CELTIC reduced Rangers' lead at the top of the Scottish premier division to five points. Victory over Raith at Stark's Park last night extended Celtic's impressive unbeaten league run to 16 games. They again provided positive proof that their determination to take the championship race to the wire is undiminished.
Manager Tommy Burns and his team, bidding for Celtic's first title win since 1988, also have one game in hand over Rangers.
This was the first of four consecutive on-the-road matches for Celtic, but goals from Phil O'Donnell, John Collins and Pierre Van Hooydonk gave them an away-day ticket to three points. For Jimmy Nicholl's Raith, the evening was a letdown. Colin Cameron's 83rd-minute strike proved little more than a consolation.
Celtic took a 16th-minute lead through £1.75 million midfielder O'Donnell. Collins supplied the pass and O'Donnell wheeled round inside the box before beating Thomson with a low drive.
Celtic made it 2-0 after 38 minutes as Collins weighed in with his 11th goal of the season. Raith's Ronnie Coyle lost possession to Van Hooydonk and it proved fatal as Andreas Thom superbly delayed his pass before presenting Collins with a simple chance to net.
Raith sent on two second-half substitutes, but could not alter the pattern other than to see Shaun Dennis collect the only booking of the game.
With 14 minutes left Van Hooydonk rose to meet a corner from Tosh McKinlay and powered home his 15th goal of the season and his 23rd since his arrival from NAC Breda a year ago.
