Alan Cochrane @ Celtic Park

It will be no consolation at all to Jim Jefferies that no Celtic player managed to breach the Killie defence, and only a Martyn Corrigan own goal separated the teams at the end. But this was a mighty rearguard action by Kilmarnock, and Artur Boruc didn't have a save to make all afternoon, as Killie's sporadic attacks were mopped up well short of the Celtic keeper. That couldn't be said for Alan Combe, as especially in the first half, he pulled off save after magnificent save to keep the champions at bay.

An early move involving Nakamura and Hinkel ended with a Vennegoor of Hesselink shot being bravely blocked, and then a great save denied Scott McDonald, correctly named man-of-the-match, before 10 minutes had passed. The whole team were deeply committed to the cause though, as forwards chased back, the mid-field worked tirelessly, and defenders closed down and challenged continuously. A dreadful accidental clash of heads between Simon Ford and Vennegoor of Hesselink saw the Dutchman retire with a deep head gash and blood all over his face. Ford came straight back on and was able to continue, due to what Jefferies called his "head of steel".

Celtic still pressed forward, but saves by Combe from McDonald, a chip by Riordan touched over, and a point blank stop off Killen, kept the score line blank to the break. Immediately from the restart Killie won a corner - it was their first of the game. We couldn't get any penetration behind the Celtic defence however, and the ball was soon back at the other end. Celtic were ramping up the pressure, but if anything, Kilmarnock were handling it better, and protecting their keeper more. Until, that is, a cross come shot from Brown got behind the defence, and a Corrigan lunge sent the ball flashing past Combe and into the net, instead of out for a corner.

The Celtic pressure eased after they went ahead, and in the last ten minutes Killie tried to get at them, but the final ball into the box never had the necessary quality. Jim Jefferies had no fault to find with his players work-rate and commitment, but we just couldn't make any impact today. As for Alan Combe - why isn't he in the Scotland set-up?

Celtic: Boruc, Hinkel (Killen), Caldwell, Naylor, McManus, Brown, Hartley, Donati, Nakamura (Sno), McDonald, Vennegoor of Hesselink (Riordan)

Kilmarnock: Combe, Hay, Fowler, Ford, Wright, Invincibile (Fernandez), Di Giacomo, Hamill, Bryson (Gibson), Corrigan, Taouil

Referee: Mike McCurry