O'Dea, McGeady on mark for Celtic

Celtic 2 Kilmarnock 0

Goals in each half by Darren O’Dea and substitute Aiden McGeady gave Celtic a 2-0 win over Kilmarnock in their Bank of Scotland Premier League clash at Parkhead.

A dire first half came to life when Jiri Jarosik’s header from a Shunsuke Nakamura free-kick landed at the feet of the Irishman and he wasted no time in slamming it past Killie keeper Graeme Smith from around eight yards.

The Hoops dominated the second half and in the last minute McGeady, on for Derek Riordan, picked up a Nakamura pass and slipped the ball past Smith to wrap up the three points.

It was a comfortable enough win in the end for the champions but once again there was a distinct lack of quality in their play, not helped, it can be assumed, by their healthy lead at the top of the table.

Kilmarnock had not won at Celtic Park since 1955, nor at any time against the Hoops in their last 15 meetings, so there was an inevitable air of confidence among the home support about the outcome before the kick-off.

Most of the interest was centred on the performance of debutant Steven Pressley, whose first touch, a punt up the park after a minute, was cheered by the home fans.

The champions took time to awake from their slumber but in the 12th minute Riordan played Craig Beattie in with a clever reverse pass at the edge of the Killie penalty area.

However, the Celtic striker, making his first SPL start of the season, snatched at his shot from 14 yards and the ball went wide.

The lethargy enveloping the home side’s performance refused to give way to dynamism and consequently the first half hobbled along.

In the 35th minute, however, the Rugby Park side missed the best chance of the half when they broke four against two in a counter-attack.

Gary Wales drove at the back-tracking Pressley before slipping the ball to Rhian Dodds but the Killie player fired past the far post with only Artur Boruc to beat.

The Rugby Park side were made to pay for that miss four minutes later when they fell behind to a O’Dea goal.

Nakamura’s free-kick from the right found Jarosik but his header was blocked by a crowd of bodies only to fall to the young Irishman, who slammed the ball into the net from close range.

In the 50th minute Kilmarnock may have grabbed an equaliser if the unmarked Gary Wales had shown some more conviction attacking Hay’s cross from the left, rather than flicking his header from 12 yards past the far post.

Moments later Celtic defender Lee Naylor picked up a loose header from Hay 30 yards from goal and his left-footed drive whistled inches past Smith’s right-hand post. It was an encouraging piece of action.

In the 58th minute there was another moment of excitement when Riordan picked up a Pressley pass, turned onto his right foot and sent a shot from 25 yards crashing off the Killie crossbar before Gordon Greer eventually cleared to safety.

Minutes later the hapless Beattie missed two chances to grab Celtic’s second. His drive from the edge of the box was blocked by Wright before he miskicked all alone in front of goal after Smith had parried Maciej Zurawski’s drive from distance right to his feet.

As tensions rose, Kilmarnock manager Jim Jefferies was sent to the stand by referee Steve Conroy at the behest of his fourth official Alan Boyd after prolonged complaints at an earlier decision.

The home side had a lucky escape in the 74th minute when Frazer Wright’s header from a Peter Leven free-kick cannoned off the crossbar and wide, a warning for the Parkhead, faithful who were already banking on the three points.

With three minutes to go Jarosik hit the post with a header after being set up by Nakamura.

In the last minute substitute Aiden McGeady, on for Riordan, picked up a Nakamura pass and slipped the ball past Smith to seal the victory and start 2007 in encouraging style.