CIS Cup final: Celtic 3 - 0 Dunfermline (original) (raw)

Gordon Strachan has a considerable distance to go before he can enter the pantheon of great Celtic managers but he is at least some way towards emulating the success of many of his predecessors having won his first trophy yesterday.

Celtic's victory in the CIS Cup final over Jim Leishman's Dunfermline, which was not quite as straightforward as many had predicted, represents the first part of a near-certain trophy double in Strachan's first season at Parkhead. The Scottish Premierleague title will follow within weeks, but for now the former Southampton and Coventry manager would be entirely justified in taking a reflective stance on a successful campaign to date.

Two of Strachan's signings, Maciej Zurawski and Dion Dublin, were on the scoresheet, fittingly alongside Shaun Maloney, a young player whose career has blossomed beyond all expectation since the manager took over in the summer.

"It is the first trophy I have won and the first as a new group so hopefully there will be more to come," said Strachan. "Remember, we've had to beat four Premierleague teams to win this.

"The philosophy at the clubs I managed before was 90% of the time just not to lose. Here, the philosophy is that you must win 100% of the time, and it's always nice to win something."

The cup also represents Neil Lennon's first success as club captain and, as if to demonstrate the team spirit that has characterised Strachan's tenure, the Ulsterman paid tribute to his new manager and the Celtic supporters. "It was everything I thought it would be," he said. "A magic moment, although I was really nervous. We scored three good goals and we couldn't ask for any more from the players. I'm delighted for the manager and the fans, who were fantastic today."

After a dogged first-half performance, preceded by a rousing minute's applause as a tribute to the former Celtic winger Jimmy Johnstone who died on Monday, Dunfermline had cause to feel a sense of rough justice at being behind at the interval. Having subdued Celtic's support, Leishman's team had coped admirably with the attacking threat of the champions elect, which made the spectacular aberration leading to the opening goal all the more surprising.

Aaron Labonte collided with his goalkeeper Allan McGregor as Zurawski looked to latch on to Maloney's deft through pass. As the Dunfermline players lay helpless on the ground, the Polish striker walked the ball into an empty net.

The Fife outfit's challenge in the second half was therefore to develop what had been an otherwise accomplished defensive performance into a display that would trouble Celtic's rearguard - and their cause appeared to be helped by an injury to Roy Keane on the hour mark.

The Irishman, who had performed with tenacity in the heart of Celtic's midfield, pulled up with an injury to his right hamstring when chasing a pass from Shunsuke Nakamura. Strachan said afterwards that the damage is "not too bad", but after a week in which Keane mooted early retirement with persistent injury worries, the 34-year-old's final could not have ended in a more disappointing manner.

Keane's replacement, Dublin, came within inches of doubling Celtic's lead but they had to wait until the 77th minute to score their second. Maloney, the one player on the field who displayed anything like the trickery that made Johnstone such a revered figure among Celtic followers, curled a 25-yard free-kick past McGregor.

Dublin scored Celtic's third, and his first goal for the club, from close range in the dying seconds after Paul Telfer's fine cut-back, but Dunfermline can be relieved that the match represented a complete antithesis to the teams' last meeting - which Celtic won 8-1. "Our remit at the start of the season was to stay in the SPL," said Leishman. "This cup run has been a huge bonus."

As Lennon led Celtic's celebrations, thoughts once again turned to Johnstone, with the Celtic players each donning shirts with the legendary winger's name and number for the trophy presentation. "There were bits in the game that Jimmy would have loved," said Strachan. "And he would have loved the bit at the end the most, because Celtic won the trophy."

Man of the match - Shaun Maloney - A young player who has blossomed since the arrival of Gordon Strachan continued his rapid rise to prominence and capped his performance with an excellent goal.