Inverness 1-0 Celtic: Caley Thistle surprise much-changed Hoops

adamhigginsuk
Aug 23, 2014
4 min read

INVERNESS Caley Thistle maintained top spot in the Scottish Premiership with a deserved victory over a much-changed Celtic.

Youngster Eoghan O'Connell put through his own net midway through the second half after Lukasz Zaluska parried Marley Watkins cross back into the danger area.

The hosts had the better of the chances in an entertaining spectacle with Gary Warren and Nick Ross going close.

Nir Biton hit the woodwork with a curling shot for the Hoops, who suffered a first league defeat of the campaign ahead of their Champions League play-off second leg against Maribor.

A first home win over the reigning champions since May 2011 will breed confidence for early league leaders Caley Thistle as their impressive start to the season continued.

John Hughes's side have now won three of their four games so far, taking 10 points from a possible 12, without conceding a goal.

The result means the final 100% record in the top-flight has disappeared after Celtic began with comfortable wins over St Johnstone and Dundee United.

? DID YOU KNOW ?

Inverness have beaten Celtic for just the second time in their last 12 league meetings.

The Highlanders equal their club record of five consecutive league clean sheets.

Caley Thistle drew at Celtic Park in the sides' first encounter last season in August but Celtic won the other three (scoring 12 and conceding none).

After a creditable 1-1 draw in Slovenia on Wednesday, Ronny Deila made 10 changes for the trip to the Highlands with stand-in skipper Charlie Mulgrew the only player to retain his place.

There were first appearances of the season for Polish keeper Zaluska, Irish defender O'Connell, Dylan McGeouch, Filip Twardzik and Liam Henderson while Leigh Griffiths made his first league start of the season, partnered by the recalled Teemu Pukki in attack.

Former Celtic centre-back Hughes - who was again without injured trio Richie Foran, James Vincent and Danny Devine - named an unchanged side from their convincing 2-0 win at Motherwell last weekend.

Greg Tansey, who netted a stunning goal at Fir Park, curled a 25-yard free-kick into the side netting after four minutes as Inverness made a bright start.

The midfielder then sent a skidding effort bouncing inches wide of the post from similar range after receiving a Danny Williams pass.

Celtic, who had won on each of their five previous visits to the Tulloch Caledonian Stadium, took a while to make an impression but finally began to apply pressure midway through the first half.

Caley Thistle keeper Dean Brill was called upon to turn over a looping Efe Ambrose shot before twice denying Pukki in quick succession after the Finland international pounced upon a slip from Josh Meekings.

The hosts had a penalty appeal waved away on 27 minutes when Ryan Christie appeared to have been brought down by Twardzik in the box, but not in the opinion of referee Bobby Madden.

Kris Commons was denied by Brill and Biton turned superbly away from Ross Draper to curl an ambitious effort against the upright as the Hoops went in search of the breakthrough.

But Inverness went close at the other end when Warren's header from Graeme Shinnie's inswinging corner was cleared off the line by Mulgrew 10 minutes before half-time.

Seeking to gather fresh momentum, Celtic introduced Calum McGregor and Stefan Johansen at the break for Twardzik and Pukki but the changes did not have the desired impact.

Meekings guided a Christie left-wing delivery off target after Zaluska, preferred to Craig Gordon between the Celtic sticks, was caught in no man's land as the first chance went Caley Thistle's way after the break.

The second half was largely a stale affair, which transpired into a congested midfield battle for sustained periods.

Griffiths struck straight at Brill from an acute angle when freed by a Commons slide-rule pass as Celtic struggled to penetrate the unbreached Caley Thistle rearguard.

Indeed, the hosts were more progressive going forward and went ahead on 65 minutes - albeit in rather fortuitous circumstances.

The bubbly Watkins burst forward down the right flank and sent a superb cross into the box for Billy McKay, but Zaluska took the ball off the striker's toe only to see it spin off O'Connell and into the back of the net.

? DID YOU KNOW ?

Celtic have equalled their tally of league defeats from last season already (one).

The Hoops failed to net for the first time in 59 SPL games stretching back to a 1-0 defeat to Hibernian in December 2012.

Commons exchanged passes with substitute Anthony Stokes before testing Brill with a low shot but that was as good as it got for the laboured visitors in the way of a response.

Full of belief and vitality, Inverness surged forward with an energetic purpose in a bid to increase their narrow advantage and had the opportunities to do so.

Christie curled a low effort inches wide from the edge of the box after the vulnerability in Celtic's patched-up defence was easily exposed.

Ross - brought on for McKay in the closing stages - almost rounded it off late on following a quick breakaway by Williams but Zaluska reacted well to turn his effort wide from 12 yards.

The solitary goal proved enough for the Highlanders to clinch their first three points on home soil and cement their place at the summit as Deila's decision to field a perceived weakened team backfired.