Supersub Hartson spares Celtic blushes

Celtic 2 Falkirk 1 (aet)

John Hartson came off the bench to save Celtic from an embarrassing CIS Insurance Cup exit with an extra-time winner against Falkirk.

The loss of captain Neil Lennon to a three-match Scottish Football Association ban looked set to hit the Glasgow giants hard after Alan Gow fired the SPL new boys into a shock second-half lead following their 5-0 mauling at Motherwell.

Maciej Zurawski fired the sides level but it was Hartson who proved what a valuable asset he is to the Hoops by pouncing in extra-time to put them into the fourth round with his eighth goal of the campaign.

Manager Gordon Strachan brought back Chris Sutton for the first time since fracturing his cheekbone in Bratislava at the start of the season in place of Lennon, while Craig Beattie and Shaun Maloney replaced the injured Alan Thompson and Hartson.

Falkirk boss John Hughes must have feared his side were destined for another hiding following their Fir Park weekend thrashing and he made just two changes with Russell Latapy and Darryl Duffy coming in for Neil Scally and Jack Ross.

After a quiet start the first chance of the game fell to the home side but it came straight after a Falkirk corner was comfortably caught by Artur Boruc.

The Polish goalkeeper threw the ball out quickly to Maloney and he found Shunsuke Nakamura near the left touchline.

The Japan international looked up and picked out the unmarked Zurawski with a pinpoint ball across to the opposite side of the pitch but instead of taking the shot first time, the frontman controlled the ball giving Vitor Lima the chance to block.

Beattie was presented with a good opportunity two minutes later after being picked out by the Pole but his acrobatic effort was hit straight at Matt Glennon from five yards.

Zurawski went agonisingly close on the half-hour but the visitors would have been understandably aggrieved had it gone under the crossbar.

Referee Kenny Clark harshly penalised Lima for a foul and allowed Nakamura to take a quick free-kick, with the ball rolling, before the Pole unleashed a left-foot blast from the edge of the area which whistled into the fans behind the goal.

Falkirk came out for the second half a much better side and should have had a penalty in the 50th minute when Maloney handled Stephen O’Donnell’s flick-on in the area.

But despite the let-off, Celtic failed to learn from that and went behind with Falkirk’s first real chance of the match in the 54th minute.

Gow robbed Sutton and he then ghosted past Stephen McManus and Bobo Balde before firing low past Boruc.

Strachan reacted by throwing on Hartson for Beattie and that brought more urgency from Celtic, who hauled themselves level in the 61st minute.

Maloney controlled a long ball brilliantly and played in Zurawski to prod the ball past the onrushing Glennon.

That lifted Celtic and Zurawski brought a good save from Glennon in the 75th minute, the goalkeeper tipping over his header from Maloney’s cross.

McManus then came within inches of putting the home side ahead when he arrived at the back post to get on the end of Maloney’s corner but his effort came back off the crossbar.

Maloney then curled a cross just past the post before Zurawski crashed a header against the crossbar from the youngster’s cross in injury time.

But Hartson headed Celtic ahead five minutes into the extra period after an inviting cross from Nakamura which the Welshman buried past Glennon.

Gow thought he had taken the game to penalties in the dying seconds but Boruc tipped his free-kick over from the edge of the box.