22nd Feb 2004 Partick Thistle 1 Celtic 4 (Scottish Premier League - game 25)

matches:2003-04: ← 34game 3536 →

Match Information

35y, 5m, 22d			Derek Whyte		Martin O'Neill
33y, 4m, 2d			Gerry Britton
Kenny Milne; Jamie Mitchell
Stephane Bonnes; Andy Ross
Gerry Britton (1-3, 55 mins)					Chris Sutton (0-1, 35 mins); Stanislav Varga (0-2, 38 mins); Chris Sutton (0-3, pen 52 mins); Stanislav Varga (1-4, 81 mins)
Kenny Milne					Neil Lennon
Jamie Mitchell (Andy S. Gibson, 53 mins); John Paul McBride (Jorge Cadete, 65 mins); Gerry Britton (Stephane Bonnes, 78 mins)					Stephen Pearson (Shaun Maloney, 75 mins); Chris Sutton (Momo Sylla, 83 mins); Neil Lennon (Paul Lambert, 84 mins)
25y, 2m, 15d			Kenny Arthur		Rab Douglas
29y, 5m, 26d			Ian Ross		John Kennedy
28y, 5m, 24d			Grant Murray		Stanislav Varga
24y, 5m, 27d			Kenny Milne		Jackie McNamara future Jag
27y, 3m, 16d			Jamie Mitchell		Bobo Balde
33y, 4m, 2d			Gerry Britton		Stiliyan Petrov
27y, 5m, 8d			David Rowson		Neil Lennon
25y, 2m, 25d			John Paul McBride		Alan Thompson
32y, 11m, 8d			James Grady		Stephen Pearson
22y, 6m, 21d			Billy Gibson		Henrik Larsson
21y, 7m, 11d			Adrian Madaschi		Chris Sutton
27y, 1m, 5d
24y, 2m, 0d			Jamie Langfield		David Marshall
24y, 10m, 11d			Daniele Chiarini		Joos Valgaeren
21y, 11m, 20d			Andy S. Gibson		Paul Lambert
25y, 11m, 27d			Stephane Bonnes		Momo Sylla
35y, 5m, 26d			Jorge Cadete		Shaun Maloney

Match Report

TTA report

Celtic's record-breaking 24th consecutive league victory was ultimately easy but it took them most of the first half to get into top gear. 2-up at half-time (35 and 38), a penalty made it 3-0 (52) before Britton pulled one back with a low drive (55) but Celtic got their 4th (81). Thistle were outplayed.

Media report

22-Feb-2004, bbc.com

Celtic established a new Scottish record of 24 consecutive league wins with a comfortable victory at Firhill. The SPL leaders spurned several early chances but took the lead after 35 minutes when Chris Sutton headed home. Stanislav Varga headed a second goal soon after and Sutton scored from the penalty spot early in the second half. Co-manager Gerry Britton drilled in a goal for Thistle after 55 minutes but Varga headed a simple second goal 10 minutes from time.

The visitors were on top right from the start and Thistle keeper Kenny Arthur had to make a smart save after three minutes to keep out a header from Bobo Balde. Henrik Larsson then clipped his shot over the crossbar after being played clean through by Sutton. The roles were reversed a few minutes later when Larsson crossed smartly with the outside of his boot but Sutton somehow skewed his header wide from six yards. Jackie McNamara was next to try his luck and fired just wide from 20 yards following a neat Alan Thompson step-over. The breakthrough came ten minutes before the interval when Thompson's cross was flicked on by Kennedy and headed back across goal by Larsson for Sutton to head home from five yards. Celtic doubled their lead four minutes later with Thompson again the creator. The Englishman floated an inviting free-kick to the back post and Varga arrived to head back across goal and into the net off the post. James Grady had a good chance to pull his side back into the game but he fired wildly off target from close range after meeting Gerry Britton's cross at the near post.

The second half was just five minutes old when Kenny Milne foolishly barged Kennedy over in the penalty area and Sutton swept home the spot kick. Thistle hit back in the 55th minute when Britton was first to react after Celtic keeper Robert Douglas had blocked a fierce shot from Billy Gibson. The home side enjoyed a lot more of the ball after the goal but could not create any clear goalscoring chances. Former Celtic favourite Jorge Cadete, who agreed a one-month deal with the Jags this week, was introduced after 64 minutes and the veteran Portuguese striker displayed a few nice touches. The Jags were giving a much better account of themselves as the game went on but a lapse in concentration allowed Varga to score a free header from a Thompson corner in the 80th minute. In the dying stages Cadete was given a glimpse of goal but his powerful shot was pushed away by Douglas.

Scrapbook

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BBC, 22nd February, 2004

Video Highlights

Option 1: extended highlights

(credits: Irvine Bhoy / BBC Scotland )

Option 2: 2 x short takes

(credits: Scottish Television / BBC Scotland )

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Stats Watch

● 35-year-old Jorge Cadete makes his Thistle debut.

● Jorge Cadete becomes the first Mozambican to play for Thistle.

● Mozambique becomes the 24th country/territory to birth a Jag.

ongoing sequences:

● 24 consecutive competitive appearances for Grant Murray, 20th Sep 2003 to date, a new personal best. (Longest run since: David Lilley - 30 games, 2nd Nov 2002 to 16th Aug 2003. Club-record: Johnny Jackson - 313 games, 28th Aug 1926 to 25th Mar 1933.)

Stats Watch adheres to our stated definitions of League, League Max, Major Competitive, Competitive or All Games. Where there is no written qualification, you should presume that the Stat in question is compiled from the All Games criteria.

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