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Your support makes all the difference.Hangover cures are generally in short supply in Glasgow on a Sunday afternoon, but almost 57,000 Celtic fans found one at Parkhead yesterday.
Martin O'Neill's team may not have atoned for the numbing Champions' League exit at the hands of Basle last week, but at least it took the edge off the pain which had clung to the club for the previous three days.
Henrik Larsson and Bobo Baldé contributed first-half goals which ensured Livingston did not compound the damage done in Switzerland, securing a fifth straight win in the Scottish Premier League.
However, O'Neill admitted later: "After the disappointment in Basle, it was important to get a result. The players could sense that the crowd was down and we had to lift their spirits."
Despite the huge attendance, the funereal atmosphere in Parkhead indicated that Celtic needed some flair to rouse their support. Larsson finally obliged with a cheeky free-kick, casually lofted over the wall, which struck the base of the post, before the Swede netted his sixth goal of the season in the 26th minute.
Steve Guppy delivered a fine cross from the left which picked out Larsson at the back post and the striker thumped a header beyond the goalkeeper Javier Broto.
The eager Larsson came close to plundering a second goal soon after, with a vicious free kick which Broto superbly touched over the bar, before Baldé doubled Celtic's lead in the 38th minute.
Another Guppy cross was met by Joos Valgaeren and the defender's downward header rebounded off Baldé's shin past the unfortunate Broto.
Though Livingston progressed through the qualifying round of the Uefa Cup in midweek, they have failed to rediscover the zest of last season when they secured third place in the SPL in their first season in the top flight.
The absence of David Fernandez, sold to Celtic for £1.25m in the summer, is clearly hurting them. No one is currently taking responsibility in the box, as Eugene Dadi underlined when he squandered a fine chance to reduce the deficit with 15 minutes left, scooping the ball over the bar from point blank range.
Celtic's trio of substitutes, John Hartson, Shaun Maloney and Alan Thompson, showed similar mercy at the other end but, unlike those Swiss misses, the profligacy was not costly this time.
Goals: Larsson (26) 1-0; Baldé (38) 2-0.
Celtic (3-4-3): Hedman; Valgaeren, Baldé, Laursen; Agathe, McNamara, Petrov, Guppy; Fernandez (Thompson, 81), Larsson (Maloney 69), Sutton (Hartson, 69). Substitutes not used: Douglas (gk), Crainey.
Livingston (3-5-2): Broto; Dorado (Zarate, 60), Rubio, Andrews; Brinquin (Bollan, 66), Quino, Lovell (Touré-Maman, 60), Makel, Bahoken; Dadi, Bingham. Substitutes not used: McEwen (gk), Whelan.
Referee: A Freeland.
Booking: Livingston: Lovell.
Man of the match: Fernandez.
Attendance: 56,988.
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