Keane plays down winning goal

Mowbray hails Irishman's "real class"

By Danny Wright   Last updated: 7th February 2010   Subscribe to RSS Feed

Keane plays down winning goal

Keane: Important win

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Celtic striker Robbie Keane played down the importance of his first goal for the club following his side's 4-2 win over Dunfermline in the Active Nation Scottish Cup fifth round.

Keane, on as a half-time substitute, scored the fourth and final goal from the spot to book Celtic's place in the quarter-finals of the competition after Dunfermline had gone toe-to-toe with the Glasgow giants.

Diomansy Kamara had put the Bhoys head on 19 minutes, but the First Division side hit-back with two goals in seven minutes to take a shock lead.

Celtic went into the break level thanks to Morten Rasmussen, who then restored parity to make it 3-2, before Keane bagged his first goal for Tony Mowbray's side since his January transfer window loan move from Tottenham.

Keane had featured in the mid-week defeat to Kilmarnock, but started the clash at East End Park on the bench.

He wasted no time in making his presence felt when he come on for Marc Crosas, though, wriggling free from the Dunfermline backline to force a foul from Austin McCann.

The 29-year-old stroked the kick into the bottom corner to secure the win, but was quick to acknowledge the difficulty his side had faced against a battling Dunfermline side.

"Today the most important thing was getting the win - they certainly made it difficult for us," the Irishman, who denied he was disappointed to start the game on the bench, told Sky Sports News.

"It's about the team and about the squad and the lads who came in today were superb."

Tony Mowbray was delighted with the performance of his new recruit, who he swooped for in the closing hours of the January transfer market.

The Bhoys boss said Keane had added much-needed guile to his side's display, with their lower-ranked opponents threatening to hamper Celtic's progress towards a 35th Scottish Cup crown.

Mowbray hailed the contribution of his striker, saying: "He adds real quality, real class. His quality in the final third made the difference."

"I thought we controlled the game pretty well, although it was disappointing to lose the goals."

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