The story behind 2012
By: Newsroom Staff on 31 Dec, 2012 10:26
AS we approach the dawning of the New Year and the halfway point in the season in which Celtic celebrate 125 years of unbroken history, we take a look back at the previous 12 months of action.
There have been many highs and we look forward to celebrating a few more over the coming 12 months.
JANUARY
HAVING finished 2011 with a 1-0 victory over Rangers to go top of the SPL table, Celtic kicked off the New Year with a comprehensive 3-0 win against Dunfermline at East End Park, with Victor Wanyama, Anthony Stokes and Charlie Mulgrew on the scoresheet. The following week featured a trek north to face Peterhead in the Scottish Cup, and Neil Lennon’s side recorded their second consecutive 3-0 victory, courtesy of a Stokes hat-trick. Two successive league wins followed, a 2-1 home win against Dundee United and a 2-0 away win against St Mirren, which featured another great Scott Brown goal, before January’s fixtures were completed with a trip to Hampden for the semi-final of the Scottish Communities League Cup. First Division Falkirk were the opponents, and Celtic, thanks to goals from Scott Brown with a penalty, and an Anthony Stokes double, won the match 3-1 to book their place in the final.
FEBRUARY
HAVING booked a place in the League Cup final, Celtic turned their attentions to the other domestic final at the beginning of February. And it was a potentially tricky tie as the Hoops travelled to Inverness. However, Neil Lennon’s side produced a dominant performance, with goals from Georgios Samaras and another Scott Brown penalty giving Celtic a 2-0 win. And the Hoops followed that up with a stunning 4-0 victory at Tynecastle against Hearts. Celtic raced into a 3-0 lead inside the first half-hour and they remained in control of proceedings until the final whistle. February proved to be a very successful month for the Celts, with six victories recorded, 15 goals scored and none conceded. That tally also included a 1-0 home win over Inverness in the league, another emphatic capital display to beat Hibernian 5-0, and successive home wins over Dunfermline (2-0) and Motherwell (1-0).
MARCH
IF February produced a perfect report card from the six fixtures, then March’s four games were more disappointing. The month began with a 1-1 draw at Pittodrie, which signalled an end to Celtic’s impressive run of domestic victories, which stretched all the way back to November 2011 and which amounted to 20 consecutive wins. Normall service was resumed eight days, later, however, with an impressive Scottish Cup win at Tannadice. Four second-half goals gave the Hoops an emphatic 4-0 victory and set them up for the League Cup final the following week. It was to prove a day of disappointment at Hampden, however, as Celtic lost 1-0 to Kilmarnock, conceding a goal with six minutes remaining. There was late controversy as the Hoops appeared to be denied a penalty, but it was the blue and white ribbons of Killie which were on the trophy. And the following week saw an even more controversial game as nine-man Celtic lost 3-2 at Ibrox.
APRIL
CELTIC bounced back from two consecutive defeats to beat St Johnstone 2-0 on April Fool’s Day, though it took two second-half goals to sink the Saints. The significance of the victory, however, was that it meant Celtic travelled to Rugby Park the following weekend, knowing that a victory would deliver the SPL title back to Paradise. It was the same ground where, back in October 2011, Celtic had trailed 3-0 at half-time and their title challenge seemed on the verge of collapse. A second-half comeback rescued a point that day, and now Neil Lennon’s side were intent on sealing the title. It was another six-goal thriller against Kilmarnock, but this time all the goals were scored by Celtic. Neil Lennon’s side were now the champions, and deservedly so, and the three stands at Rugby park which were packed with Celtic fans celebrated the triumph. Any hope of a double was ended the following week, with a 2-1 defeat in the Scottish Cup semi-final to Hearts, but Celtic followed that up with consecutive 3-0 victories – against Motherwell at Fir Park and in the last ever derby against Rangers at Paradise.
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