Celtic's treble chance remains intact after head coach Wim Jansen's calculated
gamble to keep faith with former accountant Harald Brattbakk paid rich
dividends.
The Norwegian's second goal since joining from Rosenborg proved the crucial
strike as Celtic edged into the Scottish Cup quarter-finals at the expense of a
determined but limited Dunfermline.
It was a match of firsts with East End Park hosting its first televised Sky
fixture and Stephane Mahe putting Celtic in front after 50 minutes to open his
Parkhead account.
That individual goal was followed 17 minutes later by what proved the decisive
second with Brattbakk tapping in from six yards following Jackie McNamara's
inviting cross.
He could hardly have missed and yet the fact he was there was significant,
Celtic have missed a poacher and tonight Brattbakk was in the right place at the
right time.
It was needed too as Dunfermline kept the all Premier Division contest alive
with substitute David Bingham scoring after 81 minutes, but to no avail.
Celtic will now face an away trip to either Dundee United or Inverness in the
last eight and can take encouragement from a composed and convincing display.
Celtic skipper Tom Boyd returned after suspension meaning Enrico Annoni was
demoted to the bench despite the Italian impressing of late.
Brattbakk retained his place in the starting line-up in the only competition
he had previously scored in for Celtic, against Morton last time round, while
Dunfermline were at full strength.
A neat interchange of passes between Craig Burley and Henrik Larsson almost
put Brattbakk clear after six minutes, but home keeper Ian Westwater was alert
to the threat.
Brattbakk had claims for a penalty rejected in Celtic's next attack after he
went down under the challenge of Greg Shields in the area.
After 26 minutes, McNamara's corner was headed down by Larsson at the back
post into Burley's path but his first time shot was drilled well over.
Celtic had a goal disallowed for offside after 28 minutes when Morten
Wieghorst converted a Stephane Mahe cross from close range earning a booking at
his protests to referee Willie Young.
For all their pressure, Celtic could not break the deadlock and were almost
punished on the half hour by Andy Tod.
The defender's free header from Stewart Petrie's precise cross looked
goalbound until visiting keeper Jonathan Gould produced an instinctive and
memorable save.
After a goalless opening half the second promised little but delivered much as
Celtic stepped up a gear to telling effect.
Brattbakk's lack of confidence was shown straight from the restart when after
being played clear on the left by Larsson he opted to cut inside and pass
instead of shooting.
But Burley had no such fears after 48 minutes unleashing a stunning 35-yard
drive which surprised Westwater who fumbled the shot badly at the first attempt
to gather.
Mahe's strike provided the breakthrough after 50 minutes with the Frenchman
being fed well by Wieghorst.
His route to goal looked well guarded by Greg Shields, but with a neat swivel,
Mahe found enough space to hit a low drive past Westwater's grasp.
A deft Burley chip almost produced an instant second with Westwater doing
superbly to recover his ground and deny the former Chelsea man.
After 67 minutes, Celtic did double their advantage and it was a sweet moment
at last for the beleagured Brattbakk.
McNamara raced away on the right hand side and weighted his pass perfectly
into the stride of Brattbakk who struck the ball in from close range.
Larsson should have put the match beyond Dunfermline's reach after 70 minutes
when it opened up for the Swede to shoot wide when well-placed.
The home side's decision to bring on Dave Bingham for George Shaw after 77
minutes bore swift fruit as the Pars refused to resign from the contest.
Four minutes after taking the field Bingham met a near post cross from fellow
substitute Hamish French to reduce the deficit, but their recovery act ran out
of time.
Teams
Dunfermline: Westwater, Shields, McCulloch, Tod, Barnett,
Fraser (French 45), Shaw (Bingham 77), Robertson, Smith,
Biemen (Curran 65), Petrie.
Booked: Smith, Petrie.
Goals: Bingham 81.
Celtic: Gould, Boyd, Mahe, McNamara (Donnelly 89), Rieper,
Stubbs, Larsson, Burley, Brattbakk (Jackson 90), Lambert,
Wieghorst.
Subs Not Used: Annoni.
Booked: Wieghorst, Stubbs.
Goals: Mahe 50, Brattbakk 67.
Att: 13,000
Ref: W Young (Clarkston).
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