© EuroFootball.com
On Saturday, four matches of the 7th round took place in the Scottish "Premier" League championship. The fifth victory was claimed by the last season's and this year's leader, Glasgow Celtic club. The newcomer St Mirren club experienced a somewhat unexpected defeat, losing 0-1 to Killmarnock team. Aberdeen team also secured a victory, defeating Falkirk, while Inverness and Dundee United shared a point.
All the attention was focused on the match in Glasgow, where the local Celtic hosted guests from Dunfermline. The hosts had the first opportunity to score, but Dunfermline goalkeeper saved his team twice from Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink's headers. The first serious danger of the match arose in the 18th minute, when Danish player Thomas Gravesen took a shot from approximately 22 meters, but his shot was saved by Dunfermline goalkeeper Dorus De Vries.
At the end of the first half, the first and only goal of the match fell. In the 31st minute, Japanese player Shunsuke Nakamura took a corner kick and defender Stephen McManus headed the ball into the net.
Approaching the end of the first half, Dunfermline's goal was under siege by the same T. Gravesen, but this time luck turned away from the Celtic team – the ball hit the post. Dunfermline club woke up towards the end of the match, when Stevie Crawford's shot from 22 meters missed the goal.
Celtic continued to press on their opponents, and Kenny Miller, who had not scored since being acquired from Wolves, tried to break this tradition, but unfortunately his shot went over the crossbar. Celtic captain Neil Lennon had the last chance, but his headed shot flew over the crossbar. This was the fifth champions' victory in this Scottish championship, allowing this club to further distance themselves from their closest opponents, Rangers and Hearts.
In another match, Falkirk and Aberdeen clashed. In the 9th minute of the game, Falkirk's player Darren Barr attacked dangerously, but his header from 7 meters shook the bar of Aberdeen's goal. Three minutes later, the visitors responded with an attack – Lee Miller's shot missed next to the post. There were no more notable dangerous situations in the first half, so at the end of the half, the referee's whistle announced a 0-0 score.
At the beginning of the second half, Aberdeen scored the first goal of the match. In the 51st minute, Barry Nicholson crossed the ball into the penalty area, where Falkirk defenders failed to clear the ball properly, and Garry Dempsey, who probably sprinted to the loose ball, scored with a magnificent shot from a distance of 22 meters, overcoming Falkirk goalkeeper Scott Higgins.
Falkirk's player Stephen O'Donnell tried to equalize the score, but his shot was easily caught by Jamie Langfield. The 81st minute was decisive for the hosts. Just after appearing on the field as a substitute, Dutch player Dyron Daal, receiving a pass from his teammate Darren Mackie, went one-on-one and beat S. Higgins, although he touched the ball with his fingertips. This victory helped the Aberdeen team rise from 5th to 3rd place, surpassing Edinburgh Hearts.
Newcomer St. Mirren club, who had shown great football so far, unexpectedly lost at home to Kilmarnock players. The only goal of the match was scored as an own goal by St. Mirren defender Kirk Broadfoot.
Meanwhile, the match between Inverness and Dundee United ended with a peaceful 0-0 result.
Statistics of the Scottish "Premier" League 7th round matches held on Saturday:
1 – 0
31` [1 – 0] Stephen McManus
0 – 2
51` [0 – 1] Garry Dempsey
81` [0 – 2] Dyron Daal
0 – 1
70` [0 – 1] Kirk Broadfoot (own goal)
0 – 0
Standings:
