Lubomir Moravcik used his head but Christophe Cocard lost his as Celtic found
a way past a stubborn Kilmarnock to reach the CIS Cup final at Hampden Park
on Wednesday night.
With Kenny Dalglish again in charge of first-team affairs Celtic had to be
patient as their game plan, as at Dundee at the weekend, was first and foremost
to avoid defeat.
Dalglish packed his side with ball-winners, a total of seven defenders
adopting various roles, but left room for Celtic's outstanding ball-player
Moravcik who responded in style.
After 66 minutes the Slovakian was picked out by Jackie McNamara and produced
a sublime header which looped over goalkeeper Colin Meldrum and that proved
enough to seal a Hampden return.
Kilmarnock attempted to fight back but former French international Cocard
conspired to be booked twice in the space of a mad minute, first for dissent and
then after a needless clash with McNamara.
His 73rd-minute ordering-off denied Kilmarnock the opportunity to generate the
momentum required for a comeback and Celtic will play Aberdeen at this same
venue in the March 19 final.
The result keeps their season alive with this competition widely recognised as
their best hope of silverware due to Rangers' eight-point lead at the Scottish
Premier League summit.
Mark Burchill was promoted to the starting line-up with the departure of Ian
Wright to Burnley, but there was no place even on the bench for Scottish record
signing Eyal Berkovic.
Olivier Tebily earned a surprise recall in a wing-back role, and Alan Stubbs
was again employed in midfield to cover Paul Lambert (ankle), while Kilmarnock
recalled Gary McCutcheon in attack.
Celtic might have moved ahead after only 52 seconds when a determined burst
forward from Tebily saw the ball run into the path of Burchill, whose snap-shot
hit a post.
Moravcik was behind the front two and his clever run set up Mark Viduka in the
11th minute only for Frederic Dindeleux to cover the danger with a vital block.
McNamara was next to threaten for Celtic, his driven shot saved at his near
post by Meldrum, and the two were to feature again in the Parkhead outfit's next
attack.
Meldrum injured his arm when bravely closing down McNamara and the Kilmarnock
keeper needed extensive treatment to play on after the accidental collision.
It was an ironic blow for Meldrum as well as a painful one as he was taken off
injured with a head knock earlier in the competition when Kilmarnock defeated
Hibernian.
Celtic had penalty claims rejected when Burchill fell under challenge from Jim
Lauchlan, while Mark Reilly was booked after a foul on Moravcik was followed by
another on Stubbs.
Meldrum defied his injury by dashing from his goal again after 40 minutes to
gather at Burchill's feet after Stubbs and Viduka had combined well on the left
as a dull half wore to a close.
Former Celtic defender Tosh McKinlay was playing like a man with a point to
prove on the left, first testing Dmitri Kharine from distance then crossing for
Ian Durrant to fire wide.
In bitterly cold conditions neither team looked incisive enough to break the
deadlock, though Celtic's share of possession suggested that if a breakthrough
came it would be of their making.
After 56 minutes Lauchlan, involved in Wright's sending-off when these clubs
last met, was fortunate to escape a booking for a high kick at Moravcik as
frustration grew on both sides.
Kilmarnock made a change on 58 minutes with McCutcheon replaced by Alex Burke,
but eight minutes later it was Celtic who were at last 1-0 ahead courtesy of a
rare headed goal by Moravcik.
McNamara made impressive ground down the right before delivering a quality
ball to the far post which was met by Moravcik, whose guided header struck the
underside of the bar before netting.
Kilmarnock knew time and the balance of play was against them, Durrant curling
a free-kick wide of the mark after 70 minutes as Celtic sought to protect their
slim advantage.
Killie's anguish was compounded in a bizarre sequence of play which ended with
Cocard being red-carded after collecting two bookings in the space of a minute.
The French forward was booked for dissent after 72 minutes when protesting at
his team-mate McKinlay going into the book for upending McNamara on the halfway
line.
Moments later it was Cocard himself who appeared to retaliate after becoming
tangled up with McNamara and referee Jim McCluskey had no hesitation in
dismissing him.
Confusion then arose as McCluskey showed McNamara a straight red card for his
involvement in the incident, which was quickly amended to yellow once it emerged
the player had not been previously cautioned.
Celtic then brought on an extra midfielder, Colin Healy, for Burchill to close
out the win but were caught out by a Durrant run which sadly for Kilmarnock
culminated in a tame shot.
Burke had a header saved by Kharine then in the 83rd minute found himself with
a one-on-one against the Russian, the Celtic keeper saving but injuring his
right knee in the process.
Kilmarnock never gave up but now their attention must turn to the matter of
maintaining their SPL status as Dalglish made it two wins out of two on his
reluctant return to coaching with Celtic.
Teams
Celtic: Kharine, Mjallby, Boyd, Tebily, Mahe, Moravcik, Stubbs, Riseth, McNamara, Viduka, Burchill (Healy 73).
Subs Not Used: Kerr, Johnson.
Booked: McNamara.
Goals: Moravcik 66.
Kilmarnock: Meldrum, McKinlay, Lauchlan, Dindeleux, MacPherson, Mitchell (Bagan 85), Holt, Durrant (Jeffrey 85), Reilly, Cocard, McCutcheon (Burke 58).
Sent Off: Cocard (72).
Booked: Reilly, McKinlay, Cocard.
Att: 22,926
Ref: Jim McCluskey (Scotland).
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