Celtic secure narrow victory against Dunfermline

Celtic 1 Dunfermline 0

Celtic stretched their lead at the top of the SPL to four points over Rangers with a narrow home win over Dunfermline.

The home side dominated the first 45 minutes but only had a Stephen McManus header from a Shunsuke Nakamura corner to show for their superiority.

The champions controlled the second half with similar ease and although they failed to breach the Fifers’ rearguard for a second time, they turned up the pressure on their great rivals who play Hibernian tomorrow.

A minute’s applause to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the death of legendary goalkeeper John Thomson came prior to kick-off, and when the game started it was one-way traffic towards the Dunfermline goal.

Celtic left-back Lee Naylor tested Dunfermline goalkeeper Dorus De Vries after just three minutes but a corner was the only reward.

The tone was set and in the fifth minute a Nakamura corner from the left was met by Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink, but the Dutchman’s header was brilliantly clawed off the line by De Vries.

Then Nakamura worked some magic on the right before whipping over a curling cross which Vennegoor of Hesselink headed just over the bar under pressure from Shields.

The champions were peppering the Dunfermline penalty area with crosses but could find no joy against the resolute Pars defence.

In the 18th minute, Hoops midfielder Thomas Gravesen, making his home debut, forced another save from De Vries with a low 25-yard drive as the onslaught continued.

Then, in the 21st minute, after Gary Mason was adjudged to have fouled Nakamura 25 yards from goal, Shaun Maloney fired the free-kick a yard over the bar.

Maloney was making his first start of the season after recovering from a double-hernia operation.

Dunfermline’s first effort on goal came in the 25th minute when midfielder Darren Young’s snap-shot from distance was bundled past the post by Celtic goalkeeper Artur Boruc, Phil McGuire then heading Mason’s corner high over the bar.

However, on the half-hour mark, when some momentum seemed to have deserted the champions, they eventually got the breakthrough.

A Nakamura corner from the right was met at the near post by McManus and the Celtic defender bulleted his header past the helpless De Vries.

Then Kenny Miller’s powerful header from a Paul Telfer cross had De Vries happy to punch clear for yet another corner before the busy goalkeeper was forced into another save, blocking a close-range shot from Nakamura.

As Celtic pressed for a second goal, Gravesen rattled the post with a mighty drive from 30 yards which had De Vries beaten.

Dunfermline, defending with increasing desperation, survived a penalty claim two minutes before the break when Sol Bamba appeared to handle Telfer’s intended cross from the right.

There was a lacklustre start to the second half, with Dunfermline only marginally more positive in their outlook and Celtic surprisingly downbeat.

With no real threat to their lead imminent, the home side found it difficult to get fired up and the crowd seemed only to find energy to castigate Telfer for another unforced error when he gave the ball away needlessly moving towards the opposition penalty area.

Pars striker Stevie Crawford fired a shot well wide of the post from 25 yards after Young had set him up.

Miller, still without a Celtic goal since signing from Wolves in the summer, looked no closer to ending his drought with his curling shot from the edge of the box which went high and wide.

Celtic continued to press and in the 75th minute McManus might have grabbed his second of the game, only for the Hoops defender to knock the ball over from close range.

Miller then headed a Naylor cross onto the top of the net before he was replaced by Maciej Zurawski with 10 minutes remaining.