Celtic's Charlie Mulgrew and James Forrest too much for Dunfermline

Charlie Mulgrew celebrates after scoring Celtic's first goal against Dunfermline.
Charlie Mulgrew celebrates after scoring Celtic's first goal against Dunfermline. Photograph: Craig Brough/Action Images

Celtic's lead in the Scottish Premier League is such that not even complacency represents a danger to them. They are in the midst of the longest title-winning party in history.

That margin over Rangers, whose troubles are an apparently continued cause for celebration among the Celtic support, now stands at 20 points. Lennon's team have equalled the 13-game winning streak in all competitions last achieved by Martin O'Neill's Celtic side of 2003-4.

"I couldn't ask for any more from the players. I am very proud of them," said the manager Neil Lennon. "I have told them not to spoil this run, not to let it get away. Something like this might only happen once in your career."

Dunfermline Athletic have more negative matters to concern themselves with. They arrived in Glasgow as the favourites for relegation and left boosted only by the fact their nearest rivals, Hibernian, lost by the odd goal in seven at Motherwell.

"Celtic were the better side," conceded their manager Jim McIntyre. "I'm not going to say on the balance of chances made that we deserved something from the game, because we didn't."

The size of Celtic's squad renders rotation a perfectly reasonable concept, their championship advantage aside. Lennon duly freshened his team up here. Yet Dunfermline could have handed Celtic an early shock. Only poor control from Liam Buchanan meant the forward did not, as should have been the case, hand his team-mate Kyle Hutton a glorious opportunity to open the scoring.

Celtic's response was immediate. Gary Hooper latched on to an Anthony Stokes pass but the forward was denied, when clean through on goal, by an excellent save from Chris Smith.

Their opening goal arrived in more spectacular circumstances. Charlie Mulgrew has not only proved a defensive revelation for Lennon this season, he has chipped in with important goals. Few of them have been routine: a fierce 30-yard shot which flew past Smith was the latest of them. Kris Commons passed up two chances to double that lead before the break.

Stokes and Hooper seemed to use the start of the second half to conduct a competition as to who could miss the most glaring opportunity. The former screwed wide from six yards, with his strike partner blazing wildly over the bar from a similar range. Scott Brown was more accurate, but Smith smartly saved the Celtic captain's effort after 66 minutes.

Hooper at least atoned for his earlier profligacy by setting up Celtic's second goal. The forward sent over a cross from the right flank which eluded everyone except the substitute James Forrest at the back post. The young winger could not miss, and he did not.