10th Feb 2018 Celtic 3 Partick Thistle 2 (Scottish Cup 5th Round)

matches:2017-18: ← 35game 3637 →

	Brendan Rodgers	Alan Archibald	40y, 6m, 28d

		Callum Booth; Adam Barton; Kris Doolan; Chris Erskine
		James Penrice; Abdul Osman; Conor Sammon; Miles Storey

James Forrest (0-1, 2 mins); James Forrest (0-2, 10 mins); James Forrest (1-3, 54 mins)		Kris Doolan (1-2, 20 mins); Conor Sammon (2-3, 84 mins)
none (0-1, 2 mins); Olivier Ntcham (0-2, 10 mins); Scott Sinclair (1-3, 54 mins)		none (1-2, 20 mins); Chris Erskine (2-3, 84 mins)
		Danny Devine

Charly Musonda (Callum McGregor, 65 mins); Scott Sinclair (Odsonne Édouard, 79 mins); James Forrest (Eboue Kouassi, 87 mins)		Adam Barton (Abdul Osman, 57 mins); Kris Doolan (Conor Sammon, 60 mins); Martin Woods (Andy McCarthy, 79 mins)

	Dorus de Vries	Tomáš Černý	32y, 10m, 0d
	Mikael Lustig	Paul McGinn	27y, 3m, 19d
	Kris Ajer	Callum Booth	26y, 8m, 11d
	Jozo Šimunović	Baily Cargill	22y, 7m, 5d
	Kieran Tierney	Danny Devine	25y, 5m, 3d
	Scott Brown	Adam Barton	27y, 1m, 3d
	Olivier Ntcham	Martin Woods	32y, 1m, 9d
	James Forrest	Blair Spittal	22y, 1m, 22d
	Charly Musonda	Kris Doolan	31y, 1m, 30d
	Scott Sinclair	Ryan Edwards	24y, 2m, 24d
	Moussa Dembélé	Chris Erskine	31y, 0m, 2d

			27y, 6m, 5d

	Scott Bain	Ryan Scully	25y, 3m, 12d
	Cristian Gamboa	Mustapha Dumbuya	30y, 6m, 3d
	Tom Rogic	Abdul Osman	30y, 11m, 14d
	Odsonne Édouard	Conor Sammon	31y, 3m, 4d
	Callum McGregor	James Penrice	19y, 1m, 19d
	Calvin Miller	Andy McCarthy	19y, 3m, 21d
	Eboue Kouassi	Miles Storey	24y, 1m, 6d

notes

Both sides generally in playing order.

TTA report

Shocking defending gifted goals (76 secs and 10) but a blind pass-back let in Doolan for an excellent finish (20). Thistle enjoyed a much better spell but Forrest completed a quality hat-trick (54). Sammon held off his man and fired home a long ball (80) and Edwards went close (92). Thistle gifted Celtic 2 goals then won 2-1!

Media report

10-Feb-2018, bbc.com

Celtic progressed to the Scottish Cup quarter-finals as James Forrest struck a hat-trick against Partick Thistle. Forrest scored twice in the opening 10 minutes as Celtic raced into an early advantage. Kris Doolan, in his 350th Partick Thistle appearance, replied following a defensive mistake by Jozo Simunovic. Forrest completed his first treble after the break, and Conor Sammon struck a consolation in the closing minutes. Before kick-off there was a minute's silence in tribute to former Celtic midfielder Liam Miller, who died after a battle with cancer aged 36.

Thistle were in trouble within minutes of the kick-off, when a loose ball from defender Baily Cargill conceded possession to Scott Brown. The Celtic captain instantly knocked the ball forward and when striker Moussa Dembele's shot was blocked by Partick Thistle defender Danny Devine, the ball spun to Forrest who stabbed it in from eight yards for his 14th goal of the season. Forrest doubled Celtic's advantage when he picked the ball up on the halfway line and ran almost unimpeded to the edge of the Thistle box before checking and driving a shot past Partick goalkeeper Tomas Cerny. Six minutes later the Thistle keeper denied Forrest a hat-trick when he stretched down to his right to tip the winger's drive round the post. Yet for all Celtic's early onslaught, in the 20th minute, and out of the blue, Thistle were handed a lifeline. Under no pressure, Simunovic, back in for the injured Dedryck Boyata, was woefully short with an attempted pass back to goalkeeper Dorus de Vries and from the edge of the box the alert Doolan lofted it over the Dutchman and into the net.

From looking down and out, the visitors were rejuvenated, but they found themselves two goals adrift again eight minutes after the restart. Winger Scott Sinclair took a Kieran Tierney pass inside the box and cut the ball back for Forrest to squeeze a close-range drive past Cerny, despite three Thistle players in close attendance. The goal deflated the visitors and Celtic continued their search for more goals. Dembele fired just wide from outside the penalty area in the 72nd minute before Sinclair drove straight at Cerny when he only had the former Hamilton keeper to beat. However, again Thistle unexpectedly came back. With six minutes remaining, Sammon took a Chris Erskine pass and held off Simunovic before hooking a right-footed shot past de Vries and into the far corner of the net. There was more drama in three minutes of added time, when a fine cross from Erskine almost fell for Ryan Edwards inside the six-yard box, but Tierney defended well before allowing de Vries to gather the ball on the goal-line.

Reaction

Partick Thistle manager Alan Archibald was happy with the resilience shown by his side, but not the sloppiness in the opening period that saw them fall two goals behind:

We gave ourselves a chance towards the end, but we can't start a game in that manner. The first 15 minutes we were all over the place, but once we regrouped and got a grip on our shape and formation, we always looked a threat. We got ourselves back in the game and credit to the lads for the character they showed. On another day, we could have got a replay.

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers says his side needs to raise its level of performance if they are to retain the Scottish Cup:

If we're to win the cup we need to play better and make less mistakes at the back. It should have been less nervy. We started the game very well, good structure to our team, good positioning and ended up getting two goals. Big mistake that we make that gives them oxygen in the game. That gave them the lift and our rhythm was bitty for the rest of the half. With five minutes to go, it's tight, and there's a brilliant bit of defending from Kieran Tierney at the back post to prevent them making the opportunity. Overall a good win for us, but we made it really difficult. We were good going forward but behind we need to be better with and without the ball. James Forrest was outstanding, the player of real quality on the pitch, how he received the ball, how he pressed the game and his goals were brilliant. He's one of the best receivers of the ball I've ever worked with, whether it's in a tight space or in the middle of the pitch. He's getting real confidence in his game. He's got an incredible ability with the ball, how he runs with it, and a nice little body swerve and he's got a finish now and is getting into areas to get goals. All three goals were brilliant.

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