Vennegoor Of Hesselink Scores Winner In Porto

Gravesen To Stay Put Despite Relegation From First Team

By Tony Quinn

Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink was Celtic's super-sub again as the Scottish champions ended their Portuguese tour with a 1-0 win over Porto.

The game looked set to finish in a goalless draw until a great move from the Hoops culminated in Paul Hartley's cross being powered home by Vennegoor of Hesselink with just two minutes remaining.

Porto had the better of first half, Cristian Sapunaru's header skimming the crossbar and Lisandro Lopez thwarted by a brilliant Artur Boruc save when clean through. Stephen McManus went closest for the Bhoys in the first half with a header which went narrowly wide.

After the break, Boruc produced more heroics to halt Cristian Rodriguez one on one, while Hoops substitute Bobo Balde headed over the Porto bar. That looked to be the end of the action until Vennegoor of Hesselink's late intervention.

24-year-old defender John Kennedy will be at Norwich City on loan until January. Kennedy made his first team debut for the Hoops against Motherwell in April 2000, when he became the then youngest ever player to represent Celtic at the age of 16 years and 231 days.

A knee injury suffered against Romania in March 2004 kept him out of the Celtic first team for almost three years.

In late 2006 Kennedy resumed training and was named as a substitute for Celtic's Champions League match against AC Milan in February 2007.

He started his comeback against Kilmarnock on April 22, 2007. Four days later he signed a new three-year deal with the club.

The Bellshill born player is the grandson of Celtic and Manchester United player Jimmy Delaney, and he is currently Celtic's longest-serving player, having spent eight years at the club.

Reports in the Catalan media say Barcelona midfielder Marc Crosas is as a target for both Celtic and Sevilla.

The 20-year-old has been told he will not feature on a regular basis by new coach Josep Guardiola and this has led to talk he could be moved on.

The midfielder appeared during the friendly games against Hibs and Dundee Utd last week and reports claim the Spaniard could play in the SPL next season, as Celtic are believed to be keen on his services.

Sunderland and Aston Villa are both being linked with left-back Lee Naylor. Villa lost Dutch international Wilfred Bouma to an ankle injury last weekend and could be without him for the rest of the year which has seen Naylor touted for a switch to Villa Park. The Black Cats are also looking to boost their options on the left-hand side of defense after failing in their bid to re-sign former captain George McCartney from West Ham.

Gordon Strachan says he will not play Thomas Gravesen because the Dane does not fit into his system. And the former Real Madrid and Everton midfielder - along with forward Derek Riordan - has been told he is unlikely to feature for the first team again.

Gravesen's agent John Sivebaek insists the player will not be forced out of Celtic, despite boss Strachan's. "Thomas has a contract and intends to see it out," Sivebaek said. "There have been no requests from any other clubs and he is happy at Celtic. Of course, he would love to be playing, but that's the manager's decision."

Frank McGarvey fears for Celtic's title hopes if Gordon Strachan does not buy another goalscorer: "I think Celtic have got to bring in another striker, they can't leave themselves scarce of strikers. If everyone stays injury-free then they will be fine, but forwards especially do get injured because they get tackles put into them. I would get in another striker, and a good centre-half, and if they do that, I think Celtic will win the league."

Reports on Tuesday claim Celtic have been linked with a £300,000 move for Chelsea's Jack Cork. The 19-year-old is thought to have impressed Parkhead scouts last season when he was on loan at Championship side Scunthorpe.

Although he is highly rated by the EPL outfit, the defender fears he'll have to wait too long for an opportunity to play first-team football at the London club and is keen to try and secure a move over the summer.

Strachan is looking for a couple of defenders before the beginning of the season and could be ready to try and tempt Cork to try his luck in the SPL, although Fulham, West Ham and Sheffield Wednesday are also said to be interested.