SOCCER / Celtic 3 Anderlecht 1: Celtic are firmly back in the frame for Champions League progress after an impressive victory over Anderlecht last night.
The Scots have now gone 62 matches unbeaten at Celtic Park and, though that is a remarkable statistic, it pales into insignificance in the bigger picture of trying to qualify from Group A for the next stage.
That possibility opened up enticingly for the home team last night as a scintillating first-half performance left the Belgians bewitched, bothered and bewildered. The late goal from the Brussels team was merely a gesture.
Martin O'Neill sprang a surprise by departing from his favoured three at the back and moving Didier Agathe to an unaccustomed right-back slot in a back four for Celtic.
Little harm it did them as after 12 minutes they took the lead with an excellent goal.
John Hartson, more used to scoring, turned provider for the first of a number of times with a ball inside Olivier Deschacht.
Agathe, perhaps forgetting himself, was up to receive it, his cross invited a finish and Henrik Larsson supplied it with an angled header wide of Daniel Zitka.
Five minutes later, Celtic put together another move that left the Anderlecht defence in disarray once more and this time Jackie McNamara moved forward on the left and crossed for Hartson to head back into the danger area.
Ireland's Liam Miller was there to hammer a low drive past Zitka.
The Irish youngster, hero of the hour in the last home victory over Lyon, seems to enjoy the rarefied atmosphere of the Champions League or maybe he was simply trying to prove a point to his manager after being controversially left out of the first game between these teams in Brussels a fortnight ago.
Either way, Celtic were sparkling and explosive.The pace at which they were playing simply left the Belgians floundering and, after 28 minutes and following a fine Stilian Petrov header that was turned over the bar by Zitka, it was 3-0.
Hartson was once more involved, touching on Petrov's corner and turning in time to see Chris Sutton throw himself forward for a glorious header.
After that, things got briefly out of hand. In three torrid minutes three yellow cards were shown - Sutton for an altercation with Dindane Aruna, then Aruna for a late challenge on Magnus Hedman and finally Hartson for a foul on Besnik Hasi.
Just before half-time Michal Zewlakow joined them in the book for a tackle on Larsson.
By and large the second half did not have quite the same drama, but, with Anderlecht still reeling and Celtic so well in command, it was hardly a surprise. There were still some notable moments.
Hartson, who so deserved a goal of his own, came close early on with a shot that was well saved by Zitka and after 59 minutes the hard-pressed Belgians had Christian Wilhelmsson booked for hands.
Then Anderlecht, who at times looked neat even in such adversity, opted for a change as Martin Kolar replaced Marc Hendrikx after 62 minutes.
It did not exactly transform them, but it did spark a flurry of resistance from the Brussels side during which Stanislav Varga and Ivica Mornar were spoken to for a bust-up which was followed by a booking for the Celtic defender for a foul on Aruna.
Overall, though, the tempo of the tie had slowed. Indeed, the biggest roar for some time came in appreciation of Miller's efforts when the youngster limped off to be replaced by Michael Gray after 75 minutes.
By picking up his knock at the point furthest from the tunnel he was able to lap up a standing ovation for some time.
He had hardly disappeared when Anderlecht scored. It seemed a soft penalty as Aruna collapsed under the weight of a Bobo Balde challenge and justice appeared to be done as Magnus Hedman blocked Mornar's spot-kick and then the rebound from Wilhelmsson.
Finally, though, he conceded defeat to Aruna, who forced the ball home.
Guardian Service
CELTIC: Hedman, Varga, Balde, McNamara, Agathe, Miller (Gray 75), Lennon, Sutton, Petrov, Hartson (Maloney 83, Sylla 90), Larsson . Subs Not Used: Douglas, Wallace, Mjallby, Kennedy. Booked: Sutton, Hartson, Varga. Goals: Larsson 12, Miller 17, Sutton 29.
ANDERLECHT: Zitka, Zewlakow, Tihinen, Kompany, Deschacht, Wilhelmsson, Hendrikx (Kolar 62), Hasi, Baseggio, Dindane, Mornar. Subs Not Used: Peersman, Ilic, Vanderhaeghe, Zetterberg, MacDonald, Ngalula Mbuyi. Booked: Dindane, Zewlakow, Wilhelmsson. Goals: Dindane 77.
Referee: K Vassaras (Greece).
