Hoops bounce back to clinch good away win at Glebe

What a difference it was to the poor display on Saturday which saw Colin Malone’s side end up on the wrong end of a 4-0 scoreline against Ballymoney.

On Tuesday night Celtic started brightest but were stunned after Glebe went ahead with a looping header which caught Ciaran Fox off his line on eight minutes.

Undeterred the Hoops hit back on 26 minutes when Conor Forker equalised with a well taken effort.

Fox made a stunning double save to keep the score intact and in the second half Forker smashed home his and Celtic’s second in the 53rd minute and only several saves kept Glebe still in the game.

Striker Raymond Fitzpatrick was unlucky a minute after the second goal when he hit the crossbar with a solid header.

The Hoops sealed the points on 83 minutes with a superb goal after Fitzpatrick ran through the home defence and played a sublime pass to Ciaran Rooney who without breaking stride moved forward and scored with a well hit strike.

In contrast. Saturday’s game at Ballymoney was a day to forget.

The Hoops fell behind to a controversial penalty but were unfortunate not to get level soon after when Fitzpatrick was harshly ruled offside when breaking into the box.

Celtic continued to press and when a Dale Malone corner came into the area Fitzpatrick had an goalbound effort cleared by several defenders.

On 18 minutes things took a turn for the worse when the home side broke downfield and an attempted clearance rebounded off an attacker to leave a Ballymoney forward a simple tap in.

Fitzpatrick had a good effort saved and also made a fine run down but his cross was cleared with Malone lurking in the box.

The half ended with Celtic pressing for a goal but they were unable to make the breakthrough although a Malone header from Lavery’s cross drew a good save from the home keeper.

The second half started with the Hoops going for broke and Toland fed Malone who saw his shot cleared.

Another controversial decision came after Toland was pushed as he prepared to shoot but with the referee lagging behind he waved play on .Incensed by this decision assistant manager Dixie Robinson was dismissed from the dug out. Minutes later the game ended as a contest when a poor pass was intercepted and Ballymoney took advantage to score from what looked an offside position.

Tempers boiled over and Lavery got his second yellow causing his dismissal. Caolan Campbell and Ciaran Rooney were brought on as the match deteriorated into a farce and it was no surprise when Ballymoney added a fourth. Malone then jumped with a defender and it was obvious the Ballymoney player had headed the ball but the linesman flagged for a Ballymoney throw and when the Celtic player made his feelings clear to the referee he was given a second yellow and dismissed leaving the Hoops with nine men.

This Saturday Celtic have a home game against champions elect Armagh City and the following Tuesday 15th April entertain league leaders PSNI at Knockramer kick-off 6.45pm.