Irish on the ball for listless Celtic

SOCCER/Celtic - 2 Kilmarnock - 0:Goals in each half by Darren O'Dea and substitute Aiden McGeady gave Celtic a 2-0 win over Kilmarnock in this Premier League clash at Parkhead yesterday.

A dire first half came to life when Jiri Jarosik's header from a Shunsuke Nakamura free-kick landed at the feet of O'Dea and he wasted no time in slamming it past the Kilmarnock goalkeeper Graeme Smith from around eight yards.

Celtic dominated the second half and in the last minute McGeady, on for Derek Riordan, picked up a Nakamura pass and slipped the ball past Smith to wrap up the three points.

It was a comfortable enough win in the end for the champions, but once again there was a distinct lack of quality in their play, not helped, it must be assumed, by their healthy lead at the top of the table.

Kilmarnock had not won at Celtic Park since 1955, nor at any time against the Hoops in their last 15 meetings, so there was an inevitable air of confidence among the home supporters before the kick-off.

Most of the interest was centred on the performance of debutant Steven Pressley, whose first touch, a punt up the park after a minute, was cheered lustily by the home fans.

The champions took time to awake from their slumber but in the 12th minute Riordan played Craig Beattie in with a clever reverse pass at the edge of the Kilmarnock penalty area.

However, the Celtic striker, making his first SPL start of the season, snatched at his shot from 14 yards and the ball went wide.

The lethargy enveloping the home side's performance refused to give way to dynamism, and consequently the first half proved tedious.

In the 35th minute, however, the Rugby Park side missed the best chance of the half when they broke four against two in a counter-attack.

Gary Wales drove at the back-tracking Pressley before slipping the ball to Rhian Dodds, but he fired past the far post with only goalkeeper Artur Boruc to beat.

Kilmarnock were made to pay for that miss four minutes later when they fell behind to O'Dea's goal.

Nakamura's free-kick from the right found Jarosik but his header was blocked by a crowd of bodies only to fall to the young Irishman, who slammed the ball into the net from close range.

And in the last minute substitute McGeady, on for Riordan, picked up a Nakamura pass and slipped the ball past Smith to seal the victory and start 2007 in encouraging style.

Better performances may have to wait for another day.

CELTIC: Boruc, Telfer, Pressley, O'Dea, Naylor, Nakamura, Lennon, Jarosik, Riordan (McGeady 72), Beattie (Vennegoor of Hesselink 65), Zurawski (Miller 90). Subs not used: Marshall, Sno, Gravesen, Lawson.

KILMARNOCK: Smith, Fowler, Greer, Frazer Wright, Hay (Johnston 79), Ford, Grant Murray, Dodds (Naismith 71), Leven, Wales (Barrowman 79), Invincibile. Subs not used: Harpur, Stephen Murray, Adams, Campbell. Booked: Dodds.

Referee: S Conroy (Scotland).