Match Report -
Celtic round off 2010 at home with a win
By Iain Benson
Celtic finished their home campaign in the centenary season with a win over Eastwood Town, despite playing with ten men for ninety minutes.

Barrie Keeling attempted to play the ball within seconds of the kick off, but was dispossessed by Danny Holland. Keeling gave chase, lost his footing, and brought Holland down with him. As last man, with Holland inches from the box, Keeling had to walk and leave Celtic with a man short for the entire game. Eastwood very nearly added insult to injury with Tom Marshall's free kick deflected out for a corner. Despite being a man down, Celtic were good value for their final game, and Keith Briggs had a couple of shots flash wide of the post.

However, as expected, Eastwood were making the man advantage pay, and from a corner, Lindon Meikle had to hang his head in shame when he missed a virtually open net from close range, looping his header over the bar, whilst he later did force a sharp stop from Dave Carnell. Celtic were playing some good stuff at times, and Graeme Law's cross flashed through the danger zone, with Joe O'Neill and Connor Jennings unlucky not to get on the end of it after some good build up play. Matty Barlow was unlucky not to get better contact after Celtic shredded the visiting defence with one touch passing the culminated in Barlow's low drive from the edge of the box of Joe O'Neill's lay off, but John Danby was able to get down to make the save. A cross in from Andy Smart almost provided comedy goal of the season, as Celtic attackers and Eastwood defenders all swung at it, with slices and miskicks almost sending the ball trundling over the line until Paul Robinson hacked it clear.

A mistake at the back let D?Laryea in and hefed Danny Holland to beat the offside trap, but Dave Carnell was brave saving at Holland's feet, whilst D?Laryea's angled drive from the edge of the box was comfortably taken by Carnell.

The second half saw more of the play from Celtic, who looked like it was they who had the extra man. Jennings won a corner, and Briggs powered it wide, whilst O'Neill was unlucky when he got onto Andy Smart's free kick, only to send it the wrong side of the post. It was O'Neill again, looking for his twenty-first goal of the season, who latched onto Connor Jenning's interchange, but directed it at Danby before Paul Ennis came on, chased down a lost cause, and put the ball into O'Neill's path for the Celtic striker to put away with Danby grasping at air.

Eastwood through everything at Celtic in the last ten minutes, and Rob Marshall's free kick was tipped over by Carnell, who then, pushed away the corner as far as Simon Brown who headed over from a yard out. With another corner, in stoppage time, Eastwood committed men forward, and Law won the ball, put it out to Briggs who ran the full length of the pitch but didn't have the strength left to lift his shot over Danby, so the Eastwood keeper made the save and keep the score at 1-0.

1Danby, John  
2Gardner, Scott  > 26
3Marshall, Tom  
4Gardener, Ross  
5Robinson, Paul  
6Cooke, Russell  
7DLaryea, Jon  
8Nwadike, Emeka  > 21
9Brown, Simon  
10Holland, Danny  > 64
11Meikle, Lindon  
12Duncum, Sam  < 21
14Riley, Paul  
15Whitehurst, Ryan  < 64
16Holmes, Ian  
17Gaughan, Lawrence  < 26
Match Sponsor
Roy Oldham
Manchester Laminators
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Dee and David Hughes
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HMG Paints