Scottish giants Celtic bounced back from their midweek European disappointment to beat Inverness Caledonian Thistle 1-0 at home and increase their lead over second placed Rangers to seven points in the SPL. The game was a quiet affair, with winger Shaun Maloney scoring what was to be the winner in the 29th minute.
Celtic’s exit from Europe at the hands of Danish side Aalborg last Tuesday means we will not see a single Scottish side in either the UEFA Cup or the Champions League, with Motherwell, Queen of the South and Rangers already knocked out.
Inverness tried their best to find an equaliser, but Celtic were not to be denied three points.
Maloney’s goal was created by Japanese midfielder Shunsuke Nakamura, whose reverse pass was expertly controlled by the former Aston Villa winger and fired past Inverness keeper Ryan Esson.
Celtic: A.Boruc, A.Hinkel, G.Caldwell, S.McManus, Robson (Naylor 62), Nakamura, Hartley, Scott Brown, Maloney, Samaras (Sheridan 62), McDonald, Sheridan (Mizuno 90).
Subs Not Used: Mark Brown, Loovens, Caddis, Millar.
Booked: Artur Boruc.
Inverness CT:R.Esson, Tokely, Munro, Proctor, Duncan, Imrie, Cowie, Vigurs (Rooney 73), Hastings, Black Wilson 86), Wood (Barrowman 62).
Subs Not Used: Fraser, McBain, Sutherland, Duff.
Bitter rivals Rangers had surprisingly lost to Hearts earlier on Saturday.
Gordon Strachan’s men will now play Hibernian next week.
Note:- Photo of Maloney taken from Flickr ( Holtemeister)