Rovers  (0) 0  -  
Celtic XI (0) 2 - Murphy 55' Carey 57'

Pre-Season Friendly - Tallaght Stadium - Monday 7th February 2011 

Hoops Line out
1 Alan Mannus
2 Pat Sullivan
13 Pat Flynn
5 Dan Murray (c)
21 Connor McCormack
7 Gary McCabe
8 Stephen O'Donnell
6 Stephen Rice
20 Billy Dennehy
9 Gary Twigg
11 Ciaran Kilduff

Substitutes: 
18 Chris Turner
for Rice ht
10 Karl Sheppard
for Kilduff ht
15 Paddy Kavanagh
for Dennehy 60'
14 Dean Kelly
for Twigg 60'
24 Akeem Pristley
for McCabe 60'
19 Anthony Murphy
for Murray 60'
16 Robert Hughes
17 Donal Branagan
22 Jack Memery

Celtic XI Line out

1 D.Cervi
2 S.O'Donnell
3 P.Twardsick
4 E.Juarez
5 J.Baudet
6. G.Loovens
7. F.Ljunberg
8. M.Crosas
9. D.Murphy
10. G.Carey
11 K.Brennan

Substitutes:
12. M.Hughes
for Loovens 65'
13. C.Bagshaw
for Ljunberg 79'
14. C.McGregor
for Juarez 65'
15. P.Twardsick
16. L.Gormley
for Crosas 79'
17. J.Church
for Twardsick 65'

Stephen Rice

A heavy pitch meant that Rovers had to work hard against a strong and fit Celtic XI in Tallaght Stadium tonight. The visitors scored twice in two minutes to win the game with two players with League of Ireland experience finding the net.

Rovers started brightly with Kilduff running at the Celtic defence early on. Twigg and Dennehy combined on 8 mins to set up a chance for Kilduff but Cervi saved his effort.

Gary McCabe went on a run in the 14th minute down the right and he turned and found the target but Cervi saved. O'Donnell almost put Twigg in on goal before Mannus done well to claim Murphy's cross.

Twigg and Kilduff forced an error in th visitors defence on 31 mins and Dennehy pounced but shot just over the bar from the right hand side of the box. Kilduff should have scored for Rovers on 33 mins when Dennehy's cross found him in front of goal but his header missed the target.

Mannus was called into action before the break saving shots from both Carey and Murphy. 

The second half saw McCabe feed Sullivan down the right and the Hoops number two fired in a low cross that Cervi claimed well. Murphy then tested Mannus with a looping header.

With Rovers visibly tiring the Bhoys upped the pace and Ljunberg crossed for Murphy to shoot but Mannus saved. However in the 55th minute the same player met a cross from the left and this time the ex-Waterford Utd man fired past Mannus from six yards out.

It was 2-0 a couple of mins later when Ljunberg set up Carey on the right and he shot across Mannus and into the far corner of the net.

Both sides made some substitutions and gradually the home side got back into the game although Sheppard fired over the bar from a free-kick in a dangerous position.

Good play from Kavanagh then setup Turner to shoot from 20 yards out but the tall frame of the Celtic 'keeper plucked the ball out of the air as it headed towards the top corner.

Trialist Akeem Pristley was showing some nice touches and his fine through ball saw Kelly bear down on goal and he surely would have scored if Cervi hadn't cynically taken him down just outside the area.

The last action of the game saw Kavanagh shoot across goal from the right-hand side of the box with five mins remaining.