Dunfermline - 1 Celtic - 2:Despite his team's seemingly unassailable lead in the Premier League, Celtic's captain Neil Lennon was an angry man at the end of this match and ended up grappling with a number of his own players.
Seconds after Dunfermline's Stephen Simmons had scored a scrappy, last-ditch consolation goal for Stephen Kenny's side, Lennon became involved in a shouting and pushing match with Artur Boruc.
The Poland goalkeeper beat a hasty retreat down the tunnel, and Lennon instead turned on Aiden McGeady, launching another verbal volley which also ended in a grappling match.
Lennon is no stranger to controversy, but even the veteran midfielder surpassed himself with this public show of fury towards his own team-mates after the Parkhead side restored their 16-point advantage at the top of the league.
"It's not something I like to see and I will have a word with the lads," said the Celtic manager, Gordon Strachan, who added he was unsure whether or not to fine those players involved.
"I will need to think about that (fining them) overnight. But if your kids misbehave do you take money off them or do you expect better from them.
"But it's quite simple: Lennon has a fear of being beaten, a fear of losing goals. If everyone had that attitude, we'd be some side."
This result will have blunted the euphoria at Ibrox on Saturday after Rangers' 3-0 win over Hibernian. Now Rangers know that when Celtic visit next weekend only the champions' pride, rather than ability to complete a successful championship defence, would be damaged by defeat.
Following a first half in which chances were at a premium, the energetic McGeady sparked the game into life with a curling low finish from 18 yards four minutes after the interval.
Maciej Zurawski, who scored four goals at the same venue in February, confirmed an undeniably deserved victory for Strachan's side with a powerful 12-yard half-volley from
Lennon's lofted pass.
The ugly scenes broke out after Simmons capitalised on slack defending by prodding the ball home in the closing seconds.
The visitors allowed Owen Morrison to cross from Dunfermline's left with Bobo Balde and Boruc failing to clear the danger which followed. The aftermath then proved the main talking point from an afternoon which also saw 19-year-old Dubliner Darren O'Dea make his first league start for Celtic.
Dunfermline remain rooted to the bottom, six points adrift of 11th-placed Motherwell, but this much-improved performance will fill Kenny with some hope.
The former Derry City manager, whose side remain rooted to the bottom of the SPL, tried to take some positives from the defeat. He said: "Regardless of who the opposition was, we were disappointed to get beat. This is our home venue and we don't want to lose here.
"Celtic are a better team than us but apart from one save in the first-half from Dorus De Vries, they never had any real clear-cut chances.
"But there were some good individual performances in our side and there was nothing lacking in perseverance or attitude."
Guardian Service
DUNFERMLINE: De Vries, Labonte, Shields, Wilson, Scott Morrison (McGuire 73), Ross, Mason, Simmons, Muirhead (Owen Morrison 77), Crawford, Daquin (Burchill 73). Subs not used: McKenzie, Hamilton, Woods, Williamson. Booked: Wilson.
CELTIC: Boruc, Wilson, Balde, O'Dea, Naylor, Nakamura (Pearson 75), Lennon (Sno 88), Jarosik, McGeady, Miller, Zurawski (Gravesen 75). Subs not used: Marshall, Telfer, Riordan, O'Brien.
Referee: C Thomson.
