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| Sunday, August 4, 2002 02:35 EST |
Celtic edges Dunfermline Athletic in opener
[Reuters]
GLASGOW, Scotland -- Henrik Larsson scored twice to give Scottish champion Celtic a 2-1 winning start to the season over Dunfermline Athletic while their Old Firm rivals Rangers were held to a 1-1 draw at Kilmarnock on Saturday.
Swedish striker Larsson -- who scored three goals during the World Cup finals -- put the home side in front late in the first half and doubled the lead shortly after the interval to hand Celtic the three points.
Celtic's manager, Martin O'Neill, was happy with Larsson's return to competitive action after playing at the World Cup.
"I thought both of them were terrific goals," O'Neill told BBC Radio Scotland.
"Henrik Larsson has proved in the World Cup that he's an outstanding player and is good enough for any league."
Larsson made the breakthrough in the 41st minute as he headed Bobby Petta's corner into the net.
Watched by a crowd of over 57,000, Celtic played with more style in the second-half and Larsson grabbed his second after 66 minutes with a shot from 20 yards.
Dunfermline substitute Gary Dempsey scored with his first touch of the game -- a precise lob over Celtic keeper Robert Douglas -- just eight minutes later to give the home fans an uncomfortable finish.
Former Rangers midfielder Barry Nicholson almost earned Dunfermline a draw, but his last minute shot was brilliantly saved by Douglas.
Although Celtic set a new Scottish Premier League record by notching up 103 points last season on their way to the title, O'Neill believes that achievement cannot be beaten this time round.
"We'll never see that amount of points this year, we won't get remotely close to it, " he said.
Rangers, however, was unable to emulate its Glasgow rivals' win as Andy McLaren scored a late equalizer to cancel out Georgian striker Shota Arveladze's opener in a 1-1 draw at Rugby Park.
Arveladze put Rangers ahead with a header in the 30th minute after Ronald de Boer flicked Peter Lovenkrands' overhead kick into the area from new signing Mikel Arteta's corner.
Alex McLeish's side could have increased its lead as Italian defender Lorenzo Amoruso hit the bar in the second-half, before Kilmarnock equalized.
The Rangers defence failed to clear Garry Hay's corner and McLaren smashed the ball into the net with his left foot from six yards.
McLeish was disappointed his side was unable to secure victory having taken the lead.
"We didn't have enough shots on goal or chances to show for our good outfield play," he said.
"We wanted to be up there setting the pace in the league table from the first day, but we can't turn the clock back and must look forward to the next game."
In the other matches, Livingston made a good start to the season as it beat Motherwell 3-2.
Oscar Rubio and two goals from Rolando Zarate gave them a three-goal lead early in the second-half.
Scott Leitch and Dirk Lehmann pulled two goals back for Motherwell, but it was not enough.
Motherwell's manager, Terry Butcher, was sent to the stands late on for protesting from the side of the pitch as his side tried to level matters.
Aberdeen also picked up a win as they came from behind to win 2-1 at Hibernian.
Francisco Luna gave the home side the lead, but Darren Mackie and Chris Clark's goal -- seven minutes into injury time -- handed them the points.
Dundee and Hearts shared a 1-1 draw at Dens Park. Gary Wales opened the scoring for Hearts in 33 minutes, but Fabian Caballero equalized after 65 minutes.
Partick Thistle and Dundee United shared a goalless draw at Partick's Firhill Stadium.
FRANCE: Monaco, Girondins Bordeaux and Nantes have got off to stylish starts to their season with convincing away victories at Lille, Troyes and Olympique Marseille.
On Friday, champion Olympique Lyon conceded two goals in the last three minutes to draw 3-3 at En Avant Guingamp in the opening match of its title defense.
Ambitious Monaco, back to their best, dominated for most of Saturday's match to crush Troyes 4-0, striker Shabani Nonda scoring twice to add to goals from Ludovic Giuly and Marcelo Gallardo.
"We wanted to start this season with a victory after our disappointing performance last year," midfielder Jerome Rothen said. "It's exactly what we have done.
"Tonight's result stems from an excellent preparation during the summer break. But we must not let ourselves be carried away by this success. We have to take on Marseille next week."
Girondins Bordeaux proved too solid for little Troyes, making a decisive break just after the interval thanks to goals by defender Vladimir Smertin and midfielder Eduardo Costa in the 54th and 57th minutes.
Striker Pedro Pauleta had opened the scoring with a 23rd-minute goal but also had a shot from the penalty spot stopped by goalkeeper Gregory Wimbee with 10 minutes to go.
Bordeaux coach Elie Baup said: "Despite leading ... we spent most of the first half defending. We were very patient and it has paid off.
"I'm really happy with this result as it's always difficult to win at Lille. The last two seasons we were held to a draw here. It's a good start and it's going to be a great help for the next games."
Nantes confirmed it is not to be taken lightly, beating a lackluster Olympique Marseille 2-0 thanks to second-half goals by defender Mario Yepes and midfielder Matthieu Berson.
The match was played in front of just 15,000 people at Olympique Lyon's stadium because the Stade Velodrome was banned for one match after clashes between fans during last season's game against Paris St Germain.
"We were too slow at attacking," said Marseille defender Johnny Ecker. "We played for the first 45 and we will have to learn to play for the whole match.
"We badly missed our fans. It would have been different with 55,000 supporters to back us. It was a day without luck and we hope to bounce back swiftly."
PSG, keen to end a title drought dating back to 1994, had to struggle to overcome a strong challenge by visiting AJ Auxerre, Brazilian striker Jose Aloisio scoring the only goal of the match from the penalty spot in the 50th minute.
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