Celtic new bhoys shine

New striker Georgios Samaras made an instant impact by grabbing a debut goal as Celtic thrashed Kilmarnock in the Scottish Cup fifth round at Rugby Park.
Scott McDonald began the scoring after 22 minutes when he swept home Paul Caddis' whipped cross from close range.
Gary Caldwell headed a second on 52 minutes and Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink struck on the hour mark before Jamie Hamill's goal handed Killie a lifeline.
But McDonald scored again and then Samaras completed the rout late on.

Caddis collected a neat reverse pass from Shunsuke Nakamura on the right wing and delivered a precise cross to McDonald who swept home from close range with 22 minutes on the clock.
Celtic claimed their second goal just seven minutes after the restart. Nakamura's corner was flicked on by Massimo Donati and Caldwell connected powerfully to leave the net bulging with a header from a few yards out.
Vennegoor of Hesselink then helped himself to a goal six minutes later. McGeady's pass split the Killie defence and found the Dutchman unmarked and with plenty of time to pick his spot.

Kilmarnock gave themselves hope of a comeback when Jamie Hamill nodded home from Danny Invincibile's cross after 65 minutes. But the joy was short-lived when McDonald pounced on Vennegoor of Hesselink's lay-off to bury a firm shot from 12 yards a minute later.
New recruit Samaras replaced McDonald with 20 minutes remaining and instantly endeared himself to the travelling supporters by marking his debut with a goal.
The Greek striker used his strength to hold off Simon Ford on the right flank before darting infield and tucking a neat left-footed shot beyond Combe to round off a perfect day for the cup holders.

Gordon Strachan hailed his side's 5-1 victory over Kilmarnock in the Scottish Cup as their best away performance of the season.
"I thought the attitude was absolutely first class," said the Celtic manager. "We took the 'cup tie' aspect out of the game by passing the ball well, and there was good variation in our play."
"But the pitch helped - we've played on some dodgy pitches recently - and the players could think about passing the ball instead of fighting for it."

And boss Strachan was pleased with the instant contribution of his new Greek striker.
"Georgios is something different. He's tall and with a varied running style. He gives us another dimension," he said.
Another player making his first start was right-back Paul Caddis, whose overlapping run and cross provided McDonald with the first goal.
"His link up play with Nakamura and his crossing was fantastic," Strachan said. "We feel now he knows more about the game to progress, and I thought he was Excellent."

Irish Forums Message Discussion :: Celtic new bhoys shine

Celtic new bhoys shine