Celtic gift advantage back to Rangers

Chief football writer

Thursday 5 May 2011

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INVERNESS CT3 CELTIC2 Shane Sutherland puts Caley Thistle 3-1 ahead Picture: SNS Grant Munro drills a shot into the net to restore Inverness Caledonian Thistle's lead . Picture: SNS

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MICHAEL GRANT chief football writer at the tulloch caledonian stadium michael.grant@heraldandtimes.co.uk

Who could have thought that their quality and confidence would desert them during a match against Caledonian Thistle? This was the night which was supposed to deliver them to the top of the Clydesdale Bank Premier League. They might never get there now.

They totally collapsed in the second half of a startling match. It was astonishing to see Caley Thistle, not even a top-six team, tear into the title favourites to the extent they could have been 4-1 or even 5-1 up. It had all been in Celtic’s hands. Four straight wins would make them champions.That’s all gone now; they need Rangers to drop points or else their challenge is over. Maybe there will be another twist but as things stand this had the feel of a night when the destination of the title may have been decided. It was the latest in a sequence of slaps in the face for Celtic from a club which has been a pest to them for over a decade.Caley Thistle were exceptional. Striker Adam Rooney made a mess of Daniel Majstorovic and Charlie Mulgrew: he didn’t score but he had the pair of them all over the place. Manager Terry Butcher will have to live with this being reported as a Celtic defeat rather than an Inverness victory -- it was too important in the title race to be presented any other way -- but what pride he could take in the performance he drew from his men.Celtic were never dominant or convincing, and by the end they had unravelled. They had actually started well, forcing some corners, only to quickly fall behind. Kenny Gillet’s long diagonal pass caught out Emilio Izaguirre and Shane Sutherland’s firm cross was flicked towards goal by Rooney only to take a deflection off Mulgrew which flashed past Fraser Forster for an own goal. Rooney would have had a goal of his own minutes later if Forster hadn’t produced a fine save.Forster was a rare Celtic success story. All of Neil Lennon’s back four let him down, the midfield never imposed itself and the front two offered so little they were substituted. Rooney, Grant Munro, Shane Sutherland and Nick Ross were terrific.Caley Thistle prevailed even though Celtic had scored within 10 minutes, quickly equalising the opener. Lennon landed a game-changer when he brought Kris Commons from Derby County in January and he produced another sumptuous goal, his 11th since arriving and 26th of the season, to erase Thistle’s lead.Scott Brown’s pass found him but it was all Commons’ work, rasping a shot high across Ryan Esson which flew inside his left-hand post. Another low Commons effort whistled wide and Shaun Maloney tried a vicious free-kick which Esson tipped over.Still Celtic laboured. Their back four became increasingly rattled. Izaguirre was as poor as he’s been all season. When Majstorovic got his head to an Aaron Doran header the ball only went as far as Grant Munro.Here was a story: the centre-half has been told his contract will not be renewed, so imagine the emotions which rushed over him as he took a touch and thrashed a left-foot shot through the crowded penalty area to score. Given the significance of the goal in the match, and to him, his celebration was subdued. Where had Celtic been when the ball came to him? There was far too much space and time for him to execute his finish.Lennon had to change things. The introduction of Daryl Murphy for Anthony Stokes was his first substitution and Paddy McCourt for Gary Hooper the second. There were murmurs of unrest about the second of those from the away end.No wonder they were unhappy: Celtic had conceded again by then. Once more they were punished for not getting to the second ball. Doran’s free-kick was headed away by Majstorovic and came to a Caley Thistle man rather than a Celtic one. Ross controlled it and picked out Sutherland -- again unmarked -- who scored with a volley off the post.Celtic were all over the place at the back, their distress deepened by seeing Biram Kayal crumble as he was tackled by Ross Tokely while trying to get a shot away. Lengthy treatment ended only when he was moved on to a stretcher and taken away. It was a desperate sight.Majstorovic and Mulgrew were ragged. A ball over the top was all it took to send Rooney through on Forster for what should have been a fourth. The goalkeeper saved his side, just as he did when his centre-halves gifted Caley Thistle another chance and Ross struck a low shot. Caley Thistle looked robust and direct and their work-rate was fantastic. Celtic couldn’t cope.Two minutes into the four added on at the end Celtic correctly got a penalty when Tokely tripped Maloney. Commons tucked it away. There was time for one more twist: McCourt set off on one of his runs and it burrowed him deep into the box before he went down, looking for a penalty. The crowd held its breath for an instant but Stevie O’Reilly waved away the claim. McCourt had simply ran into Munro. Inverness had their famous win.Lennon reacted with total fury, kicking out at a rack of drinks bottles at the edge of his technical area. It was like watching a manager’s reaction to months of work imploding before his eyes.Scorers: Inverness CT -- Mulgrew (7og), Munro (53), Sutherland (62); Celtic -- Commons (9, 90pen).

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Celtic gift advantage back to Rangers

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