McGeady waves magic wand

AT Celtic Park they have come to regard Aiden McGeady as a little magician. A few weeks shy of his 19th birthday and he conjured something remarkable here yesterday. It wasn't just his classy second-half goal, but rather the result it had on this game.

A dreary encounter - uninspiring and drifting towards a less than emphatic Celtic win courtesy of John Hartson's early strike - was suddenly transformed. It was as if the teenager had waved a wand to provide that magical spark to sweep Dunfermline away in an avalanche of goals.

Three came in just seven minutes as David Hay's side disintegrated sadly and spectacularly.

Three points secured, now only a point shy of Rangers with a game in hand. And, perhaps just as significantly, animproved goal difference which has them on the league leaders heels in more ways than one. Only four goals separate them from Rangers now and Celtic have averaged exactly that amount in their last three matches.

"We lost our way a little bit and needed that second goal which McGeady provided, " admitted Martin O'Neill.

"Then the floodgates opened. I told him it was a fantastic goal and he said 'it was about time'."

McGeady's fifth of the season was a peach. Just after the hour mark he sidestepped inside teenage full-back Greg Ross, burst to the edge of the box and delivered a powerful right-foot shot.

As Hay observed, Dunfermline simply wilted after that and Celtic, who had plenty of possession in the wrong areas until then, suddenly found a directness that had been missing.

Another for Hartson - his 24th of the season - two more for Stilian Petrov and a late header from substitute Craig Beattie completed a rout which sunk a Dunfermline team which had arrived at Celtic Park with nine first team players absent through injury.

No wonder Hay had defence on his mind, as he strung out five across the back; Andy Tod charged with the dubious job of shadowing Hartson's every move.

That the big Welshman put Celtic ahead before the clock had ticked around to double figures may have suggested Tod was not up to the job, but in fact the fault lay with Andrius Skerla, for the Lithuanian was the one who was meant to be picking up the striker when Alan Thompson curled in a freekick from the right.

Hartson, however, brushed Skerla off with ridiculous ease, before firing home from close range. His career best is 26 goals in a season with West Ham and that mark will surely be bested as Celtic enter the final stage of the season.

The crowd roared their approval of Hartson's effort, but soon fell into almost quiet indifference as the early lead was not built on.

Chances came and went, Derek Stillie denying Hartson brilliantly at one point, but Celtic over-elaborated as the game idled into a neutral gear as the half drifted towards it conclusion.

The dreary fare looked set to continue after the break, Dunfermline unable to commit enough men forward to provide Celtic with any sort of test, the home side lacking the verve to drag any modicum of spectacle into this listless affair.

Yet if there was one man who was going to illuminate this tie it was McGeady who did just that as the game entered its final third. Now the home support found their voices and their team finally recaptured some of the momentum that was there at the outset, but which had evaporated all too quickly in the first half.

The third, fourth and fifth goals came in a rush of seven minutes, as if all that pent up frustration was released in one unstoppable flood as Dunfermline's defensive awareness disappeared in a manner which suggested mental capitulation.

First Craig Bellamy was involved in a short corner move, the Welshman firing the ball in low to the near post and Hartson getting his toe to the ball just ahead of Stillie's despairing lunge.

Bellamy was the provider again four minutes later, picking up a long ball, coaxing it along the left flank before picking out the run of Petrov, who volleyed home.

Don't ask where the Dunfermline markers had gone, because they were absent without leave, just as they were moments later when Petrov lifted the ball over Stillie and then beat teammate Jackie McNamara in the contest to put the decisive touch on it after Scott Wilson's initial block on the line.

Amid this onslaught, Dunfermline managed one brief foray forward of their own;

Simon Donnelly shooting just wide of Rab Douglas' post.

There was still time for Stillie to produce heroics at the other end, a brilliant onehanded save from a Hartson header denying the Welshman his hat-trick, but he could do nothing about Celtic's final goal, Ross Wallace crossing to Beattie who headed home unchallenged.

It was Hartson who had the final word, though, in the form of a post-match plea for his manager to stay amid speculation Manchester City would like O'Neill to take charge.

"I don't think he is the type of man to walk away from the situation we are in now, " said the big Welshman.

No one at Celtic Park was disagreeing with that sentiment yesterday.

FAST FOOTBALL

Fair result? The only thing wrong with the scoreboard was that it should have clicked around to six goals long before the 89th minute.

Celtic were totally dominant throughout, but needed McGeady's goal to inspire them to a higher level.

Entertainment value?

Dreadful and captivating and all in 90 minutes. Boring and uninspiring until the 62nd minute and then suddenly packed with a glut of goals.

Talking point: Manchester City anyone?

Man of the match: Craig Bellamy. May not have got on the scoresheet, but was pivotal in a creative role. His manager likened his work in midfield and out wide to that of former Celtic favourite Lubomir Moravcik.

Martin O'Neill (on the importance of goal difference):

It might be a long shot or it might happen again, but if the Championship can depend on it, you might as well do something about it.

David Hay: "Up until the second goal our game plan was reasonably good, but with the second goal we wilted. We have to overcome this defeat and show resilience to stay in the SPL."

Douglas Balde Varga Laursen McNamara Lennon Thompson McGeady Petrov Bellamy Hartson

Subs: Henchox for Laursen 75, Beattie for McNamara 80, Wallace for McGeady 84.

Not used: Marshall, Valgaeren, Fernandez, Lambert.

Stillie Ross Skerla S Wilson Tod Campbell C Wilson Dn Young Nicholson Donnelly Christiansen

Subs: McKeown for C Wilson 85, McGlinshie for Donnelly 88.

Not used: Langfield, Scullion, Dunn.

Referee: C Murray.

Attendance: 58,908.