Irish boy, and newbie Celtic star, Daryl Murphy connected from the penalty spot to score the golden goal in Celtic's 1-0 win over Motherwell this weekend. Murphy, who grew up a Celtic supporter in Waterford, Ireland, scored his first SPL goal for the Hoops and it was a beauty. Huge respect has to be handed out to Shaun Maloney, easily the man of the match, as he was all over the pitch butchering the Motherwell defense, and even creating the penalty situation that led to our only goal.
Before I get into the game, I'll point out how a couple of new Bhoys got their shots in this one. Newcastle keeper on loan Frasier Forster, defender Emilio Izaguirre, and Murphy all earned their first SPL starts for Celtic, and it worked well.
Motherwell had a just a couple of chances to frustrate Forster, but the best probably came in the 2nd minute. A long free kick to a diving header by 'Well's John Sutton sent the ball just wide of the post. He had Forster beat, but just missed. At that point, the field kind of tilted in favor of the Green & White, as it has multiple times this year. In the 3rd, James Forrest picked up the ball and sent a through pass down into the box that was connected on by Maloney, only to be saved. Just two minutes later, Shaun Maloney got a free kick that he sent just an inch or so high. The pace was fast on the pitch, but it died down at this point. Despite a couple of chances floating back and forth, it was pretty quiet until the 45th, when Shuan Maloney would get another chance. The Malaysian middie smoked his was into the box, dancing past three defenders, only to see his shot find the side of the netting. With the first half over, we were tied at nillers, Forster had pretty much just been watching the whole game from the other end in his debut, and Celtic were the dominant force despite not netting a goal.
The second half saw Celtic give Motherwell more of a steady dose of Maloney-Ball. In the 55th, Shaun broke into the box and sent a shot wide. In the 67th, Irishman (albeit Derry, NI) Paddy McCourt subbed in for Samaras, who was well marked by the home team for his whole effort. In the 72nd, Shaun Maloney got a pass in full sprint and broke into the box. The Motherwell defender, clearly outmatched, kicked Maloney down in the box. It was a hard foul, and it got what it deserved: the red. Not only did the red card come out, but a penalty kick was awarded as well. Celtic had Daryl Murphy step up to take the kick from the spot, and he buried it past the keeper, into the upper middle portion of the net. It was finally a breakthrough, and with 'Well down a man, it was all we'd need. Paddy McCourt would have two chances as the game closed out, sending a shot just wide in the 78th, and getting straight saved in the 85th, but he and the rest of the Bhoys would walk off the pitch with their heads held high, and three points in their hands.
It was a bit of a different lineup, with a new keeper, a new defender, and a replacement for the now departed Marc-Antoine Fortuné. Since we have now acquired well-regarded striker Anthony Stokes from Hibs, who knows what the front two will look like from here on out. But, here's a look at the squad that rebounded from that terrible loss to Ultrecht:
GK: Forster- Nice to see the Magpie helping the Bhoys out. A clean sheet in his debut may be a calling card for Zaluska to remain on the bench. I'm surprised, and impressed.
D: Cha, Majstorovic, Loovens, and Izaguirre- I thought Emilio looked good in his debut, and Cha got in on some action as well. Crazy to not see Hooiveld or Mulgrew out there.
M: Forrest, Brown, Ledley, and Maloney- This midfield worked really well, even if Ki, Kayal, and Holy Guacamole were left on the bench. Ledley's my boy, as you know, and he and Forrest were a force out there. But, Shaun Maloney was clearly the complete package. I can't remember him playing a game so on point where he didn't score a goal. Hail Maloney!
F: Samaras (McCourt 67) and Murphy- Samaras was covered well all game, just getting one or two shots off, but Murphy put himself in a good position a couple of times, and knew what to do with the ball when he stepped up to the spot. Always nice to see Paddy get into the action.
Only two teams in the SPL have jumped out to perfect 3-0-0 stars: us and them. That's right, Celtic and Rangers are locked atop the SPL with 9 points a side. We do, however, lead on goal differential (+6 vs +5). Take that, Protties!
After taking a break this week/weekend for International play (Ireland vs. The "A" Countries), Celtic return home to resume their hunt for the SPL title on Saturday 9/11 against Heart of Midlothian. Now, I must say, Heart may have some of the best soccer nicknames I've ever head. The squad goes by the names "The Maroons," "The Hearts," "The Jam Tarts," and "The Jambos." Come one! That's sweet! Their old mascotts were known as "Josh and Jemma Jambo." I almost feel bad crushing these guys. The fans are huge in their support, known for the "twirly," where they twirl their scarves above their heads to the tune of Hey Jude by the Beatles. This season, so far, they are 1-0-2 (W-L-D) with a +4 goal differential. So, what I'm saying is, they aren't a team to take lightly. It may be our first big test of the SPL campaign. But, we will rise to the challenge, end the Jambos' undefeated run, and walk on to victory.
YNWA! Hail Hail!
-- Sent from my Palm Prē
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