Celtic reserve side cruise past Falkirk

Celtic 8 Falkirk 1

Martin O’Neill’s second-string Celtic side outclassed blundering Falkirk with an eight-goal spree at Parkhead to cruise into the fourth round of the CIS Insurance Cup.

The game was as good as over after five minutes, with Juninho having seized on poor mistakes to help Momo Sylla and winger Wallace put Celtic two goals up.

Wallace bagged his second after Bobo Balde, Paul Lambert and Stephen McManus had also hit the net and then completed the hat-trick after Andy Thomson’s consolation.

Aiden McGeady rubbed salt into the Falkirk wounds with a stunning strike in the final minute.

With Celtic facing a vital Champions League Group F showdown against AC Milan next week, O’Neill felt comfortable enough to make eight changes to his starting line-up, even though John Hughes’ men were flying high in the Bell’s First Division.

And the stadium was soon jumping with celebrations from the home side as they moved ahead after just 90 seconds.

Mark Campbell faced the wrath of his team-mates when Juninho dispossessed him near the half-way line.

He ran at Kevin James before playing a perfectly-weighted ball to the overlapping Sylla, who coolly side-footed the ball past an exposed and bemused Darren Hill.

Andy Thomson tried to haul the visitors back on level terms with a long-range drive, from Latapy’s short free-kick, but returning goalkeeper Robert Douglas was right behind it.

Falkirk had done what manager John Hughes must have dreaded, but their task was to get even more daunting when Celtic doubled their lead after just five minutes.

Juninho again was the provider as he pounced on another mistake, this time from Scott MacKenzie, and he played the ball out wide for Sylla.

The Brazilian playmaker expected the ball to be pulled back into his path but his team-mate hesitated. Fortunately for him Wallace arrived behind to find the bottom corner.

But Balde, who scored an own goal at Hibernian on Sunday, almost did it again which would have dragged Falkirk back into the game single-handedly.

Craig McPherson whipped a hopeful cross in from the left and the giant defender thrust his leg out to send the ball spinning over Douglas and against the crossbar.

In a near-exact re-enactment of the first goal, the Scottish champions should have bagged their third goal of the night in the 20th minute.

Andrew Lawrie gave the ball away in the Celtic half and the impressive Juninho seized on it before playing the ball out to overlapping skipper Paul Lambert.

But the veteran midfielder lacked the composure of Sylla and chipped the ball aimlessly to the back post when he should have driven the ball low past Hill.

Celtic seemed to sit back and invite Falkirk onto them and that tactic almost backfired in the 33rd minute.

Lawrie found Darryl Duffy infield and his first-time shot was pushed out by Douglas before Joos Valgaeren blocked a shot from the same player after David Nicholls’ pass.

The sizeable travelling support found their voice and Douglas was again called upon in the 35th minute to scramble away a low drive from Nicholls.

But frighteningly that woke the sleeping giants and Pearson went close in the 37th minute when Hill got a touch to Pearson’s shot and the ball trickled past the post.

Unfortunately for them, the side looking to climb into the top-flight were not so lucky from the resulting corner as Balde leapt above the defence to head Aiden McGeady’s cross into the correct net.

Sylla almost bagged his second of the night moments later but Hill turned his effort around the post, before Balde swivelled and fired just past the upright.

Lambert got the goal he had threatened to score earlier, in the final minute of the half, when he arrived at the far post to steer Sylla’s cross into the empty net.

The night was so easy for the Hoops that defender Stephen McManus also got his name on the scoresheet when he headed McGeady’s corner home from close range in the 48th minute.

McGeady, the highly-rated Republic of Ireland youngster, was relishing the time and space and he whistled a powerful effort past the angle soon afterwards.

Wallace did find the net in spectacular fashion after 56 minutes when he curled a left-footed free-kick into the top corner from 30 yards with Hill nowhere near the ball.

Falkirk did give their vocal supporters a goal to celebrate in the 67th minute when Thomson burst through from Duffy’s pass and forced the ball through Douglas’ legs.

Hughes brought himself on for Campbell in the 70th minute, and might have wished he had stayed on the bench as Wallace fired past Hill from close range after 84 minutes to make it 7-1.

McGeady was not to be outdone and he stepped inside a challenge before cracking a left-footed shot over Hill and into the net in the dying seconds.

CIS Insurance Cup, Third Round Results:

Dundee Utd 4 Clyde 0

Livingston 2 Dundee 1 Aet