Saturday, May 21, 2011

SPL - Celtic outclass Motherwell to win Scottish Cup

A stunning goal from Ki Sung-Yeung on 32 minutes from outside of the area put Celtic on the road to a record 35th Scottish Cup triumph before an unfortunate own goal from Motherwell captain Stephen Craigan and Charlie Mulgrew's late free-kick gave the scoreline a truer reflection.
Lennon is set to be rewarded with a new contract as Celtic manager with the Glasgow club's main shareholder Dermot Desmond admitting before the final that he is keen for the Northern Irishman to continue in the post.
Away from the park, Lennon has been sent bullets and parcel bombs in the post while he was attacked by a Hearts fan during a recent SPL match at Tynecastle. The fans were right behind Lennon during the final as a plane hovered over Hampden Park with a flag that read "In Lennon we trust" as a crowd of 49.618 looked on.
Lennon's side were deserving winners and finally claim some silverware having lost the League Cup final 2-1 to Rangers in March and finished a point behind their Glasgow rivals in the Scottish Premier League.
Stuart McCall's Motherwell side put up a spirited effort, but failed to seriously trouble the Celtic goal for any sustained period of time.
Their best effort of the match saw Gavin Gunning rattle the bar from distance moments after Ki's opener, but they were hemmed in for large swathes of the second period.
The pitch at Scotland's national stadium was saturated and Motherwell had clearly set out to frustrate Celtic with a counter-attacking strategy that saw Chris Humphrey and Jamie Murphy deployed in the wide areas to support John Sutton.
Chances were at a premium in the opening 30 minutes with Daniel Majstorovic, Scott Brown and Ki of Celtic booked for rash late challenges on the sodden surface with Keith Lasley receiving a yellow for a similar effort.
Majstorovic could have been sent off after he accidentally handled after his early booking, while Craigan could have walked when he handled on the edge of his area with Georgios Samaras set to pounce. In the end, referee Calum Murray chose to leave his cards in his pocket.
South Korea midfielder Ki settled his side's nerves when he walloped a venomous strike beyond Motherwell goalkeeper Darren Randolph from 30 yards as Celtic reached the interval leading 1-0.
Gunning was so unfortunate to bang a shot from distance off the bar on 36 minutes with Fraser Forster grasping at fresh air. That was to prove a pivotal moment in the final as Celtic went on to dominate the second half against a Motherwell side who were trying to lift the world's oldest cup competition for a third time following their successes in 1952 and 1991.
Humphrey saw a volley saved by Forster on 52 minutes, but Celtic would have been out of sight with a little more care in the final third of the pitch as Shaun Hutchinson knocked a shot by Kris Commons off the line.
Samaras was equally as wasteful when he could have played in Gary Hooper for the second goal of the day midway through the second period.
The tension was palpable in the closing 20 minutes, but Celtic were firmly in control on 74 minutes when Mark Wilson drove a shot at goal that hit Craigan before flying beyond Randolph and wound up over the line despite desperate attempts to keep it out.
Mulgrew ensured Lennon of his first trophy in his first season as Celtic's manager when he stuffed the net with a throbbing free-kick on 88 minutes that left Randolph with no chance.
Eurosport

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