Celtic 4 - 2 Inverness CT

League Cup Match
Wednesday, October 23rd, 2002, 7:00 PM at Celtic Park, Glasgow
Attendance: 32,122
Referee: M McCurry
Celtic Inverness CT

Goalscorers
Maloney (4)
Hartson (20, 60)
Thompson (43)
Paul Ritchie (10)
Dennis Wyness (71)

Team Managers
Unknown. Steve Paterson

Starting Eleven
Douglas
Boyd
Balde
Creaney
Agathe
Smith
Healy
Fernandez
Maloney
Hartson
Thompson
Mark Brown
Ross Tokely
Grant Munro
Bobby Mann
Stuart Golabek
Barry Robson
Roy McBain
Russell Duncan
Richie Hart
Dennis Wyness
Paul Ritchie

Bench
Kennedy
Wallace
Miller
Sylla
Gould
Ally Ridgers
Stuart McCaffrey
Charlie Christie
Anthony Low
Liam Keogh

Substitutions
Kennedy -> Balde (62)
Wallace -> Agathe (68)
Miller -> Boyd (76)
Charlie Christie for Ross Tokely (72)
Anthony Low for Barry Robson (72)
Liam Keogh for Paul Ritchie (79)

Bookings
Boyd
Kennedy
Roy McBain (60)

Red Cards
None. None.
Appearances & Goals To Date
Mark Brown (GK) 14 apps -
Grant Munro 46 apps1 goal
Stuart Golabek 93 apps1 goal
Bobby Mann 145 apps12 goals
Ross Tokely 209 apps15 goals
Roy McBain 94 apps5 goals
Russell Duncan 53 apps1 goal
Barry Robson 139 apps16 goals
Richie Hart 12 apps3 goals
Dennis Wyness 129 apps66 goals
Paul Ritchie 57 apps27 goals
Anthony Low (sub) 11 apps -
Charlie Christie (sub) 286 apps33 goals
Liam Keogh (sub) 8 apps -

Starting Lineup
Youngest Player:Ross Tokely (23 years 235 days)
Oldest Player:Dennis Wyness (2004 years 83 days)
Average Player Age:23 years 235 days
Domestic Players:11 (100.00 % of starting eleven)

Matchday Squad
Youngest Player:Ross Tokely (23 years 235 days)
Oldest Player:Paul Ritchie (2004 years 83 days)
Average Player Age:30 years 43 days
Domestic Players:16 (100.00 % of matchday squad)

First Team Debuts

Milestones

Another night to remember for Caley Thistle fans at Celtic Park - an excellent display but no upset. The visitors were hit by an early blow when Didier Agathe took a long ball from Bobo Balde on the right wing and his cross was touched home by Shaun Maloney. The 3000 travelling fans raised the roof in 10 minutes when Paul Ritchie equalised with a low shot from the edge of the box. Celtic went in front ten minutes later when John Hartson turned in a low cross from David Fernandez while the defence froze. Referee Mike McCurry incurred the wrath of the visitors in 43 minutes when he awarded what appeared to be a soft free kick on the right corner of the box after Maloney went down. Thompson’s kick was deflected in for Celtic’s third goal. It seemed all over at half time and even more so when Hartson hit the fourth on the hour mark with a back post volley. Just two minutes earlier Grant Munro had come close with a header which was deflected for a corner. Caley Thistle did not give up and a Bobby Mann free kick in 65 minutes went low and past. They came right back into it in 71 minutes when Dennis Wyness headed home a Barry Robson cross despite Rab Douglas getting a touch. The arrival of substitutes Charlie Christie (playing in his 50th cup match for the club) and Tony Low added new life and they were closely followed onto the pitch by ex-Celt Liam Keogh anxious to make his mark. Keogh’s first touch was a header past the post. After strong Caley Thistle pressure the referee was again the subject of strong criticism from the visiting fans two minutes from full time when Keogh had the ball at his feet in the box and a clear sight of goal. He went down but play was waved on. Into added time a Bobby Mann header was cleared off the line. Hartson should have completed his hat trick when a Celtic breakaway left him racing upfield with most of the Caley Thistle defence caught upfield. His shot was touched for a corner by Stuart Golabek and the final whistle blew. Celtic gained their revenge for February 2000 and the Caley Thistle players left the field with heads deservedly held high.