Gretna 1-2 Celtic

Gretna were denied a famous victory against Celtic as late goals from Chris Killen and Scott McDonald stole the points for the Champions at Fir Park.

The home side looked set to cause an upset after Fabian Yantorno’s first-half free-kick gave them a deserved lead. But two goals in the final five minutes rescued Celtic and snatched a historic win from the grasp of the battling Borderers. 

Gretna were dealt an early blow when French defender Aurélien Collin had to be replaced by Danny Grainger after he came off second-best in a challenge with Aiden McGeady.

However, Celtic had injury problems off their own and Paul Hartley left the field with a hamstring complaint moments later.

Fabian Yantorno took the game to the visitors and tried his luck from distance on three occasions before finding his range on 37 minutes.

After being hauled down by Scott Brown 25 yards from goal, the Uruguayan picked himself up and bent the resulting free-kick round the wall past a flat-footed Artur Boruc.

With Celtic still reeling, Gavin Skelton almost added a second when he reacted first to a James Grady flick in the box. He got to the ball ahead of Gary Caldwell but hooked his volley narrowly over the bar.

Gretna frustrated Gordon Strachan’s side with a hard-working display and on the stroke of half-time, Craig Barr epitomised their defending with a superb block to deny Shunsuke Nakamura after the Japanese star turned well in the box.

But Celtic began to dominate after the break and Massimo Donati should have done better with two chances inside two minutes.

The Italian fired over from the edge of the box before slicing wide of the target from a promising position after Chris Killen found the midfielder in space.

Killen then headed a Nakamura cross on to the roof of the net and turned provider for Scott McDonald who came close to an equaliser on 66 minutes.

The Australian striker connected with a Killen knock-down with Greg Fleming out of his goal but Evan Horwood performed heroics to somehow clear his effort from underneath the crossbar.

Gretna had defended their lead stoutly throughout the game but were punished for a lapse four minutes from time as Celtic drew level.

Substitute Jim O’Brien’s long-throw into the box was only partially cleared and Killen ended a spot of head tennis with a looping header over Fleming into the far corner of the net.

And as the game moved into stoppage-time, McDonald broke Gretna’s hearts with a winner to complete the comeback. Aiden McGeady’s shot from the edge of the box deflected into the path of the Australian and he converted from 12 yards.

It was a cruel finish for the home side, who deserved much more than a honourable defeat for their gutsy display against the Champions.

Gretna: Fleming, Barr, Horwood, Innes, Collin (Grainger 14), Cowan, Murray, Jenkins, Skelton, Yantorno (Paartalu 81), Grady (McMenamin 64). Subs not used: Caig, Graham, McGill, Hogg.

Celtic: Boruc, Caldwell, Naylor, McManus, Nakamura, McGeady, S Brown, Donati (Jarosik 80), Hartley (Kennedy 18 (O’Brien 75)), Killen, McDonald. Subs not used: M Brown, O’Dea, Sno, Riordan.

Star Man: Fabian Yantorno
Chris Innes, Craig Barr, Danny Grainger and Evan Horwood all defended heroically for Gretna but once again Fabian Yantorno stole the show with another electric performance. He stunned Celtic with a fabulous free-kick and was a constant menace throughout the game.

Attendance: 6,011
Referee: Brian Winter