenage Cancer Trust Unit.
The game itself started as a largely friendly if competitive affair, with the home fans bestowing a hearty welcome to the huge travelling throng with a batch of anti-Rangers chants.
Testimonial spirit aside, however, this was a rare chance for the champions of Scotland to pit their wits against one of the Premiership’s leading sides, especially with recent events making the idea of greater England-Scotland alliance less fanciful than it once was.
And after a forgettable opening 20 minutes, the match suddenly burst into life with three goals in eight minutes.
Alan Thompson broke the deadlock with a rasping 30-yard left-footer which left Paul Robinson, making his first start of the season in the Leeds goal, absolutely no chance.
The visitors upped the stakes even further in the 25th minute when Steve Guppy's right-hand corner was met forcefully by Henrik Larsson, who registered his 35th goal of the season.
But Leeds, with Alan Smith seemingly making a point of ignoring the 'friendly' aspect of the night, were soon back in it when Robbie Keane dummied Jason Wilcox's cross, allowing Lee Bowyer to rifle home a 29th-minute volley.
David O'Leary made a total of seven half-time changes as he sought to keep his side fresh for Saturday's final game of the season at home to Middlesbrough.
The night's attendance was confirmed at 26,440 at the break, meaning Kelly could hope for an estimated £700,000 for his charitable causes.
The second half began at a fairly steady pace, with neither side carving out a goalscoring opportunity but Celtic claimed a third goal after 56 minutes courtesy of an audacious effort from John Hartson.
Having spent much of the night misfiring wildly, the 27-year-old Welshman suddenly found the back of the net with a looping first-time lob after Jackie McNamara's ball.
Substitute Shaun Maloney added a fourth after a goalmouth scramble and soon after Kelly's Republic of Ireland international team-mate Ian Harte was withdrawn, with Lucas Radebe coming on for his first appearance for 14 months.