Celtic have played many matches against Falkirk throughout the decades and the pair are set to renew their acquaintance in the Scottish Cup this weekend. However, the sides haven’t met since facing off in the Scottish League Cup Semi Final at Hampden Park in January 2012.
Almost a decade on, both clubs have very different teams. Only Forrest and Brown still remain at Paradise:
Forster, Izaguirre (Ki Sung-Yeung 46), Cha Du-Ri (Matthews 68), Mulgrew, Rogne, Brown, Ledley, Wanyama, Stokes (Commons 87), Forrest, Hooper
Unused Substitutes: Zaluska, Matthews, Ki Sung-Yeung, Samaras, Commons
Celtic started the game well against their lower league opponents and should have been ahead on 10 minutes when Gary Hooper turned home Scott Brown’s shot, which had rebounded off the post. The flag went up to signify offside, despite footage showing that he was clearly not ahead of the defender (regardless of the commentator’s bizarre take).
The hoops did then take the lead through a Scott Brown penalty on 27 minutes, which Falkirk boss Stephen Pressley was sent to the stands for complaining about. He later apologised and retracted his complaints after seeing the replay, though it does appear to be a dubious award.
Despite Celtic’s good play, Falkirk drew level just before half time, when Emilio Izaguirre was caught well out of position. Neil Lennon later commented “Emilio was a bit pedestrian but I couldn’t ask more of the players today.”
Falkirk missed a couple of great chances after drawing level and were made to pay when Stokes fired a second half brace. However, prior to restoring their lead Thomas Rogne thumped the crossbar from a Charlie Mulgrew corner.
Stokes’ first goal eventually came about through the award of a soft free kick around the hour mark. The Irishman then stepped up and curled the ball over the wall and into the bottom corner. It wasn’t until the 85th minute that he made sure of things when Hooper squared for him to tap home.
Most of the 30,000 fans could eventually go home pleased but it was by no means a great performance. Nevertheless, the treble was still on as Celtic were into the final against Kilmarnock and vying for success in the other two competitions.
Attention soon turned to late deals in the transfer market as Polish international striker Pawel Brozek was close to signing from Trabzonspor on a six-month loan deal. The club were also trying to sign Fojut before the window closed and made an offer of €250k for the player. Meanwhile, Rabiu Ibrahim was a confirmed arrival.
